Mr. All Around

The strutting of a Chippendale stripper met the humor of a Saturday Night Live skit as 18 talented male members of the Greek system competed for the Mr. Greek title last night. The Alpha Gamma Delta sorority hosted the 21st annual Mr. Greek competition in the HUB Ballroom, recognizing representatives who raised money for charity.

Ryan Caruso of Chi Psi was named Mr. Greek 2004. The grand prize included a $500 scholarship, a Bally's Five seven-day guest membership, $50 Starbucks gift certificate and the Mr. Greek crown. By raising more than $3,835, Caruso was also named top fundraiser, winning a $50 scholarship, two movie passes and a UW sweatshirt.

All representatives started fund-raising in December, writing letters to alumni and local businesses asking for money. The more money raised, the more points representatives received. Last year's winner, Graham Sneed of Chi Psi, raised more than $3,200 by hosting spaghetti feeds at his house and through donations.

The 2004 first- and second-runner-up prizes were awarded to Erin Rodenbiker of Delta Upsilon and Adel Sefraiai of Phi Kappa Sigma. Their awards included scholarship money, a free round of golf for four and gift certificates to Bartell Drug Store, the Soap Box and the University Book Store.

Contestants were awarded points in four areas: fundraising, impromptu questioning, modeling, and talent. Scoring was determined by 60 percent of the points awarded for top fund-raising, 20 percent for top talent, 10 percent for modeling and 10 percent for the interview.

Participants were also judged on their answers in an impromptu interview session. Questions such as, "If you were to have bells ring out loud automatically every time you did a certain thing, what would that thing be?" required contestants to think fast and come up with original answers that captured the judges' attention.

The modeling portion required the Greek men to practice their best model walks as they strutted their stuff across the ballroom stage. Representatives were supplied with tuxedoes and escorts. Six women from Alpha Gamma Delta accompanied the participants to make sure they knew where to go, when to turn and how to show off their best side to the judges.

Freshman Jaime Garrand, one of the escorts, said she was excited about being involved.

"I love my house and I love the organizations we support. I just wanted to be a part of this as much as possible," she said.

"I was really excited to be a part of Mr. Greek," said Eric Tung, the representative from Pi Kappa Alpha. "It gave us a good chance to show off what the Greek system is all about while having fun and helping our community at the same time."

Talents ranged from the crazy to the cultured as representatives tried to stand out as worthy of the Mr. Greek title. Rodenbiker decided the best way to get noticed was by reciting the alphabet backward -- while blindfolded and twirling a hula-hoop.

"I wanted to be creative," Rodenbiker said. "I don't play piano or guitar, but I can be funny and I literally know the ABCs backward and forward. Then I thought of hula-hoops, but I needed some extra random variable. That's where the blindfold comes in. It's all about being creative and trying to get recognition."

Some contestants went to extreme measures to get an edge on their competition. Colin Trovato of Theta Xi opted for a more refined approach with his violin concerto, but tried to downplay his accomplishments.

"I've never really played before so I thought I'd try for something spontaneous," he said before the event. "I've been working really hard and we'll just have to see what happens."

Trovato actually has played the violin for 12 years, most recently with the UW orchestra.

It was Takuya Davis of Delta Tau Delta who won the top talent award with a song and karate dance routine. He won a $50 scholarship, two luxury spa certificates and five tanning sessions from Tubs.

Jackie Nakata, philanthropy coordinator of Alpha Gamma Delta and event organizer, started working on Mr. Greek over the summer.

"By the month of February, I live Mr. Greek," Nakata said. "The week leading up to the event is crazy."

All proceeds from the event went to Alpha Gamma Delta's two philanthropy projects, Treehouse Foundation and the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation. Treehouse, an organization based in King County, offers services to foster children by providing care packages, after-school activities and summer-camp opportunities. The Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation sponsors juvenile diabetes research.

Last year, Mr. Greek raised approximately $18,000 and sold 500 tickets, both through the houses and at the event itself. This year, more than $18,200 had been made even before the final count was made at the door.

"Our goal was to match last year's total. This year, not only did the guys step it up to raise more money, but we had sold over 500 pre-ordered tickets," said Nakata. $2,000 of that money has been pledged to Treehouse and the rest goes to juvenile diabetes, she said.