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Queen LXXXIII:
Rachel McDonnell
Queen Shenandoah LXXXIII Designate is Rachel Lynn McDonnell, the very attractive and articulate daughter of popular Virginia Governer, Bob McDonnell. Rachel is the middle child of Robert Francis and Maureen Patricia Gardner McDonnell’s five children. She has two older sisters: Jeanine, who served as a U. S. Army Officer in Iraq; and Cailin, who is coordinating youth outreach for the Republican Party of Virginia’s election efforts this year. She also has two younger brothers: twins, Bobby and Sean, who are in high school in the Richmond area. Rachel is a student at James Madison University where she is majoring in marketing. She will graduate the weekend after the Festival this spring; and, obviously, Festival Officials are very grateful for the cooperation of Rachel, her family and her school in getting her schedule worked out to allow for her many public appearances in Winchester during the Bloom.
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Val Kilmer, the man who played “Iceman” Kazanski in “Top Gun”, Bruce “Batman” Wayne in “Batman Forever”, Jim Morrison in “The Doors”, Simon Templar in “The Saint”, and Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,”. Val is a working actor. In 2010, he has one movie filming, five in post-production and a seventh project to be announced. It is, in all honesty, exceedingly rare for the Festival to be able to find a star of this magnitude who is so accessible; a star who enjoys getting out into the real world to see what is going on outside of Hollywood. In addition to the films listed above, Val Kilmer’s list of well-known projects, famous co-stars and famous directors is staggering.
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Firefighters' Marshal:
Randolph Mantooth
Over the course of a professional acting career that has spanned more than thirty years, Randolph Mantooth has built an extensive resume of achievements in television, film, and theater. He is proud of his performances; and, of all the characters he has played; but, an entire generation of Americans who grew up in the 1970s will remember him first and foremost for his seven-year role as Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedic John Gage on the smash-hit series, “Emergency!” The original paramedic program, the show and all those involved have been widely recognized for making an indelible contribution to the rapid nationwide establishment of modern emergency medical systems during that decade.
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John Riggins was born in Seneca Kansas. The spot light found him early on the farm in Centralia when he was the two-time high school winner of the state title for the 100 yard dash. At 6’2 and 230 lbs he possessed a dazzling combination of size and speed. He surpassed Gale Sayer’s career rushing record at Kansas University and in 1971 he was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the NFL draft, sixth pick overall. During his five year career with the Jets he was the first back in franchise history to rush for over a 1000 yards in a single season. In 1972 he was voted the Jets MVP and went to the Pro Bowl in 1976. Riggins moved on to the Washington Redskins in 1976 where he finished his pro career in 1985.
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Aiden John Turner was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, which is about 25 miles north of London. While attending St. Edmund’s College, Aiden entered culinary school to pursue his love of cooking. While working as a chef for 2 years in Hertford, Aiden taught himself to mix music and also began working at night as a DJ. During this time, Aiden followed his dreams and booked a trip around the world, visiting and staying in such exotic locales as Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and North America. Upon his return to London, Aiden was approached by a modeling agency and his international assignments took him on further travels to Milan, Barcelona and Paris.
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Roger Brown was born in Surry County, Virginia; and, grew up, as did so many famous Virginia athletes, in Newport News. He attended Maryland State [now Univerity of Maryland, Eastern Shore] where he earned NAIA All-American honors. His senior year, he was chosen to participate in the College All-Star Game. This was an annual game that pitted the best college players in the country against the National Football League Champions. Brown had the honor of playing against Johnny Unitas and the World Champion Baltimore Colts. During the subsequent NFL Draft, he was selected by the Detroit Lions. In Brown’s rookie year in the NFL, he was selected as “All Pro” while finishing second in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
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Brian Mitchell was originally drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round [130th overall pick] of the 1990 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southwestern Louisiana where he was a quarterback. As a rookie, during a Monday Night Football game that came to be known as “The Body Bag Game,” Mitchell had to be subbed in as quarterback after the Philadelphia Eagles knocked the Redskins’ starting and backup quarterbacks out of the game. Mitchell went 3-for-5 for 40 yards passing. During his second season with the Redskins, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards [600] and punt return touchdowns [2], helping his team to an appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24.
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2006-07 Season: Earned ACC All-Freshman Honorable Mention; led the team with 157 assists, the third highest single-season total for a freshman at UMD; ranked sixth in the ACC in assists per game
2007-08 Season: Named to the All-ACC Second Team; led league in assists; named ESPN.com Player of the Week on 2/11; tied the school record with 15 assists against NCState on 2/9
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Sports Guest:
Mary Wayte Bradburne
In the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Mary won gold medals in both the 200-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle relay. In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, she won a silver medal in the 400-meter medley relay and a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay.
Mary was born and raised on Mercer Island, Washington. After high school, she attended the University of Florida where she was a 26-time All American, and a Southeastern Conference and NCAA Champion. As a U. S. National Team member for seven years, her international career sparkled as a medalist on teams competing in Japan, France, Holland, Venezuela, Monte Carlo, Spain and South Korea.
