20 Finalists Chosen

The Hickory Rotary Club has announced the 20 finalist for Rotarian Idol scheduled for 7:00 pm, March 17, 2012 at P.E. Monroe auditorium on the campus of Lenoir Rhyne University. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at Allen Finely Advertising (downtown), Hickory Community Theater (downtown), Hickory Tree Consignment (Old Lenoir Highway), Lenoir Rhyne University P.E. Monroe auditorium and Office Furniture USA (Hwy 127N in Viewmont).  

Competing for the top prize of $2500 will be: Mike Brooks, Leslie Cline, Jimmy Cooper, Molly Cummings, Tiffany Gray, Amanda Harren, Leona Hunter, Phuong McKinney, Thomas Michaels, Jordan Alexander Randall, Julia Rush, Christa Shuford, Savannah Spencer, Greg Suddreth, Alex Swanson, Destre Tashjian, James Matthew Taylor, Victoria Whetzel, Cristy White and Lauren Winkler. The runner up will receive $1500 and the “crowd favorite” will receive $500. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit local education initiatives

Prospective contestants may download information and an application by using the links below.

Rotarian Idol Audition Information 2012.pdf (8.10 kb)

Rotarian Idol Audition Application 2012.pdf (27.16 kb)

Rotarian Idol Radio Ad.mp3   

^{Tickets Are $20 And Go On Sale Soon At These Locations}

Anyone purchasing tickets at Office Furniture USA is eligible to enter a drawing for a free office chair. If you purchase your ticket at any other location, bring it by Office Furniture USA to enter the raffle.

Hickory, NC - January 4, 2012 - Hickory Rotary club has announced dates for its musical fundraiser, “ROTARIAN IDOL”. The event will be held Saturday, March 17, at 7 pm in PE Monroe Auditorium on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. Auditions will be held at The SALT Block Auditorium January 26, 6-9 pm and January 29, 2-5 pm. There is no limit to age or place of residence, but professional singers will not be allowed to audition. A $5 fee is required.100% of the money raised will be used to benefit education throughout Catawba County. The Title Sponsor will be Lenoir-Rhyne University and the successful fundraiser will be chaired by Rotarian John Rambo; Ticket Sales will be chaired by Past-Presidents Allen Finley and Guy Guarino; Advertising Sales chair will be Past-President Steve Mull.“ Education is very important to our club, and has been for decades”, “ROTARIAN IDOL” committee member Lamar Mitchell said. Rambo expects this year’s event to raise between $50,000 and $60,000. In past years the Hickory Rotary Club has raised nearly $1 Million through live TV and silent auctions. To reach this goal, the Rotary Club will sell 1,450 tickets at $20 each. Advertising for the Show Program will be sold in $500, $250 and $125 increments. A total of 20 contestants will be chosen to compete for the $2,500 First Place prize; and $1,000 Second Place prize, A new addition to this year’s event will be an “Audience Favorite” vote for a $500 prize. In addition ticketholders in attendance will be eligible to win several door prizes .  The contestants will be judged by a panel of three music industry professionals.“ROTARIAN IDOL” replaces the popular “Education Alive” television auction, which the Hickory Rotary Club used to raise funds for education for 5 years. Students continue to utilize monies raised from the successful event. “It’s exciting to know that we’ve already made a $100,000 impact on education for everyone in the county”, Finley said.  

Rotarian Idol 2011 Results

Hickory Rotary Club's
Second Annual Rotarian Idol
was held Saturday March 19, 2011.

Our twenty finalists were:

Rachael Allman
McKenzie Anderson
Emily Auton - Third Place
Christian Broyhill
Jimmy Cooper
Janie Dale
Augusta DeKemper
Brooke Deleary - Second Place
Leah Greene
Emily A. Johnson
Makenzie Marie
Phuong McKinney
Doris McManus
Meredith Mull
Alex Rogers - First Place
Dennis Stamper
Destre Tashjian
Shannon Underwood
Cristy White
Josh Wilcox

Rotarian Idol 2010 Results

Hickory Rotary Club's 
First Annual Rotarian Idol
was held Saturday March 13, 2010.

1st Place winner - Carol Ann Hartman

2nd Place winner - Stephanie Morgan

3rd Place winner - Tresa Neal

Honorable Mention - Mark Bodnar

Thank you to our Major Sponsors:

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Catawba Valley Medical Center

BrainWorks Learning Center

Frye Regional Medical Center

Alex Lee, Inc.

Charter Communications

Special Thanks to the people of Catawba County for coming out to Rotarian Idol !

Hickory Rotary Club hosts Rotarian Idol to raise funds for Catawba County education through the competition. Hickory Rotary Club is the oldest service club in the Hickory area, chartered in 1921. Globally, our club participates in the initiatives of Rotary International, whose projects include Polio Plus, the world-wide effort to eradicate polio. Locally, our club focuses on education. Service Above Self scholarships are awarded to Hickory High School seniors each year. Hickory Rotary Club honors a Teacher of the Year from each of the Hickory City Schools with an award and an honorarium. Our members are active in the tutoring program at Southwest Elementary School in Hickory. The club also has made grants to schools within the Hickory Public Schools system.