Mr. South Whidbey is crowned once again

Another handsome bloke made his kingly walk down the royal runway with crown, scepter and big heart intact. Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund crowned the second Mr. South Whidbey recently, much to the delight of a sold-out crowd at Freeland Hall.

Another handsome bloke made his kingly walk down the royal runway with crown, scepter and big heart intact.

Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund crowned the second Mr. South Whidbey recently, much to the delight of a sold-out crowd at Freeland Hall.

The greatly coveted honor went to Langley resident Bob Frause, who beat out six other hopeful gentlemen who competed in the tongue-in-cheek event.

The gents competed for the title in three categories including best costume, mastery of South Whidbey trivia and talent.

The good-sport candidates included Frause, runner-up George Henny, Dave Anderson, Jim Harwell, Rick Ingrasci and Jim Scullin. The group together raised more than $30,000 for the Friends of Friends fund.

But Frause walked away with the title having raised the most money — the only real criteria for winning.

The highly-entertaining pageant was a rollicking and financial success, organizers said, with the talent portion of the evening transporting the audience to places they had yet to visit.

Harwell revealed the life of a retail clerk in a drier than dry homage to Garrison Keillor. Frause showed good Mr. South Whidbey form as he created his own version of “Dancing with the Stars.” Scullin took the audience on a trip to the horse races with his version of “Your Life’s Stakes” in which certain conditions of life go neck-and-neck to the breathless end. Ingrasci wooed the crowd with a particularly flamboyant serenade with his accordion. Anderson regaled the audience with momentous moments from the life of a commercial fisherman who golfs. And Henny had them laughing with a stand-up comedy routine that featured appropriate “tech-no” humor from the tech savvy executive.

“It was all good fun,” Scullin said. “The audience was so relaxed and low-key it was like singin’ to the choir; a really great night of fun.”

Indeed, the audience was so enamored of the antics of the contestants they reached deep into their pockets and generously increased the Friends of Friends’ bank account beyond expectations, allowing the organization to raise individual limits so they can help neighbors even more than before.

Emcees Lynn Willeford and Randy Hudson, Mr. South Whidbey 2006, are just two among the many volunteers the Friends of Friends Board of Directors would like to thank for contributing to the success of the event.

Friends of Friends Medical Support fund is a community-supported fund offering financial help to people on South Whidbey with medically related bills they cannot afford to pay.

If you wish to make a donation or to find out more about the organization, call 221-4535.

Patricia Duff can be reached at 221-5300 or pduff@southwhidbeyrecord.com.