Scottville native competes to be the Voice of McDonald’s

Sean Gilbert, center, is congratulated by Larry Lounsebery and Renee Lund.

Vote here for Sean Gilbert. 

LUDINGTON – Sean Gilbert may become the next Voice of McDonald’s. Sean is an assistant manager at the Ludington McDonald’s restaurant and is well known on area stages for his singing ability. He is currently in the top 25.

The Voice of McDonald’s is a worldwide singing contest for McDonald’s employees. This is the fifth competition to be held in 10 years. The winner receives $25,000.

Sean, a 2006 graduate of Mason County Central High School, said he sent in a video in July but didn’t hear anything back until recently. “I thought, oh well, three months had gone by and they must have not chosen me.”

He was then contacted recently and asked to come to Chicago to sing. During that time, a video was recorded of him singing. You can vote for that video at http://www.voiceofmcdonalds.com/voting/usa. Voting ends on Dec. 2. At that time scores from the semi-finalists will be combined to determine who will become the top three U.S. finalists, who will then compete against finalists from other global regions at the McDonald’s Worldwide Convention in April 2014.

“We’re very proud,” said Larry Lounsbery, operations manager of The Harrell Group of Whitehall, which owns the Ludington McDonald’s. “Sean is an outstanding employee and represents this company well in how he treats our customers and how he manages the staff. Now, he has the opportunity to represent us in this competition. We know he’ll do great.”

Sean has worked for the Ludington McDonald’s since 2005. He was active in high school band and choir and has since performed on the stages of West Shore Community College and the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee. He said he doesn’t have any formal voice training.

“We’re really excited about Sean being in this competition,” said Renee Lund, Ludington McDonald’s general manager. “This is a great opportunity for him and he has our full support. Sean’s a great manager and a great role model to the rest of our team.”