Everyone Was a Winner at "Long Island's Got Talent 2011"

Seven lucky finalists competed in the final round of "Long Island's Got Talent 2011" Friday night at the Ward Melville Heritage Organization Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook Village.  Up for grabs was a $1000 grand prize from the event sponsor, Competition Auto Group.  Five Towns College awarded generous scholarships to each contestant ranging from $6000 to $2000 each.

The judges were: James Beneduce, Professor and Deputy Chair and Director of Five Towns College, Joe Varecha, "Behind the Scenes Joe" from WALK 97.5 FM Radio, and Alan Inkles, Executive Director of Staller Center for the Performing Arts.

The contestants in order of appearance were: Johnny Kaiser, Corin Greene, Julia Pollina, Julia Losner, Matthew VerStraten, Amelia Profaci, and Anthony Funcheon.  This was their moment and they all did an outstanding job!  The hard part fell to the judges.

Congratulations to Corin Greene, of East Setauket, who came in first place!  She wrote and sang “Forgive Me” and “My Missing Puzzle Piece.”  William Riedel, from Competition Auto, presented Corin with a $1000 check and James Beneduce presented her with a $6000 scholarship to Five Towns College.

Julia Losner won a $5000 scholarship for second place.  Matthew VerStraten won a $4000 scholarship for third place.  The rest of the contestants all went home with scholarships to Five Towns College as well.

Congratulations on your fantastic performances!  You are all winners.