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Lang Campbell is a native of Winchester, VA and a 2000 graduate of John Handley High School. During his time at Handley, Lang became the first Handley athlete to be named First Team All-State in three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. Lang's accomplishments continued in college. His senior year at William and Mary is legendary. In 2004, Campbell passed for 3,037 yards and 21 touchdowns with just one interception while rushing for 201 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season. Those numbers, along with the school's first 11-win season, helped Campbell win the 2004 Walter Payton Award. Campbell finished his career at William and Mary with 6,494 passing yards and 54 touchdowns and was named the 2004 Atlantic-10 Player of the Year. In 2005, Campbell's dream of making it to the NFL came true when he was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an un-drafted free-agent.
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Sports Breakfast Emcee:
Ken Mease
Ken Mease’s smooth, wry delivery, expertly steering the Festival Sports Breakfast through its crowded agenda, is a tradition that has become both an expectation and a comfort for Festival goers. In January 1986, Ken joined WUSA-TV in Washington, DC as a sportscaster. His remarkable 17-year run at WUSA-TV is the crowning achievement of his career. Ken is now working with the Worthington Manor Golf Club; and, has recently spent his spare time free-lancing nationally with the CBS/Westwood One Radio Networks. Locally, he has recently appeared with Charles Mann as co-host of the Washington Redskins Post-Game Show on WJFK and the Redskins Radio Network; and, in 2010, he is serving as the public address announcer and TV play-by-play voice of the Washington Freedom of the new Women’s Professional Soccer [WPS] team.
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Shawn Driscoll was born in Auburn, New York; and, was raised in Winchester, Virginia. He is a graduate of John Handley High School where he was very focused in the arts. Shawn graduated from Handley in 1985 and attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Here, Shawn’s passion for the arts flourished and he was accepted in the Communication Arts Program at VCU, where he studied graphic design and filmmaking. At this time, he had his first close contact with Hollywood when he was picked to double for actor John Cusack in a film called “True Colors.” After graduating from VCU he traveled down to Orlando, Florida, where he had the opportunity to work on the HBO series “From the Earth to the Moon” produced by Tom Hanks.
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Miss Virginia:
Chinah Helmandollar
Chinah Helmandollar is a 23-year old graduate of James Madison University where she earned a degree in Theatre. She was the recipient of the Stratford Players Scholarship for theatre and the David Wilson Scholarship for excellence in theatre. She was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and she was named to the Dean’s List. A native of Smith Mountain Lake, she has earned several thousand dollars in scholarships through her participation in the Miss America Organization. Upon completion of her year of service, Chinah will pursue a career in acting as well as post graduate studies in stage and screen. Chinah believes strongly in her message, “Serving Virginians with Disabilities.”
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Miss Apple Blossom Festival:
Shannon Beam
Shannon Beam is the winner of the 2010 Miss Apple Blossom Festival pageant. Shannon is 23, born February 27, 1986. Her parents are Mark & Joan Beam. She is a Shenandoah University Graduate, majored in Music Education, Choral, and minored in Piano & Vocal Performance. Her platform is "Preventing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility".
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Fast Forward Lunch Speaker:
Mark Moseley
Mark DeWayne Moseley was born in Laneville, Texas, on March 12th, 1948. After graduating from high school in Livingston, Texas, he attended Stephen F. Austin University and Texas A&M. He entered the Professional Draft in 1970; and, was picked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 14th Round. After only one season in Philadelphia, he moved back to Texas for a short, two-season stay with the Houston Oilers in 1971 and 1972.
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Prayer Brunch Speaker:
Kelly Wright
Kelly Wright, previously a co-anchor of Fox News Channel’s “FOX and Friends Weekend” for three years, has provided special coverage for many of our nation’s pivotal moments: Iraq, Katrina, the Virginia Tech massacres and President Bush’s final term. While his current high-profile job as an Anchor on Fox’s “America’s News Headquarters” can be constraining, Kelly Wright has maintained enough freedom to still do work as a general assignment correspondent for FOX News Channel.
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Ladies Horticultural Luncheon Speaker:
Wendy Pepper
Born in Dayton, Ohio, Wendy Pepper returned with her family to the Washington, D.C. area at an early age. Growing up in the nation’s capital afforded Wendy the opportunity to absorb the myriad cultural influences that Washington, D.C. alone can provide. For years her family made weekend visits out of the city to Oatlands, the family’s historic horse-country property near Middleburg; and, it was here that Wendy first began to learn about her family; and, the things that a woman of determination and vision could accomplish.
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Country Music Performer:
James Otto
Country music sensation James Otto is back with his new single “Since You Brought It Up,” from his forthcoming new album due from Warner Bros. Records Nashville this fall. The track was co-written by Otto with Rivers Rutherford and Dave Berg, and co-produced by Otto and Grammy Award-winning record producer and session guitarist Paul Worley (Big & Rich, Dixie Chicks). “It is just a pleasure to get to work with Paul Worley because he has been such a major part of my career,” Otto says. “He signed me to Warner Bros. Records and now we get to work together as a producer team, which is awesome.”
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Country Music Performer:
Bomshel
Few young women are equally at ease penning a poignant hit about a friend battling cancer or simply knocking back tequila with Kix Brooks, but then again you can always count on Bomshel to embrace the extremes and---like their name implies---deliver the unexpected.
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