As many Mount Pleasant residents were still in bed early Monday morning, others forwent sleep for a chance to be on national television.

Several Central Michigan University students and Mount Pleasant community members gathered at Sacred Heart Academy, 302 S. Kinney Ave. for the live filming of “Good Morning America.”

“I called to wake up our drivers to make sure we were good to go, but we all made it here,” said Lakeview sophomore Ally Padden as she and a group of friends stood inside the school’s nearly-empty gymnasium around 6:15 a.m.

At that point, only stage workers were inside, setting up props and getting ready for the production ahead.

Outside, stars dotted the sky and a truck equipped with a large satellite and spotlight rested near the door of the school’s gymnasium.

By 6:45 a.m., students and families began trickling in, many carrying cups of coffee, and some, passing out boxes of Tim Horton’s doughnuts.

Sanford freshman Haley Garcia said she decided to come out after hearing the filming was based on the experiences of Keisha Brown, the wife of her former basketball coach, Damon Brown.

“I’m pretty glad we are here; it’s cool,” she said.

Keisha Brown, who has been battling breast cancer since April 2007, sent a letter to “Good Morning America” officials and entered a contest to bring the production to her hometown.

She found out late last week of her top-three standing in the competition and producers spent time throughout the weekend capturing shots from the Browns’ home and around the community.

Several CMU students from His House Christian Church, which the Browns attend, showed up to the filming to share in her excitement.

Michele Reinke, a fourth-grade teacher at Sacred Heart, sat in the bleachers holding a sign that showed support for the Damon and Keisha and also for GMA talk show co-host Chris Cuomo.

“This is history in the making,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

Reinke said Sacred Heart staff spent the weekend making last-minute calls for permission from students’ parents for the filming.

The majority of those gathered at the school waited over an hour for production to begin, but as Cuomo walked in and cameras began panning the audience, everyone erupted in an ear-piercing shout of “Good Morning America!”

Padden, who was texting her dad throughout the filming, said at one point he sent her a message indicating he saw her on TV.

“It was really exciting watching people behind the scenes; I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said. “Definitely the enthusiasm, just to see the community support was really cool.”

metro@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Heidi Fenton