Category Archives: Events

Outstanding Young Men Celebrated

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Christopher Hart

Not coming from Texarkana I had my mind on other things and moving here wasn’t the first thing on my agenda. Moving here my sophomore year of high school made me extremely angry, with a terrible perspective of living in a smaller city filled with anger, love and racism. Yes, racism. I have received it more here than any other city I have lived in. Now I am possibly one of the nicest people anymore could meet, but some things just do not change in life, until I received a letter in the mail to invite me to an organizational ball to recognize my fellow outstanding young men of Texarkana.

I received the letter, and I really didn’t know what it meant.  Honestly, my first mind wanted to throw it away, because I just did not want to be here. I was wrong. Meeting my peers who were invited were friends of mine from school and the basketball team. The Texarkana Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrates this every year around the end of January.  The chapter recognized 28 exceptional high school seniors for their academic achievements, leadership abilities, involvement in the community and commitment to excellence, giving back to the kids, showing us elegance, stability, and brotherhood amongst each other.

Having us donate and have a fundraiser to earn scholarship money for college was a great investment. When I was in it in was 2013, three years ago, but t the event is so private and beautiful it makes you feel really special about yourself. Wearing a black suit and white gloves, giving a speech in front of our parents and fellow peers and their parents showed me that we all can get along and have a good time. We all can turn a bad situation into a good one just by following our hearts. The women and men over the organization did a fantastic job with us, feeding us, taking care of us and helping get our names out in the world at such a young age. Being a part of the event and the outstanding young men around this town should carry a lot of weight for whoever gets the chance to experience this type of celebration.

Only 28 people are selected. That means someone is always watching, and someone can introduce us to new heights if we let them.  The event is always held at the Pleasant Grove High School Performing Arts Center, giving us a great venue to showcase our people skills amongst each other. The most recent event was January 31st 2016 and it was nice seeing new faces chosen now to be the outstanding young men of Texarkana. As an alumni, it made me  proud to see what I was a part of in high school, and I greatly appreciate them for taking me in and making us all brothers. Hopefully these events keep going through the town so it gives more black American men an opportunity in this world unlike the others. With me saying the others that’s for who ever is not with the OYM organization. The OYM organization should meet greater heights over the next few years and I hope Texarkana will open its eyes and see the great mark its making on these kids lives.

Love After Valentine’s

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Anthony Hamilton

The highly anticipated Love After Valentines concert made its way to the Perot theater on Friday night, February 19th. Thanks to KTOY 104.7 and Soul Man Billy Bland, I was able to attend the show, and I must say it was a very good concert that any lover of R&B and Soul music would have enjoyed.

The performers were Vaughn Willis, Maad Moiselle, 2-time Grammy award winner Timothy Bloom and the Headliner, platinum recording artist, R&B diva KeKe Wyatt.

Up and coming R&B artist Vaughn Willis opened the show, and he proved to be a very talented 1 man band on this occasion. Willis performed a mixture of socially-charged and relationship original songs along with cover songs, namely Let’s Get it On, a Marvin Gaye classic, and Change is Gonna Come, which is a Sam Cooke classic. The highlight of Willis’ performance found him playing his guitar and harmonica at the same time. Willis also has a very strong vocal presence. He is not a household name, but I believe he will be at some point, as he’s a very talented artist with a strong stage presence. To find out more about Vaughn Willis, check out swifmusic.com.

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Maad Moiselle followed Willis. She is also multi-talented and what some would consider a jack of all trades. Not only did she perform her own material, but she was the DJ, and she provided the music for KeKe Wyatt. Her performance although short, was very high-energy and entertaining. At one point of her performance, she performed out in the audience. The highlight of her performance was the performance of her funk-tinged new single Sweet & Low, which is available on iTunes.

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Next was 2-time Grammy award winner Timothy Bloom. His performance was as soulful as it gets. Not only is he a very accomplished singer but also a guitarist as well as a pianist, and he put all of these talents on display. Bloom appeared to really enjoy himself, as there was a lot of playful interaction with the audience during the course of his show. It was amazing to see and hear him switch from guitar to piano and back to guitar flawlessly for the highlight of his performance which was the performance of his hit song ‘Til the End of Time, which is also available on iTunes.

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The last performance of the night came from headliner KeKe Wyatt, and you could tell from the reception she received from the crowd that her performance was highly anticipated. She also seemed to really enjoy the intimate setting that the Perot offers, as she interacted with the crowd while performing her hit songs including Nothing In This World, and her cover of Patti LaBelle’s classic If Only You Knew and the song that put her on the map in the late 90’s, the duet with Avant, a cover of the Renee’ and Angela classic My First Love. The highlight of her performance for me was when she revealed that her father had just passed, and she performed a tribute song titled Tears In Heaven during which she was overcome with emotion. Many celebrities won’t share vulnerability the way she did, and for those who have lost a parent who was indeed their world, it was very touching and emotional to us all. Her new album is available for pre-order as well on iTunes.

