Ramstein wins big in Operation Talent Search

by Airman 1st Class Tryphena Mayhugh 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Courtesy photo Leonor Alton, daughter of Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Alton, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Air Operations Center functional aerial manager, prepares for the Operation Talent Search talent show May 30 on Ramstein.
Courtesy photo
Leonor Alton, daughter of Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Alton, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Air Operations Center functional aerial manager, prepares for the Operation Talent Search talent show May 30 on Ramstein.

The 86th Force Support Squadron Ramstein Community Center is scheduled to present three members of the KMC first place awards for two separate categories for the Air Force’s 2015 Operation Talent Search Sept. 11 on Ramstein.

Eighty-nine acts from 23 bases were submitted for the talent search. As Ramstein received the highest score based on first and second place winners, it will receive $1,500 separate from the winners’ own
rewards.

Leonor Alton won first place in the category of children 6 to 8 years old, performing as a solo or group act, and will receive $500. She sang “Let It Go” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez from the Disney motion picture “Frozen.” “Anca (Leonor’s mother) and I were very happy and proud of her,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Alton, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Air Operations Center functional aerial manager and Leonor’s father. “For Leonor, she was just happy to sing her heart out in front of an audience. The best part about that night was not that she won, but that you could see the audience really enjoyed her performance. That made us the most proud.”

Master Sgt. Scott Linza, USAFE command services readiness and plans manager, and his daughter, Sierrah, won first place in the parent and youth category and will also receive $500. Linza played the piano while Sierrah played the flute, performing an excerpt from the “Phantom of the Opera” theme song.

“Sierrah was really the one that initiated signing up for the talent show,” Linza said. “For me, competing was to help her gain the experience, and once we started practicing it was fun. We could be very creative about what we were doing and put our own personal touch on it, which I thought was cool. I was proud of my daughter for taking the steps to want to compete.”

The competition is open to all active-duty, Guard and Reserve members and their immediate families. Participants can enter in the following categories: parent and youth; husband and wife; children 6 to 8 years old, solo or group; pre-teen, 9 to 12 years old, solo or group; teen 13 to 15 years old, solo or group; teen, 16 to 18 years old, solo or group; and family, three or more members of the same immediate family.

For more information about Operation Talent Search and other Air Force-level talent shows, call 480-2924 or 06371-47-2924.