The Gainesville Music Club recently held music scholarship auditions at Brenau University in Gainesville.
John Aaron Jovaag, son of Brad and Pam Jovaag of Gainesville, received the Gainesville Music Club High School Senior Scholarship. The Chestatee High School senior studies piano with Judy Thomas of Gainesville. He plans to enter Tulane University in New Orleans, La., as a music major this fall.
The Mary Williams Scholarship for college music majors was awarded to Arielle Crumley, daughter of Melissa Martin of Dahlonega. The freshman vocal performance major studies voice with Barbara Steinhaus at Brenau University.
This scholarship is in honor of the late Mary Williams who was a founding member of the Gainesville Music Club and well known soprano soloist.
On May 3 Hall County Sheriff Steve Cronic, along with members from his department, held ADVANCE Graduation ceremonies for the fifth-grade classes at World Language Academy. Sgt. Don Parrish, who had led the six-week ADVANCE course at the school, served as master of ceremonies.
The highlight of the program was the presentation of the 2011 ADVANCE Most Outstanding Student Award for World Language Academy. It went to Makayla Peebles, daughter the late Hall County Fire Services Captain Tim Peebles.
Special recognitions and medals were presented to select students for outstanding essays and posters about the ADVANCE experience. All students received graduation certificates with each student having their name called and receiving a congratulatory handshake from Principal Dave Moody, Sheriff Steve Cronic and a host of his deputies who work in the ADVANCE program.
The A.D.V.A.N.C.E. ® (Avoiding Drugs Violence and Negative Choices Early) curriculum is a collaborative effort by A.D.V.A.N.C.E. ® instructors in cooperation with school administrators, educators, students, parents and community to provide an educational program in the classroom to reduce and prevent the dangers and negative choices of gangs, drugs and violence.
For additional information, contact Lieutenant Gene Joy, M.A., Unit Commander at genejoy@hallcounty.org.
Lakeshore Mall has announced the winners of its grass roots "Design a Barricade Contest," which launched in April and was open to high school students, grades nine through 12, in Hall County.
Lakeshore Mall will host a reception at 5 p.m. Tuesday to showcase the winning artwork, which will be displayed on 12-foot by 20-foot storefront graphics located throughout the shopping center. The event will be held at center court located behind customer service.
During the reception, each of the seven winning artists will be awarded a $100 gift card to Lakeshore Mall. In addition, each of the four participating schools will receive a $250 scholarship from Lakeshore Mall, which will be designated for student art programs.
A representative from Lakeshore Mall will present scholarship checks to art teachers from the participating schools, which include North Hall, East Hall, West Hall and Johnson High School.
Each school was assigned two theme categories for students to use as inspiration for their artwork, with the themes being representative of the many offerings at Lakeshore Mall and local landmarks.
Artwork was judged based on creativity, message, content and appropriate representation of the assigned themes. Two winners were chosen from each school. Johnson High School had a single entry. The winners are as follows:
North Hall
Shopping and Dining at Lakeshore Mall: Kirsten Niedfeldt, 17
What Makes Gainesville Special to Me: Lawrence Chen, 15
East Hall
Sports in the Community: Isai Zepeda, 17
My Favorite Thing to Do at Lakeshore Mall: Omar Gonzalez, 15
West Hall
Why I love Gainesville: Ryan Casey, 17
Enjoying Lake Lanier: Connor McFall, 17
Johnson High
Sights and Attractions in Gainesville: Oscar Rivera, 17