The Hometown Scholarship Program, presented by local Dodge dealers including Landers Dodge along with the Bryant High School Band have launched the 2009 charity fundraising campaign that generates scholarship funds for high school students. The Hometown Scholarship Program is part of Landers Dodge's continuing commitment to the hometown community.

The Bryant High School Band members are attending community events to request $5 donations in support of their Dodge Hometown Scholarship Program. With each $5 suggested donation, 100 percent of the proceeds go to scholarship and organization enrichment programs.

SHERIDAN — Southern Arkansas University head baseball coach Alan Gum, a former Sheridan High School coach, will be the guest speaker at a breakfast for players and coaches at the 2009 Junior American Legion State tournament.

Gum will talk to the players about how to enhance their chances of playing college baseball.

The Sheridan American Legion team will host the Junior Legion State tournament beginning Friday, July 10. Along with the Yellowjackets, there will be seven other teams including defending champion Little Rock Continental Express and last year’s runner-up Jonesboro along with Bryant, Texarkana, Paragould and two other teams to be determined.

As part of the festivities, which will include, once again, the special food tent at the ballpark, the breakfast for the coaches and players of the teams will be held at 8 a.m., on Saturday morning, July 11, at one of the school cafeterias with food provided by Hardee’s and Sonic and perhaps other area restaurants.

The Bryant High School Jazz Band will present its next concert on Monday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m.

The concert will be held at Indian Springs Baptist Church in Bryant. Admission is free to the public.

The Jazz band annually performs each May at Lake DeGray, however this year's concert was rained out. This concert has been scheduled to replace the missed performance opportunity at Lake DeGray.

BRYANT, Ark. — The Bryant High School Band and the Band Booster Club will hold a benefit car wash from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, in the parking lot of Penfield Real Estate at the corner of Reynolds Road and Highway 5.

The event is part of an effort to raise funds to send the BHS Marching Band, the Legacy of Bryant, to a Regional Bands of America competition in Indianapolis, Ind., this November.

“It’s the first time for any band in Arkansas to qualify for a national-level competition and it’s a great honor to be able to compete at this level,” said Band Booster president Jan Patrick. “We have to raise over $20,000 by the end of the summer and have many activities planned.”

Kim Wilson, another booster club officer, extended thanks to the businesses that made donations to the silent auction held in conjunction with the All-Campus Concert, saying, “We would like to thank them for making the auction a great success.”

The sponsors included ATA Martial Arts, Arvest Bank, Army National Guard, Bryant Martial Arts, Colton’s Steakhouse, Carson Physical Therapy, Cracker Barrel, Casa Mexicana, Cakery Affairs, Eagle Hill Golf Club, Firehouse Subs, Gabe’s Grill, Hurricane Golf Club, Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Luigi’s Pizza & Pasta, McAlister’s Deli, Merle Norman, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Papa Murphy’s, Pottery Worx, Rejuvenate Salon, Regions Bank, Razorsharp Car Wash, Starbucks, Tinsletown, Tahiti Tans, TaMolly’s and Union Bank.

BRYANT, Ark. — Before a standing-room-only crowd at the Bryant Middle School gym, the musicians and directors of the Bryant School District band programs took turns entertaining at the annual All-Campus Spring Concert on Tuesday, April 7.

The bands include over 650 students from the beginning bands at Bryant and Bethel Middle Schools to the high school's Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band.

The evening's events also included a silent auction held by the Bryant Band Booster Club to raise funds for the program.

The Bryant Bands recently participated in the ASBOA Region V Concert Assessment held at Benton High School. The assessment consists of each band preparing three songs from an approved state list, then presenting a concert for a panel of three adjudicators. The adjudicators are judging based on the band's overall sound and performance etiquette. Although ultimately it is three people's opinions, the process is still a good reflection of what kind of teaching has been going on in that particular band program.

Each band is rated on a scale of one to five; one being a Superior rating and five equaling a very poor performance. From the three judges' ratings, a composite score is given to each band. After the concert, the band then goes into sightreading, where students and their director is given a composition no one has ever performed. Junior High bands have seven minutes to prepare the piece for performance, whereas High School bands have ten minutes. The bands are judged by one adjudicator for sightreading based on the same rating scale.

Fifty talented BHS musicians earned a spot in one of the Region bands. These students competed against other school band programs in the Region, such as Benton, Sheridan, Stuttgart, Watson Chapel, Pine Bluff, Harmony Grove, and Bauxite.

A clinic and concert was held the weekend of Jan. 23-24 at the Benton High School auditorium with guest clinicians conducting the bands.

Of those 50 Bryant students, 30 became eligible to compete at the State level this Saturday, Feb. 7. State auditions will be held at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

Those that competed in Regionals included: