Reflection Of The King Honors Elvis, Raises Funds For St. Jude’s Hospital

WESTFIELD – The King is gone, but Elvis Presley’s memory and legacy are being carried forward to old and new fans all while helping a good cause.
Reflections of The King, now in its 14th year, is a family oriented competition for Elvis Tribute Artists, known as ETAs. The long-running competition raises money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, which was a favorite charity for Elvis.
The event is this Friday and Saturday at the Westfield Moose Lodge, 19 Clinton St. Doors open at 5 p.m. Friday and the competition starts at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday the doors open at 12:30 p.m. with competition from 1 to 4 p.m.. The doors reopen at 6 p.m.
The Saturday rundown includes the Grand champions Showcase at 6:30 p.m. Legends in concert starts at 8:30 p.mm., with tribute artists performing as Dean Martin, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Sir Elton John, Ronnie Milsap, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Frankie Avalon, Ricky Nelson and Garth Brooks, with the final awards ceremony to follow.
The defending champions from last year, which ended in a tie, are Ryan Roth and Kelly Hylton. There will be 16 competitors this year from around the United States, Canada and even Australia.
ETA Mark Shelton, of Northeast Kingdom, Vt., told WNYNewsNow that he enjoys participating in the event.
“Reflections is a great event where I made awesome friends in the ETA world,” Shelton said. “Everyone was supportive and all stay in contact regularly. The event itself is well-organized and very ‘family’ like. It is awesome.”
Co-Champion Ryan Roth, of Dayton, Oh., said the event honors Elvis.
“Reflections is an Elvis festival that truly pays tribute to Elvis and his fans,” Roth said. “Being an ETA has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people that I wouldn’t otherwise have met.”
Keith Lewis, from Burlington, Ma.,and residing in Foxborough, Ma., will compete in the Westfield event for his third time.
“I started doing Elvis as I was a fan, and Elvis had such a giving and fair-minded spirit, which I try to emulate, both on and off stage, which I feel is more important than the raw talent. I was once quoted after a Windsor, Ontario contest that we were a “fraternity of sideburns,” which popped into my head while thinking of the camaraderie among like-minded ETAs,” Lewis said. “I saw both the camaraderie and generous spirit at Reflections, both from director Roberta Arnold and fellow ETAs, which is why this is my third year. If you compete for the right reasons, you can be a winner whether or not you bring an award home.”
This year’s listed competitors are:
Steve Hunt, East Pointe, Mich. Hunt has performed  tribute his to Elvis for over 15 years. He won the Spirit of Elvis Award at a previous Reflections event and this year, represented the United States in Spain’s Winter Sun Elvis Festival.
Michael Paul Callahan, Oswego, N.Y.  After just one year as an ETA, Callahan is one of the top ranked ETAs in the northeast. He was a national gospel recording and concert artist, promoter and producer, opening for and performing with Amy Grant, The Imperials and most of the Grammy and Dove Award winners.
Randy Mancini, Coram, N.Y. Mancini has been performing as an ETA since 1999. He has been featured in many venues, including Newsday Fanfare Newspaper, Westbury Music Fair, ABC World News Now, CBS Morning Show, the New York Mets,  ABC Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, and an RC Cola Commercial.
Dave Weaver, Arkport, N.Y.  Weaver, a life-long Elvis fan, has been performing as an ETA for 17 years.  He and his wife remain active in fund-raising for Relay For Life and performs an annual show that donates 100 percent of the proceeds to that charity.
Patrick Balleux, Quebec, Canada. Balleux has performed as an ETA for 11 years. He was a finalist at the Lake George Elvis Fest.
Sylvain Leduc, Quebec,Canada. Leduc has practiced and performed Elvis since he was 15. He has performed at hundreds of events through the years.
Dutch Reddy, Scottsville, NY.  Reddy’s earliest Elvis memory is him dancing to Elvis songs on a pool table at 3-years-old. He performed at Reflections last year.
 Keith Lewis, Foxborough, Mass. An 11-year ETA, “Bay State Elvis” has performed at events such as Windsor, Collingwood, Tweed and Barrie, Ontario, as well as American contests, and this is his third straight year at Reflections of the King. He finished third in Woonsocket, RI in 2015, was invited three straight years to the invitation-only Collingwood gospel contest, and received the 2013 Tweed and 2014 Barrie Elvis Spirit Awards. was the first ETA to ever perform at Gillette Stadium.
Arthur “Butch ” Felski, Strykersville, N.Y. Felski says he is honored to portray Elvis. This will be his 8th year at Reflections.
Ben King, Perth, Western Australia. King has performed in both Australia and America. Reflections will be his first competition.
Allan “A.J.” Herrick, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Herrick has been performing Elvis and competing at Reflections for 14 years. AJ has won the Peoples Choice award. and Reflections Spirit Of Elvis Award in 2011.
Aidan Iannandrea, Welland, Ontario, Canada. Iannandrea has been singing since he was age 3. He has started performing within the last year. Earlier this summer, he won the Youth Division at the Rockton, Ontario Elvis competition.
Chris Bishop, Indian Trail, N.C. Bishop has performed as Elvis from Georgia to Memphis and New York and at small towns all over the southeastern part of the country. He grew up an Elvis fan.
Rudy Elvis, Canvas, W.V.  He saw Elvis in concert in Charleston, W. V.  He has performed in more than 135 concerts. He sings more than 300 of Elvis’ hits from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Mike Hartney, Clinton, Iowa. Hartney has been a tribute artist for three years. He has performed mainly in the Midwest area but also in Virginia Beach, Va.
Gordie McNeil, Fort Erie, Canada. McNeil has been paying tribute to Elvis for the past 8 years. He said he is excited to perform at Reflections again this year.