From left: Morning Pointe’s Senior Vice President of Services and Assets Rob Pollard, first place winner Janie Mason and Jerry, and Miranda Perez Executive Director of the Morning Pointe Foundation
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (October 7, 2026) — A sold-out crowd filled The Franklin Theatre Tuesday night as 13 adults ages 60 and older took the stage for the 8th Annual Morning Pointe Foundation Seniors Got Talent Franklin, raising nearly $40,000 to support scholarships for future senior care professionals and free caregiver education programs.
The evening’s top honor went to 79-year-old ventriloquist Janie Mason, who earned first place with her longtime performance partner, Jerry. 63-year-old opera singer Sandy Elliott took second place, while 66-year-old singer and fitness performer Terry Coulter earned third place and the People’s Choice Award.
More than $2,000 of the evening’s total was raised through People’s Choice voting, bringing community members directly into the competition while supporting the Morning Pointe Foundation’s mission to strengthen senior care.
Foundation scholarships help students pursuing careers in nursing, therapy, social work and culinary arts. In Middle Tennessee, Foundation partners include Columbia State Community College, Lipscomb University, TCAT Dickson–Williamson County and Motlow State Community College, helping prepare students for careers across healthcare and senior care.
For Mason, the evening was about more than winning a talent competition. Her relationship with Jerry began when she was a child, when her mother saved her egg money to buy the ventriloquist dummy Mason had wanted for years. By fourth grade, Mason was taking Jerry to school and performing for different classrooms.
Nearly seven decades later, she brought Jerry to the Franklin Theatre stage.
From left: Morning Pointe’s Senior Vice President of Services and Assets Rob Pollard, second place winner Sandy Elliott, and Miranda Perez Executive Director of the Morning Pointe Foundation
“I can’t believe I’m in a talent show being 79 years old,” Mason said. “I’ve had a good time with Jerry, I’ll tell you. I can’t begin to tell you what a wonderful time.”
Mason’s performance was part of a night that showcased an unusually wide range of talent, including opera, singing, ventriloquism, trumpet, a three-piece jazz band and a combination singing and athletic performance.
Judge Alex Tinker IV, who has judged Seniors Got Talent for several years, said the variety made this year’s competition one of the most difficult he has judged.
“We had such a variety of artists this year,” Tinker said. “I don’t know what we’re going to see when we get here, but I get to see so many wildly talented individuals who bring a lifetime of knowledge and skill. We’re the lucky ones.”
Coulter’s third-place and People’s Choice-winning performance combined singing with jump rope. After not jumping rope since childhood, she sought out a jump-rope coach to help build the routine.
Her performance also reflected the message she hopes other older adults will take from the experience: keep moving and continue doing what you enjoy.
From left: Morning Pointe’s Senior Vice President of Services and Assets Rob Pollard, third place winner Terry Coulter, and Miranda Perez Executive Director of the Morning Pointe Foundation.
“The best advice I can give you is just move,” Coulter said. “So if it’s gardening, if it’s walking, whatever it is that you enjoy to do.”
The event also featured the Resident Art Show, giving Morning Pointe residents from across the region an opportunity to share their work.
Carolyn Carter, 86, of Morning Pointe of Franklin, was named the Resident Art Show Overall Winner for her oil painting called “Cindy and Tracy”. Jean Rosenbaum, 96, of Morning Pointe of Brentwood, received the Resident Art Show People’s Choice Award for her acrylic painting called “Home”.
For Rosenbaum, the recognition came for a painting she originally created more than 50 years ago and gave to her mother as a Christmas gift.
“I just like to paint for the fun of it,” Rosenbaum said. “I just painted because I love to do it.”
For James Brown, who attended Seniors Got Talent for the first time, the evening offered a new perspective on both the performers and Morning Pointe’s role in the community.
“These people have real talent,” Brown said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Brown, who was invited by Tana Caldwell, Morning Pointe’s Regional Vice President of Operations for the Cumberland region, said he was also struck by the Foundation’s investment beyond senior living.
“I didn’t know Morning Pointe was this invested in the community,” Brown said. “It means a lot what Morning Pointe is doing, not just for the residents and the elderly, but for the community, the younger people, the ones that are coming up in the world.”
“Every Seniors Got Talent show reminds us that talent doesn’t have an age limit, and Franklin showed us that in such a powerful way this year,” said Miranda Perez, executive director of the Morning Pointe Foundation. “These performers shared talents they have spent years, and in some cases decades, developing, and they reminded everyone in that theatre what is possible when you continue doing what you love. At the same time, the generosity of this community will help us invest in the people who will care for older adults in the years to come.”
From a 79-year-old ventriloquist returning to the stage with a companion she has had since childhood to a 96-year-old artist being recognized for a painting created more than five decades ago, the evening celebrated the talents, passions and continued contributions of older adults while raising nearly $40,000 to help prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals.
About Morning Pointe Senior Living
Morning Pointe Senior Living, headquartered in Ooltewah, Tennessee, was founded in 1997 by healthcare entrepreneurs Greg A. Vital and J. Franklin Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates assisted living and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in four southeastern states, including GA, IN, KY & TN. For more information, visit morningpointe.com.
The philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living is the Morning Pointe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to provide clinical scholarships and caregiver support.
