Fulton County Ohio Media

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In an incredibly close contest, Gracelyn Peebles was named the winner of Swanton Middle School’s 6^th Annual Amazing Shake competition, barely edging out the other two finalists, Raegan Rominski and Lukas Mendenhall, for the top spot.  As part of the Swanton Seven Initiative Program at Swanton Middle School (SMS), the Amazing Shake is a four-round competition for seventh graders who have been focusing on building soft skills, placing strong emphasis on manners, discipline, respect, and professional behavior.  The first round includes the entire seventh-grade class with the top 20 students moving on to the second round, 10 students move to the third round and the top three enter the final round competition, which is held in front of the entire SMS student body.

Six judges, business professionals and community leaders, were tasked with evaluating the performance of the students.  They were Brandon Johnson (Owner of Team Johnson Limo and Charter Bus Services), Jason Kos (Executive Manager at McNeill Chevrolet), Matt Gilroy (Executive Director Fulton County Economic Development Corporation), Shannon Shulters (Village of Swanton Administrator), Holden Benfield (Village of Swanton Fiscal Officer) and Jessica Double (Worthington Steel Senior Human Resource Officer).

In this final round, the students were interviewed using a talk show format by Chase Bachman, a sports anchor for Toledo’s WTOL Channel 11.  Mr. Bachman did a great job asking each finalist a list of questions then asking follow-up questions based on their responses.  All three finalists were incredibly impressive during their time on stage.  They were professional, poised, articulate, personable and were able to think on their feet in an obvious high-pressure situation.  The performances of Gracelyn, Lukas and Raegan were all so good, the judges had a very difficult time choosing a winner.

By winning this highly intense and competitive competition, Gracelyn will now represent SMS at the National Amazing Shake Competition which will take place in March of 2025 at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.  The Ron Clark Academy is a highly-acclaimed, non-profit middle school that has received both national and international recognition for its success in creating a loving, dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence and leadership. 

However, because the final scores were so close, the judges recommended that all three competitors should be given the opportunity to enjoy the same experience as Gracelyn.  Several very generous sponsors have come together to help finance the trip to Atlanta.  Come next March, the Swanton Middle School and the Swanton Local School District will have three amazing representatives competing in Atlanta with students from around the nation.

Click on the link above to access photos from the competition. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Lukas Mendenhall, Gracelyn Peebles, Raegan Rominski and Chase Bachman