Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge

The 30th Annual Girls Incorporated Basketball Classic was a huge success!!!  We had over 250 attendees and a great time was had by all!!  Many great prizes were given away throughout the evening by our wonderful master of ceremonies, Stacy Myers!!  The free throw shooting contest had three winners who will receive a free Big Ed's pizza party.  Thank you Bid Ed's!  Thanks also to the Crown Monarch auxiliary for helping with the concession stand!  You served up some great food  donated by Buddy's B-B-Q and Sandy Davidson.

Our Chinese New Year  Celebration

On February 21, 2008, Girls Incorporated® of Oak Ridge honored the Chinese New Year by welcoming Tim Underwood, a program leader at Panasonic, to give a presentation on his recent trip to Beijing, China.  Panasonic recently made a monetary donation to the Girls Inc.’s After School and Summer Camp programs.  Underwood prepared a slide presentation and showed the girls articles that he purchased while in Beijing.  He captivated their imagination and answered many questions about his visit.

 To help with the New Year’s celebration, Harvest Buffet donated traditional Chinese food, chop sticks, and fortune cookies.  The instructors’ decorations created a wonderful atmosphere where the girls proudly displayed Chinese New Year dragons and other artwork they created.  The girls enjoyed experiencing China through pictures, discussion, food, and crafts.

 Girls Inc. would like to express its gratitude for the donations from Harvest Buffet and Panasonic, and, especially to Tim Underwood for speaking with its members.

The Crown Monarch Auxillary hosted their annual Christmas party for the after school program at Girls Incorporated!!  Hundreds of new gifts were donated to Girls Inc. which allowed 50 after school girls the opportunity to go Christmas shopping for their families!  The Girls Inc. staff and volunteers helped the kids wrap each of their gifts and local stores donated shopping bags.  At the end of the day, each girl had a huge bag full of goodies and gifts for their families!!

Last fall Equity Music Group recording artist Carolyn Dawn Johnson spoke to a group of more than 60 young girls at the Knoxville/Oak Ridge, TN, Chapter of Girls Inc. about her journey from a small farm in Canada to a recording contract in Nashville.  The girls, ranging in age from 5 to 13, listened intently as Johnson reminded them they could accomplish any goal as long as they believed in themselves.

 Johnson’s visit inspired the group to create their own version of the popular American Idol series, this one called Girls Idol.  Each week the girls sang for one another and then voted for their favorite performances.  A number of the girls performed Johnson’s songs.  After last week's final contest, 13 year old Kasey Keever was named the first Girls Inc. Idol winner.  To Kasey’s surprise, she received a phone call from Johnson right after the announcement.  Johnson was so moved by the drive and passion the girls put into this activity that she wanted to personally congratulate the winner.

Carolyn Dawn Johnson

 

A female country music singer and songwriter talked with girls in the after school and athletic programs at Girls Incorporated of Oak Ridge Nov. 8 about finding the strength within to be the person you started out to be, much like the advice in her new single, “Taking Back My Brave.”

 

Carolyn Dawn Johnson, whose most recent CD “Love & Negotiation” includes the single, also plans to teach the girls a song that a group of them will perform at the Girls Incorporated Parade of Trees, a family holiday event from noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov.19 at the Crown Court Room of the Oak Ridge Mall.

 

Johnson will share her music and her story of driving 60 hours from her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Nashville, with $50 her uncle gave her to pursue a dream of a career in singing and songwriting in the country music capital. She hopes her story will inspire them as she encourages the girls here to chase their dreams.

 

“I just did a panel at the Canadian Country Music Awards about females in the music business, and it was very interesting learning about some of the challenges for females out there, but anything is doable,” Johnson said. “You just have to believe. Sometimes you have to work a little harder, but you can do it. I just want to spread the message that you can be what you dream of.”

 

Johnson said she will encourage the girls to educate themselves, believe in themselves and prepare themselves, noting that luck is preparation meeting opportunity. She will remind the girls that rejection is a huge part of any business.

“You must realize that and learn how to pick yourself up after hard times,” Johnson said.

 

After arriving in Nashville in 1995, Johnson worked odd jobs while writing songs. Her first number one single as a writer came in 1999 with Chely Wright’s “Single White Female.” Named Music Row magazine’s Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year in 2000, she toured behind Martina McBride for a year and signed a recording contract, releasing her first album “Room With A View,” in 2001, launching her top five hit “Complicated.”

 

She was named the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist in 2002 and the Favorite New Country Artist by the American Music Awards in 2003. After more high profile tours and a second album, she made the difficult decision to ask for release from her record contract to make a fresh start and return to her songwriting beginnings in Nashville.

 

Now, she said, she’s writing about real life and things that she loves instead of trying to write songs that will please everybody else. That led to feelings about “getting my brave back,” and to the new album, which she wrote, produced and financed herself.

 

Her work is winning recognition. She was recently named Female Artist of the Year at the 2006 Canadian Country Music Awards, and she will be on the red carpet at the Country Music Association Awards Nov. 6 in Nashville, just days before her visit here.

 

Johnson’s visit  comes as a result of conversations with Kathleen Chandler, whose aunt, Carol Mullane is executive director of Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge, about the non-profit agency serving girls and the importance of female role models. Chandler works for Scott Welch Management, Johnson’s management company in Nashville.

“I thought it was an interesting organization and a very positive one, and I thought maybe I could help make a difference in the girls’ lives,” Johnson said.

 

   "Love and Negotiation"