For the 11th year in a row, the Lambda Delta Sigma sorority will present the Mr. Concordia pageant on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Centrum.
Every year, several student organizations are represented by one of its members in an all-male pageant competing for the title of Mr. Concordia. The eight contestants wear sashes the week prior to the competition, selling tickets for the event throughout the day whenever and wherever they are. A contestant receives a tally mark for every ticket he sells in order to determine who is in the lead for raising money among the candidates. A table is located in the Atrium as another opportunity to purchase tickets.
The pageant consists of a talent showcase, a Cobber Spirit act, and an impromptu interview with the judges. The four judges scoring this year will be Bruce Vieweg, associate vice president and chief information officer; Jason Askvig, assistant professor of biology; Shelby Singer, President of Lambda Delta Sigma; and last year’s Mr. Concordia, Josh Palmquist.
The event will continue its tradition of donating all proceeds to the YWCA of Fargo, a nonprofit that aims to give safety and support to women and children escaping violence and poverty. The sorority works with Shannon Rud, the volunteer and donations coordinator for the YWCA of Fargo.
“We really focus on empowering women and eliminating racism and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and humanity for all,” Rud said.
The YWCA came to the Fargo-Moorhead area in 1906 as a dormitory for rural women to stay in, as well as an English-as-a-second-language teaching facility. It transitioned to an emergency shelter, a temporary safe house facility similar to a homeless shelter in the 1970s, and is currently the largest emergency shelter in North Dakota and Northern Minnesota.
“We’ve been supporting our community for over 100 years, but in a wide variety of ways,” Rud said. “Today we have 25 women and 41 children.”
Emily Anderson is a second year co-philanthropy chair of Lambda Delta Sigma and coordinator of the pageant.
“As long as I have been in the sorority we have supported the YWCA. Every year we try and go to the shelter and we have a philanthropy event there,” Anderson said.
There has never been a real post-competition role for the crowned Mr. Concordia, but this year the sorority will invite both the new Mr. Concordia and the previous one to their February philanthropy event at the YWCA.
“Our money last year went to help with repairs. So I feel like it’s an organization that’s always in need of extra funds, because the work they do in the community is really important, to the women and children escaping difficult situations,” Anderson said.
The Mr. Concordia pageant is more than just a fun event for the college, and Rud agrees with the importance of the YWCA’s collaboration with Lambda Delta Sigma.
“Domestic abuse doesn’t know any economic background, race, social standing, so we’ve seen people on all spectrum of the board, and so that’s why it’s just so important that we have great partnerships,” Rud said.
The Competitors:
Mark Fitterer, Campus Entertainment Commission
Tyler Eliason, Theatre Program
Andrew Ellington, Education Club
Hans Frank Holzner, French Club
Ryan Walla, Cobber Nation
Andrew Swartchick, American Choral Directors Association
Connor Poland, Feminism Club
Joshua Fuller, Young Americans for Freedom
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