Fatima Poggi, a crew member at the McDonald’s restaurant in Dexter, was chosen as one of 30 semi-finalists in the company’s Voices of McDonald’s III competition.

The semi-finalists were chosen based on their outstanding singing abilities, McDonald’s announced in a press release. Of the 10,451 entries from McDonald’s employees around the world, only five of the semi-finalists are from the United States and two of those, Poggi and Eddie Davenport, a Stockbridge and Leslie McDonald’s employee, are from Michigan.

A Pinckney High School student, Fatima Poggi has been performing since she was 12 years old and has sung in New Jersey and throughout Michigan as well as in Peru and Italy. In the next round of the competition, she will sing “Alone,” by Heart.


Beginning Nov. 11, the semi-finalists will begin competing for 12 finalist spots and a trip to Orlando in April 2010 where they could win thousands of dollars in cash and other prizes. Competitors will upload their songs onto the Voices of McDonald’s III Web site where the public can play the entries and vote for their favorites until the Dec. 4 deadline.

The 12 global finalists will be announced on Dec. 21.



Scott Karns, the owner-operator of Dexter McDonald’s, said, “We are thrilled that Eddie and Fatima have made it this far in the competition. Being selected as two of only 30 from around the world and only five in the U.S. tells you a lot about how talented they are. We are all rooting for them to make it into the final 12.”


The 12 finalists will each win a trip (with a guest) to the McDonald’s 2010 Worldwide Convention in Orlando. Fla. in April to compete for the $25,000 grand prize. The first runner-up will win $10,000 and the second runner-up, $5,000. Other finalists each win $1,500. All finalists will also win $500 for their restaurants and a $1,000 contribution in their names to the local Ronald McDonald House Charities.