This year’s winner of Senior Idol is achieving her childhood dream.
“I was born wanting to sing,” Sandy Hendrick, 2016 Senior Idol winner said. “Every since I was in diapers I tried to sing.”
She gathered her musical tools early.
“When I was three or four years old I had a toy piano,” Hendrick said laughing, ‘There I was, banging away on it and singing something no-one could understand. But I was doing it!”
Opportunities began coming Hendrick’s way.
“When I was five years old I was in my first play,” she said. “By the time I was 10 years old I was singing in my church choir.”
Along with Hendrick, many other Idol hopefuls were following their dreams. Hendrick said she wouldn’t have wanted to be a judge for the competition because every single contestant was good.
The competition began with earlier auditions; those that made it through the audition competition would then compete for the title of Senior Idol.
The auditions and competitions were challenging but fun. “I had my song picked out,” Hendrick explained. “The judges said someone else was singing it but that I could, too. I didn’t want to sing a song someone else was doing, so I picked another song. Somebody else was doing that one, too. I then chose ‘I Will Always Love You’ the Whitney Houston version and that’s what I went with.”
The Senior Idol Competition, featured twelve talented seniors, 50 years of age and older, who competed for cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100.
The event was held at Victory Tabernacle Church located at 11700 Genito Rd., on Friday. Brandi Pope, Mrs. Virginia America 2012 and the executive director and producer of the Mrs. Virginia America Pageant was the emcee for the show. The competition, is sponsored in part by The Shepherd’s Center of Chesterfield, Victory Tabernacle Church and Lucy Corr Village. Proceeds will help benefit the senior services provided by The Shepherd’s Center of Chesterfield.
According to the Shepherd Center, since its inception in 2001, the Shepherd’s Center has been enriching the lives of adults 50 and over by offering volunteer opportunities for community service and lifelong learning and helping them remain healthy, active and independent in their own homes for as long as possible. This past year the Shepherd’s Center’s volunteers have provided the following services to our community: 579 free, accompanied rides to medical appointments and grocery shopping for senior adults, made over 41 minor home repairs to help those on fixed incomes and living in their own homes, offered 91 educational classes resulting in 411 low-cost class registrations and provided 1,800 lunches to those attending their Luncheon Forum.
The final contestants competing were:
- Peter Burke of Chesterfield
- Barbara Campbell of Petersburg
- Dennis Coleman of Chester
- Cheryl Cross of Richmond and
- Karen Davis of Mechanicsville (Duet)
- Kitty Fowler of Hopewell
- Steve Harris of Chester
- Sandy Hendrick of North Chesterfield
- Earl Hill of N. Chesterfield
- Penny Elizabeth Humphries of Colonial Heights
- Charles Lindsey of North Chesterfield
- Trina Shaw of Chester
- Alfonso Ten of Midlothian
- Patricia Tomlin of McKenney
The final results were: Sandy Hendrick–Senior Idol and People Choice Winner, Steve Harris – First Runner-Up, Kitty Fowler – Second Runner-Up and Most Ticket Sales.
What did it feel like to win title of Senior Idol 2016?
‘I was shocked, just absolutely shocked,” Hendrick said.
