The Morning Pointe Foundation’s 4th Annual Seniors Got Talent show has surpassed 400 tickets sold, with about a week left until the event. Not only is the show on track to surpass previous ticket sales, but it also boasts a wide variety among the 12 acts, a result of a record number of auditions!
Morning Pointe Seniors Got Talent will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville. It is produced by the Morning Pointe Foundation in partnership with Morning Pointe Senior Living and presenting sponsor ETPS – a Guardian Pharmacy. Tickets are $12 plus taxes and fees at the Bijou Theatre website or morningpointefoundation.com.
The show will open with last year’s winner, Corkey Miller, sharing her unique brand of stand-up comedy. Miller appeared this year in the auditions for “America’s Got Talent,” discovered as a result of last year’s Seniors Got Talent show.
Performers are ages 61-82 and include:
- Southern Grace (70-73) – musical group performing “Your Mama Don’t Dance”
- The Tennessee Jewels (68-79) – dance group performing to a “Senior Chicks Medley”
- Lillie Madison (82) – singer performing “You Don’t Know Me”
- Ernesto Reyes (78) – singer and pianist performing “Come Fly with Me”
- Christy Judkins and Michael Mills (66 and 63) – dancers performing to “Treat Her Like a Lady”
- Will Kruger (73) – singer/songwriter/guitarist performing an original song, “Life in Tennessee”
- Anne Allen (71) – pianist playing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”
- Smith and Cole (70 and 71) – musical duo performing “Don’t Pet the Dog”
- Cindy and John West (67 and 63) – singer/guitar duo performing “Crazy”
- John Stephens (71) – singer performing “Unchained Melody”
- Kim Clemmer (61) – tap dancer performing to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing”
- Pistol Creek Catch of the Day (65-70) – band performing “Hot Rod Lincoln”
Acts are competing for the $1,000 grand prize, $500 second-place prize and $250 third-place prize. Show attendees will also be able to vote for the ETPS People’s Choice Award winner for $1 per vote, with funds going to the Morning Pointe Foundation.
The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living founded in 2014 by Tennessee-based senior healthcare entrepreneurs Greg A. Vital and Franklin Farrow. Seniors Got Talent proceeds specifically go toward clinical scholarships for students at local partner colleges. These include the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) in Jacksboro, Pellissippi State Community College, Roane State Community College and Walters State Community College.
Founded in 1997 by Vital and Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates 40 assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five southeastern states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Indiana. East Tennessee communities include campuses in Knoxville, Hardin Valley, Clinton, Powell, and Lenoir City.
Ted Hall, evening anchor and managing editor for WVLT-TV Channel 8, will be the emcee for the show for the third year. Judges are Nathan McGhee, general manager of the Bijou Theatre; Cecilia Wright, board-certified music therapist, educator and musician; Erin Donovan, actor and voice-over artist; and Drey Herron, professional performer, teacher, choreographer and director.
ETPS – a Guardian Pharmacy is returning as the presenting sponsor this year. Other sponsors include Propel Insurance, First Horizon Bank, Yardi, HealthPRO Heritage, MedForce Staffing Professionals, Life Care Center of Blount County, Clinch River Home Healthcare, Alzheimer’s Tennessee, LifeLoop, APHIX Lawn Service, Amada Senior Care, Chick-fil-A at Turkey Creek, Shalom Hospice, White Chapel, Hope Springs Adult Day Care Center, Care Around the Block, Caring Senior Move, Iron Rock Life & Safety, HouseCall Primary Care, Volunteer Hearing, Gentiva Hospice, Mobile Imaging, Supreme Restaurant Equipment and Gouffon Moving and Storage Co.
The Morning Pointe Foundation hosts four Seniors Got Talent shows each year. Besides Knoxville, shows are held in Chattanooga and Franklin, Tennessee, as well as Lexington, Kentucky.
Morning Pointe Senior Living plans to open a new memory care community in Knoxville in early 2025: The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence, Hardin Valley. The community will add early memory care to the services on the campus.
