Betty Ann Darby Scholarship Recipients Announced

 


FLORENCE REGIONAL ARTS ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES BETTY ANN DARBY SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

July 28, 2014

Florence, SC  -  Since 1997, the Florence Regional Arts Alliance has awarded 27 Florence County students with the prestigious Betty Ann Darby Scholarship. This week, two more students have been added to the list of deserving recipients.   

Miss Haley Ard of Pamplico was recognized for her outstanding work in the visual arts. She will be attending Anderson University, majoring in Fine Arts. Miss Ard demonstrates a strong passion for the arts, is a dedicated student and shows a strong desire to continue her pursuit of knowledge in her craft. Haley’s work shows skill in technical practices, color balance as well as compositional strength. She is a recent graduate of Hannah-Pamplico High School.

The second scholarship has been awarded to  Mr. Philip Rast. Since being cast in Florence Little Theatre’s production of Oliver!, at the age of seven, Philip has been enthralled by the world of musical theatre. He gives credit to his church, Florence Baptist Temple, for instilling an appreciation of the arts in him. His most recent theatre production, from an extensive list of performances,  was FLT’s Les Miserables. Mr. Rast, a graduate of South Florence High School, will be pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at Coastal Carolina University.

The Betty Ann Darby Scholarship Program is named in honor of one of South Carolina's most distinguished music educators.  A member of the South Carolina Music Educator’s Hall of Fame, Ms. Darby served Florence Public School District One for thirty-nine years as a much beloved and highly revered music administrator and music teacher.  Since her retirement in 1987, Ms. Darby has embraced a broad array of volunteer activities in the arts community. 

The Betty Ann Darby Scholarship Program awards two $1,000 scholarships each year to graduating seniors who will be pursuing advanced academic or professional degrees in an arts discipline or in arts education.  To be considered, seniors must reside in Florence County or be graduating from a Florence County public or private high school.  

The Betty Ann Darby Scholarships are merit scholarships awarded predominantly on the basis of demonstrated talent, passion for the arts and intention to pursue a career in an arts discipline or in arts education.  They are made possible by the generous support of Honda to the FlorenceRegional Arts Alliance.

Two South Florence students finalists in SC's largest student talent competition

Eleven finalists were selected in The Comporium “This School’s Got Talent” competition and now the voting begins in South Carolina’s most exciting, fan-voted, state-wide student talent contest.

The finalists were selected from entries across South Carolina by celebrity judges from GRAMMY Award-winning super-group Hootie & The Blowfish (HBF). HBF bass guitarist Dean Felber, drummer Jim Sonefeld, HBF Business Manager Chris Carney and Paul Graham, Tournament Director for the band's annual golf tournament.

“We are always excited to see young people reach for their dreams,” said Graham, former tour manager for Hootie and the Blowfish.

The winner will be selected by online voting until midnight on March 23. To vote, go to the South Carolina Future Minds Facebook page and click on the “This School’s Got Talent” icon, where you can see a video of their performance. You can vote once every 24 hours.

The finalists are:

• Anna Cibbarelli from Springfield Middle School in Fort Mill who performs “Let Her Go” by Passenger.
• Danielle Dease from Northwestern High School in Rock Hill performing one of her original songs “When You Are Mine.”
• Ali Henderson from Gaffney High School in Gaffney putting her twist on Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us.”
• Keiffer Ang Mendoza from Greer High School in Greer, who won the Greer Idol title for 2013, performs “Simple Man.”
• Jolie Marie Nogueira from Blue Ridge Middle School in Landrum performs a song from her first CD “Nice Girl” at age 12.
• Sammy Cornelius from Fairfield Middle School in Winnsboro performs on the drums.
• Allison Skipper from Kennedy Middle School in Aiken performs her first original song “Just Me.”
• John “Jaye” Lowery, Lewisville High School in McConnells is the drummer at Gesthsemane Baptist Church.
• Zander Morris, from Pendleton High School in Sandy Springs performs “Stuck in a Box,” an original composition.
• Phillip Rast from South Florence High School in Florence performed “Broadway Here I Come” from the television show Smash.
• Gracelyn Rast from Southside Middle School in Florence performed “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

The winning student will earn the opportunity to perform LIVE before top education, business and government leaders at the “South Carolina Teacher of the Year Celebration” on April 23 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

“South Carolina has some terrific talent in our schools, and this unleashes the very best of it,” said Trip DuBard, SC Future Minds’ executive director. “We’re also very grateful to Comporium, a communications and technology company based in South Carolina, and the Hootie members for helping raise the excitement of this contest to an entirely new level.”

The contest, which is in its fourth year, was open to public school students between first and 12th grades in all South Carolina school districts.

About South Carolina Future Minds

South Carolina Future Minds is a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting excellence in South Carolina’s K-12 public schools by partnering with corporate donors to find and support successful school programs. SCFM promotes innovation for excellence in public education by equipping and advocating for educators as they prepare South Carolina students to thrive in a global community. For more information on South Carolina Future Minds, visit http://www.scfutureminds.org or join the SC Future Minds Facebook page.

About Comporium

Comporium is a privately owned, diversified communications company with businesses that enable convergence of content with screens. Comporium focuses on providing technologically advanced services that its customers demand. Its investments combine data, switching, transport and intellectual property that recognize the emerging importance of the interconnected world. For more information, visit www.comporium.com.