Photo By Scott Sturkol | Senior Airman Naomi Scott sings "Rolling in Deep" during the Air Mobility Command Icon...... read more read more
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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- In Senior Airman Naomi Scott's words, "The third time was the charm." In her third competition, Scott won the 2011 Air Mobility Icon title during competition here Oct. 20.
Singing Adele's "Rolling in Deep," Scott wooed the competition's three judges to top a field of 10 competitors to become this year's AMC Icon.
"It's amazing to win this competition," said Scott, who is from the 436th Maintenance Squadron at Dover Air Force Base, Del., and was the runner-up for AMC Icon in 2010. "There is a lot of great talent here and it's a great experience to come here and do this. Coming back a third time and winning it was special."
Capt. Manuela Peters, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot from the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., took second place in the talent competition. She sang "Defying Gravity." It's a song recorded by Idina Menzel that Peters said she found "inspiring." To place in the Icon finals, she added, was also special.
"This is an awesome experience," Peters said. "To have this fantastic opportunity to sing with a live band and be a part of it all was nice. I love to sing...this offered an opportunity to do something artistic and have fun."
Taking third place was Senior Airman Francis Conrad from the 305th Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Conrad drove 15-plus hours with his wife and daughter from New Jersey to Illinois to participate.
"I can personally say participating was a dream come true for many of us," said Conrad, who sang "Without You" - a song made famous by country artist Keith Urban. "Having the opportunity to sing in front of so many people and have my family with me was great. Like I said - a dream come true."
The 2011 edition of AMC Icon took place at the Scott Club. The competition is based loosely on the television show "American Idol." According to Sam Parker from the Manpower, Personnel and Services Directorate at AMC Headquarters, who organized the competition the last four years, Icon is an AMC commander's initiative to showcase the vocal talents of AMC airmen. Each AMC base holds Icon contests in July and August to determine their representatives for the command final which takes place at Scott AFB.
Tech. Sgt. Walter Campbell, also from Joint Base MDL, served as the master of ceremonies for the competition offering introductions and comedic routine in between sets by the participants.
The guest judges for the 2011 Icon show included "Smash" from the The Smash Band, Maj. Cristina Moore-Urrutia, commander of the AMC Band of Mid-America at Scott AFB, and Dr. Stella Markou, director of vocal studies at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.
"I'm impressed with the whole program," Moore-Urrutia said to the competitors at the end of the show. "Just being a part of this and seeing them lay it all on the line...it's great."
Markou, who served as a judge for the third straight year, said she was happy to come back and "serve" in the competition but also that she's proud of all who serve.
"I'm glad to see such talented people who also serve our country," Markou said.
In addition to Scott, Peters and Conrad, other competitors included: Tech. Sgt. Chastity Sullivan from MacDill AFB, Fla.; Staff Sgt. Clint Yager from Little Rock AFB, Ark.; 1st Lt. Jonathan Lanning from McConnell AFB, Kan.; Airman 1st Class Timothy Sentz from Scott AFB; Staff Sgt. Melvin Penaflorida from Joint Base Charleston, S.C.; Staff Sgt. Kecia Harris from Travis AFB, Calif.; and Senior Airman John Maness from Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
AMC's "Starlifter" rock band, which is part of the Band of Mid-America, provided the music for the event.
"We had a great group of competitors in this year's competition," said Tech. Sgt. Jamie Gilley, vocalist for Starlifter. "These airmen are very talented and I'm glad I got to work with them."
Scott received $1,000 and a first place trophy for winning the Icon title. As first-place winner, she is also now invited to audition with Air Force Tops in Blue -- the Air Force's premier entertainment showcase. Peters earned $600 for her second place finish and Conrad received $400 for third place.
To see the entire Icon show from Oct. 20, see the video at: http://www.dvidshub.net/video/128185/air-mobility-command-icon-show.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2011 12:01 |
| Story ID: | 78984 |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Dover senior airman earns 2011 AMC Icon title, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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