Published: November 15, 2007 11:54 pm      

Kids light up with excitement at Lights On Afterschool

Peavey Electronics presented the final installment of its 3rd Annual Lights On Afterschool Celebration where Meridian High School student Sarah Margaret Huff, 17, was proclaimed the winner of the Afterschool (not) Idle competition by judges Hartley Peavey, Founder of Peavey Electronics, Bob Saproti, former Vice President of Warner Bros. Records, and Mark Pinske, former Chief Recording Engineer for Frank Zappa.

The event was held at the MSU Riley Center, where the top three finalists, Huff, 7 year-old Holly Brand, and 15-year-old Oshima McKee performed before appearances by special guests singer Bo Bice, singer Julia Burton, and Nashville session musician Michael Sprigs. Other on-stage guests included members of the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi and last year’s winner, Marisa Potate.

But the most important people in the theater Wednesday night were the kids in the audience, who came from local schools and Boys and Girls Clubs from across the state. The kids had a great time, laughing, clapping along to the music, and screaming enthusiastically (and loudly) at prompts from the announcer.

Mary Peavey, wife of Hartley Peavey, said the competition is held to, “inspire children by letting them see other children in their peer group excel. More than anything, though, it’s for them to have a good time.”

Bice, who came for his second year at the event, met the Peaveys when he was hired to endorse their products, he said, and was eager to become a part of the program as soon as he heard about it.

The event is part of the Mississippi Afterschool Alliance program, an organization which works to create more after school programs for Mississippi children.