SILVER SPRING, MD—Today the Montgomery County Department of Parks announces the top five finalists in its first-ever ParkStar Search competition to find a teen host this summer for its award-winning 15-minute monthly television program, The Parks Show, on County Cable Montgomery (CCM).
“We had tons of great teens to choose from,” said The Parks Show Producer Cathy Grubman. “I mean, really, any of these young people would make great on-air hosts for us this summer.”
The Department of Parks with CCM auditioned a total of 40 area teens, March 29 and April 5, for their chance this summer to work on and host The Parks Show. The potential ParkStars were screen-tested in front of CCM television cameras reading a preselected script from the teleprompter and responding freely to one question: “Why do you like parks?”
During the auditions, the teens also participated in behind-the-scenes video footage of the competition, while they waited for their chance to try-out. Some of this footage can be seen now on the current episode of The Parks Show airing at least three times daily on CCM (Comcast and RCN Channel 6 and Verizon Channel 30). More behind-the-scenes looks at the talented teens will be on both the May and June episodes of The Parks Show.
“After the auditions, our panel of judges had the difficult task of whittling down the choices to five,” said The Parks Show Host Kelli Holsendolph.
The Parks Show editors, producers, crew members with parks officials narrowed down the competition to the following five finalists:
- Jordan Slattery, Age 14, Mother of God School, Gaithersburg
- Macy Passawe, Age 16, James Hubert Blake High School, Silver Spring
- Reuben Jacobson, Age 15, Winston Churchill High School, Potomac
- Amir Nasser, Age 17, Watkins Mill High School, Gaithersburg
- Jenay McNeil, Age 16, Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville
“All the teens who auditioned are ParkStars to us,” added Holsendolph. “Thank you!”
Audition footage of the top 5 ParkStar Search finalists is online today at www.ParkStarSearch.com. The online public voting period begins May 1 and runs through May 15, 2008 at this website and the winner will be announced in June.
“We were so blown away by all the talent and enthusiasm during the auditions, we even added a few extra auditions to the website for everyone to enjoy,” added Grubman.
The one teen winner, selected from the highest number of online votes received, will spend a total of 12 days this summer writing, interviewing and hosting The Parks Show and working with the Department of Parks and CCM in all elements of television production. The winner can earn up to 100 Student Service Learning (SSL) hours—more than enough to meet the Montgomery County Public Schools graduation requirement—for their work on the show this summer.
To check out the auditions and vote for your favorite, visit www.ParkStarSearch.com.
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The Parks Show, now in its 18th year, features the parks, programs and activities in the Montgomery County, Maryland parks system. The show is a joint production of the Montgomery County Department of Parks, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and the Montgomery County Council. The show airs three times daily on County Cable Montgomery (Comcast and RCN Channel 6 and Verizon Channel 30) and a link to watch streaming online video of The Parks Show is available from www.MontgomeryParks.org.
Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866