01/26/2026
To my amazing volunteers:
Suzanne Ashmore—Having your presence throughout the entire weekend was an irreplaceable gift, and I am deeply grateful. Your dedication as both a teacher and an individual is remarkable. Thank you!
Rotarians in action! Heartfelt thanks to Teresa Burroughs, Megan Hegedus, Kathy Sabol, and Stacy Till for generously giving your time and helping manage our front of house.
The UPMC Washington Teen Outreach staff—Heather Crowe, Emily Kolence, Ashley Anderson, Landan Weakland, and Megan Leslie—our teamwork makes all the difference; we accomplish so much together.
Heath Hollowood, Steven Pascoe, and my husband: thank you for uniting as a team when I needed help most. Without your support, the show would not have gone on.
Our wonderful student MCs—Victor Bell, Jane Bieranoski, Moshe Dale, Lily Gough, Mason Hankins, Madison Hickman, Lucy Kumpfmiller, Maddie Nickel, and Audrey Washabaugh. A special thanks to my Lily for stepping up as Master of Ceremonies—a tremendous responsibility for someone only 15 years old!
Grace Holland and Victoria Cirilo, thank you for returning to our stage to perform.
Michael Anderson, thank you for managing our votes.
To my outstanding production Stage Manager, Adrien-Sophia Curry, who stayed in contact with me throughout the whole show to keep backstage operations smooth!
Student Stage Managers: Ele Sickman and Erin Bevan—thank you for your hard work!
Lights and Sound: Laney Littleton and Nic Snyder—true ROCK stars who handled every issue with poise and confidence.
Crew: Carson Bashioum, Lilly Wanser, and Anna Rush—you all did fantastic work!
For stellar photos: Pascoe Media.
And for videos: Skubo Creative—I will share these since we couldn’t display them during the finale.
A huge thank you to our judges for their thoughtful decisions:
• Audition judges: Brianna King-McLaughlin and Jeff Zollars.
• Finale judges: Deanna Grandstaff (Recording Academy Member), Superior Court Judge Brandon Neuman, Katrina Thomas (Social Worker/KTA owner), and Amaya Faulkner, who joined last minute after our date change.
Finally, to all our many student volunteers: I apologize if I can’t name everyone due to the many changes, but I saw dozens of teens tirelessly selling tickets, welcoming guests, baking and selling cupcakes, guiding people to their seats, offering candy grams, gathering mascot votes, helping with elevator access, and cleaning up. Thank you for everything!
