Naomi Vilfort of Boston has spent this week living in a dorm on the campus of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. She's the coach/chaperone for dance group Divine Worship, a troupe of females ages 17-19 whose members are drawn from across southern New England.
Divine Worship spent the week in Tennessee competing in the Church of God denomination's biennial Teen Talent. These girls have been dancing together since they were 11, says Vilfort, but this is just the second time they have made the cut to compete at the national level.
Win or lose, however, Vilfort says she'll go home a winner.
"I have the satisfaction of seeing the girls grow. They aren't the same that they were two years ago. This group has grown spiritually and in technique, and to see them use those gifts to glorify God is an awesome reward for me," says the coach.
Vilfort and Divine Worship are among 5,000 individuals who competed in 43 categories at Teen Talent, held the last five days on the campus of Lee University. First- and second-place winners from regional or state Church of God talent contests around the world automatically won entry into the national event. This is the fourth time the event has been held at Lee.
Although it is a competition, the primary purpose of Teen Talent is to help youth ages 13 to 19 discover their talents and develop them to glorify God.
Teens competed in art, Bible, creative writing, drama, multimedia, vocal and instrumental music. Winners were announced at an awards festival Friday night. Lee awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to winners in addition to passing out trophies.
"This season's response has been overwhelming with a record number of entries from the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica and South Africa," says David Blair, Lee's international youth and discipleship director.
Cailyn Lennon and Catherine Fowler, both 17 and members of Elevation, a drama group from North Cleveland Church of God, made their first visit to Teen Talent after Elevation won the state competition.
"We are trying to spread the world of God and send a message to all ages so they connect to God, let them know how much he means to us," says Fowler.
"I enjoy getting to minister to people using drama and dance. It's not a form of ministry a lot of people use," says Lennon.
Of the thousands participating, Lee is housing 1,300 visitors in its dorms. Thousands more are locals who live close enough to commute, and the remainder book hotels. All hotels in Cleveland are booked with Teen Talent families and the overflow has spilled into surrounding counties.
Melissa Woody, vice president for tourism development for the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce estimates Teen Talent is making a $2.5 million financial impact in Bradley County.
"Not all stay in hotels; many are on campus and many are local. I've got to think at least 5,400 hotel rooms are sold - and we have approximately 1,700 hotel rooms in Cleveland, so their impact spills over into local communities," she explains.
While hosting the teens, Lee staff coordinated activities such as a block party, worship rally, Lee music showcase and Battle of the States, in which teams based on state, region or country competed in games.
And, of course, Lee's Admissions Office is reveling in having so many prospective students on campus.
"Lee University is thrilled to welcome students from all over the world to our campus for Teen Talent. Many students make the decision to enroll at Lee after being part of this competition, and we expect the same to happen again this year," says Phil Cook, Lee's vice president for enrollment.
"Our admissions counselors are on campus and available to answer questions from high school students, families and guests," he says.
Cook says Lee staff serves as adjudicators, provides technical support for all categories and staffs the block party, Teen Talent Rally and the Lee U Showcase, where they provide souvenir university T-shirts to all the students in addition to snacks from local companies M&M Mars and McKee Foods.
Students also worked as support staff, meeting competitors and answering their questions about campus life. Singers in Voices of Lee performed, worked the music competitions held in Pangle Hall and answered questions from singers interested in joining Lee's vocal groups.
"Most of the visitors already know about Voices before they arrive. We become familiar with them; it's like a talent screening for me," says Danny Murray, Voices of Lee director.
"I've heard a lot of great singers and found a lot of great talent in these weeks," says Murray. "Some of my best singers in Voices came through this program." In fact, the a cappella touring ensemble currently includes a former Teen Talent competitor, Naja Wilson of Toronto, Canada.
For Vilfort, chaperoning her girls to Teen Talent feels like having come full circle.
"The point of the competition is God gives you a talent, so you learn to glorify him. But when you come to competition, you make lifelong friendships.
"When I was younger, I was part of Teen Talent, and we went to competitions in Texas, Louisiana and Virginia. I made friendships that even today, when I came back as a chaperone, I recognized friends and their churches from those years."
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.