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All the performers pointed out how happy they were to put on this show for Texarkana, and each expressed a desire to return at some point in the future. If opportunity presents itself to see any of these artists in concert, I suggest taking advantage. It would be well worth an investment of time and money spent to see them perform. If you are a fan of good R&B music, these artists, in my opinion, are bucket list material. I would love to see each of them in concert again.

This was a very enjoyable as well as entertaining night for the lover of good soul music. I’m very happy to have been a part of it.

CNNMoney Journalist Visits TAMU-T

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Jamie Williamson

Tami Luhby 

http://money.cnn.com/author/tami-luhby/

Income inequality can seem like a daunting and overwhelming topic, but it is something that is affecting America today. CNNMoney senior writer Tami Luhby traveled all the way from New York to Texarkana to give a talk about income inequality on Tuesday November 3, 2015.

Mrs. Luhby was kind enough to stop by my Advanced News Writing Class to talk with us about what it’s like to be a journalist. She talked to our class about what it takes to write for CNNMoney. She also gave us an understanding of how CNNMoney runs their website and how they track what stories are doing well. I gained a lot of insight about the dedication it takes to be a full-time journalist. I really enjoyed everything she had to say to our class and learned some valuable information that could come in handy in the future if I decide to pursue journalism as a career.

Next up for Mrs. Luhby was a lunch where anyone could come eat and talk with her and ask different questions. The lunch proved to be a success, with many professors getting the chance to talk with Mrs. Luhby. Students were encouraged to stop by and meet the guest speaker before the big lecture event held later that night.

The main event that Tami Luhby participated in was her lecture on income inequality. PLACE, the Program for Learning and Community Engagement, put on the event. PLACE is a program at Texas A&M University-Texarkana that helps promote learning in the community. This year’s theme is economic opportunity. Tami Luhby’s talk about income inequality fit nicely into this year’s theme. It gave the community a look at how income inequality is impacting America.

I found her speech on income inequality very eye-opening. I didn’t know that the United States was one of the leaders in income inequality between the top 1% and the other 99%. The information Mrs. Luhby presented provided an in-depth look at how income inequality is affecting the poverty line and the standard of living. I also found her lecture to be very interesting when she was talking about the housing market crash and how it led into the recession of 2005. This talk was very informative and conducted in such a way that was easy to understand and relate to.

Pink in the Park for the Cure

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Laney Davis

On the chilly morning of October 17, 2015, the Four States Fairground and Midway were packed with cancer survivors, volunteers, and supporters of the Komen Race for the Cure. There were hundreds of people dressed in pink in support of the breast cancer awareness fundraiser.

The Midway began to fill at five in the morning with volunteers who set up booths along the edge of the park. The booths handed out free prizes to everyone competing in one of the three races.

There were activities for all ages during registration while the competitors waited for the races to start. Breakfast was offered for the VIP guests and cancer survivors. Many of the activities involved honoring cancer patients and cancer survivors. The Agriculture Learning Center was also opened to the public giving away free pink ice cream.

The 5k race started at 9 A.M. with many competitors running and walking. Many families opted to walk in the Family Fun Stroll, a much shorter and relaxed race. When the races were finished the closing ceremonies commenced.

At 10 A.M. the winning race competitors were awarded with medals and prizes. Once the final awards were given out, breast cancer survivors were lined up and the last ceremony started. Music blared and crowds danced in celebration for the triumph of the survivors. Many people spoke and the survivors were honored with roses. The fundraiser was a success, and Susan G Komen has already begun to plan for next year.

Eagle Open House

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Jamie Williamson

High school seniors from around the Ark-La-Tex came, saw, and conquered open house on Saturday October 10, 2015. Texas A&M University-Texarkana held an open house to show upcoming students why Texas A&M University-Texarkana is the best school to further their education. Students got the chance to tour the campus and talk to professors in major breakout sessions. The open house is a great way for upcoming students to see how college life works.

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The open house gave students and parents a chance to ask questions and talk to currently enrolled Texas A&M University-Texarkana Eagles. This was helpful for both parents and students because it set the parents at ease and helped the students feel a part of campus life. Upcoming students also got the chance to look at all the clubs the university has to offer to help make the most of their time at college. There were door prizes and a dance off for both students and parents.

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Eagle Open House was a great way for Texas A&M University-Texarkana to get its name out there as one of the best small town universities. Texas A&M University-Texarkana has the privilege of being a part of the best-known university system in Texas with the small town bonus where everyone knows your name.

ace the eagle