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Dover Airman named 'AMC Icon'

  • Published
  • By Roger Drinnon
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Tech. Sgt. Letisia Eddy of Dover AFB, Del., was the winner of Air Mobility Command's Icon competition following the command performance here Oct. 22.

Staff Sgt. LaTanza Meabon-Whiteside of Little Rock AFB, Ark., garnered second place, and Senior Master Sgt. Craig Hall of MacDill AFB, Fla., took third.

The event showcased the vocal talents of active-duty Air Force vocalists who competed from all 12 AMC bases, plus one competitor from an AMC affiliate unit. All the finalists were named the best amateur vocalists at their respective base-level competitions, held earlier this year.

"It wasn't like a competition -- I felt like we really performed a show for everyone who attended," said Sergeant Eddy. "It was unlike any other competition - all the competitors were phenomenal."

The other 2009 AMC Icon finalists were:

- Staff Sgt. Shawn Summers, Charleston AFB, S.C.
- Capt. Manuela Peters, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
- Airman 1st Class Marshall Merriweather, Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
- Airman 1st Class Rachel Kleist, McChord AFB, Wash.
- Staff Sgt. Doug Boren, McConnell AFB, Kan.
- Master Sgt. Lisa White, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.
- Airman 1st Class Charlie Parker, Pope AFB, N.C.
- Staff Sgt. Rick Bislich, Scott AFB
- Staff Sgt. Janina Morrison, Travis AFB, Calif.
- Senior Airman Anthony Kingston, Andrews AFB (AMC affiliate unit), Md.

Sergeant Eddy said she encourages other AMC Airmen who can sing to showcase their talents by participating in future AMC Icon competitions. As first-place winner, she is now invited to audition with Air Force Tops in Blue -- the Air Force's premier entertainment showcase. One of last year's Icon contestants, Senior Airman Jeffery Collins, also from Dover AFB, is currently touring with Tops In Blue.

As Icon winner, Sergeant Eddy also earned $1,000. For second and third place, Sergeant Meabon-Whiteside and Sergeant Hall earned $600 and $400, respectively.

All the contestants agreed AMC Icon is a morale-boosting event inspiring them to continue singing.

"The competitors and all the people involved with Icon made this a most rewarding experience for me," said Sergeant Meabon-Whiteside, who also toured with Air Force Tops In Blue in 2002. "If you have a desire to sing, don't be afraid, and have fun with it."

This year's finalists sang along with AMC's Starlifter band from the Air Force Band of Mid America. Starlifter performed renditions of a wide variety of music styles for the contestants, including rhythm-and-blues, country, classic rock, jazz and pop.

"Singing with (Starlifter's) musicians for the first time was good stuff - fantastic," said Sergeant Hall.

Tech. Sgt. Walter Campbell -- who also has toured with Tops in Blue and performed throughout the United States and around the world -- returned for the second year as master of ceremonies. A special panel of judges included two St. Louis radio personalities, "Smash" from FM 103.3, and "Cornbread" from FM 92.3. The third member of the judges' panel was Stella Markou, director of vocal studies at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Ms. Markou is also a local recording artist and theatrical performer.

After the event, AMC Commander Gen. Arthur J. Lichte thanked all the competitors both for sharing their vocal talents and for their daily contributions to AMC's global mission.

"Thank you for what you did here tonight, and thank you even more for what you do each and every day to keep our mission moving," he said. "Every 90 seconds, we have a big Air Mobility Command airplane rolling down the runway somewhere in the world, and not only do (these Airmen) sing to get it going, they work to get it going."