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Name: BarryNet Briefs Date/Time: 6/22/2019 12:26 PM Subject: East Duplin wins $100,000 Barry Manilow giveaway
Kinston.com, 21 June 2019 One of Barry Manilow’s greatest performances came this week for East Duplin High School. Manilow announced Wednesday the winners of a $100,000 giveaway and the East Duplin High School band was named the grand prize winner. “Thank you for your heart. Thank you for your compassion. Thank you for your talent,” Manilow said during the announcement from Las Vegas, which was posted in a video on the Manilow Music Project website. According to information from Manilow Music Project, Manilow launched a nationwide search for one high school band to receive $100,000 for musical instruments and uniforms in response to funding cuts in public schools. The competition kicked off as Manilow celebrated his 500th performance at the Westgate resort in Las Vegas. “This really is a godsend for our school and the community,” said East Duplin High School Principal Scott Ballard. Ballard was closing up the school Wednesday night when he started getting texts from people that the school’s band program had won. “I was standing in the band room turning off the lights when I got the first text saying we won the $100,000 but I didn’t know who it was. I didn’t think much about it then I got to the parking lot and got another text. It hit me like a ton of bricks,” Ballard said. The school district doesn’t have a lot of funding for the band program and the $100,000 will go far in helping them to meet their needs. He said the band program will take a look at its options for using the funds as wisely as possible. “We want to try and take the money and make it go as much as possible,” Ballard said. Schools were asked to upload videos explaining who they are and why they needed the funds. Several factors were used to determine the winner, including online votes, community involvement, and level of need. Manilow chose the winning school. Band Director Thomas Seaman thanked everyone involved in the project and said it is more than a monetary win. “I really cannot express my gratitude with sufficient grace and appreciation to all those who have helped with this project,” he said. “From the students who put together our video to the parents who got the word out to our local news outlets to the teachers who had their classes voting daily, and to the greater areas of Duplin and Onslow counties, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It is not just the money you have helped us to win but the lives you have touched just by showing your support. I am completely in awe at the way people have come together to show their support for the East Duplin High School band. I could not be happier to be anywhere else.” Ballard said their school’s band is small but continues to grow and has tremendous support from the parents and community. “We’re a tiny band but our band booster parents are phenomenal and never turn down an opportunity to raise money for the band,” he said. 
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