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The �perfect prom�? It�s at Prospect Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Prospect High School exchange student Karin Mueller, center, and her classmates celebrate a $20,000 prize Mueller won in a "perfect prom" contest on the Internet. With her, from left, are Noah Rusk, Juhlia Glover, Andy Egger and Christina Emmons. Student wins $20,000 for school�s year-end blowout By Jonel Aleccia PROSPECT � A week ago, the junior class at Prospect High School was planning prom decorations based on chicken wire and elbow grease. But that was before exchange student Karin Mueller�s name was plucked from some 32,000 Internet entries in a national "perfect prom" contest. Now, the Cougars will be partying in style come May 19, thanks to an award that includes $20,000 for decorations, dinner and limo rentals, plus a performance by the acoustic pop-rock group Sister Hazel. "We�re still coming down out of the clouds," said Claudia Fowler, the junior class adviser who first heard about the contest co-sponsored by StudentAware Communications and the U.S. Air Force. On a lark, Fowler encouraged members of the junior class � all nine of them � to enter the contest. Every school day between Jan. 2 and Feb. 27, the students� names were clicked into the Internet drawing. "I was hoping we would win," Fowler said. And Mueller, a 17-year-old exchange student from Stuttgart, Germany, actually did, capturing first prize in the contest that encourages alcohol- and drug-free celebrations. Although she�s pleased at the award, Mueller admitted she�s not very familiar with Sister Hazel, performers of the current radio hit "Champagne High." "I could be a fan, but I just don�t know them," said Mueller. That view was echoed by April Shields, 18, one of 70 students at the rural school some 45 miles from Medford. "We�re excited, but I don�t think it�s as much Sister Hazel as it is the money," said Shields. "It�s a good year to be a senior." Still, the performance by the Florida-based band is sure to cause a stir in other musical circles, according to R. Charles Snyder, an on-air personality at KROG radio in Medford, which will host the concert. Right now, several Sister Hazel songs are popular, including "Change Your Mind" and "All For You." "They�re very definitely a respectable band," Snyder said. Sister Hazel members couldn�t be reached for comment on the possibility of performing for a few dozen high schoolers. But Fowler said contest organizers seemed pleased. "They�re really excited to come to such a small, close-knit community," she said. In fact, the dilemma for Prospect prom planners now becomes where to host the dance and whom to let in. "The class is still talking about opening the Sister Hazel concert to other schools," Fowler said. "Why not let them all have the opportunity to see this group, too?" In the meantime, the junior class has ironed out some other details. The theme of the prom will be "A Dream for Us"; the colors will be baby blue, white and silver. And the decorations will be more elaborate than ever before. "Now, all the things we thought we�d do with chicken wire, we can just order," Fowler said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.