'Mr. Gaithersburg' Goes On, In Memory of Show’s Biggest Booster

The auditorium at Gaithersburg High School had for more than an hour been a raucous and effusive scene, a blur of superhero costumes and roaring classmates as nine GHS seniors vied for the title of Mr. Gaithersburg.

Then the outburst turned quiet and the lights dimmed again. A new set of images scrolled softly across the 50-foot screen. Kenneth Logan laughing with his students in the hallways; Logan as a child; Logan with his family and friends in Pennsylvania, cradling his newborn niece in awed admiration.

Three months have passed since Logan, 33, died in the passenger seat of a pickup truck that lost control on a highway in West Virginia—leaving GHS without one of its devoted student advocates, and the biggest champion of the Mr. Gaithersburg extravaganza he had taken over these past few years.

Nilda Keres, Ron Dietz, Melissa Adams and other teachers rallied to bolster the members of Students Against Destructive Decisions who so wanted this year’s show to fulfill Logan’s high hopes.

“He wanted it to be better,” Keres said. “So we gave it to him.”

The contestants put on an impassioned production that roused a cascade of oohs and ahhs from the more than 500 students and parents with their dance routines, public service announcements and displays of talent—and plenty of awwws when each senior poured out a heartfelt thanks to their moms and dads in the front row.

At evening’s end, the judges deemed Malcolm Miller worthy of this year’s crown. The hoops star heading to Holy Cross on full scholarship had considered Logan a best friend. Even before the uproar had faded off, his thoughts turned to the beloved teacher. Miller huddled his fellow contestants together on the stage.

'We're all together in this,” he said.