The Woodruff Arts Center Honors Bennett’s Mill Middle School Band Director, Ricky Williams

The Woodruff Arts Center is pleased to announce Ricky Williams as an honoree for the third annual Woodruff Salutes Georgia Arts in Education Leaders program. Mr. Williams’ commitment to musical education has earned him this recognition.

Mr. Williams has been the Band Director for Bennett’s Mill Middle School since the school opened in 2007 and has served as a band director for the past 20 years. He demands hard work, discipline, and teamwork, and holds students to a high standard. He strongly encourages all students to take private lessons and has established a Private Lesson Academy at the school to make lessons more accessible to students. Mr. Williams is dedicated to student growth, volunteering his time before and after school to work with any students who need extra coaching. Mr. Williams finds opportunities for his band to perform in the community and competitively, having won many awards and honors in a very short time. Carolyn Callison, a parent of one of Mr. Williams’ students said of his efforts, “As a parent, I am very happy that my children have had the opportunity to be a part of such a first-rate band program. Mr. Williams is dedicated to providing top quality music education and has inspired a love of music in many students that they will enjoy for a lifetime.”

As one of five honorees, Mr. Williams will receive $2,500 to contribute to the arts program of his choice. He will also be recognized with a reception at Bennett’s Mill Middle School on April 15 and at a culminating reception for all honorees to be held at the Woodruff Arts Center on May 22, 2010.

You’re Invited! Join us as we celebrate Woodruff Salutes Georgia Arts In Education honoree Ricky Williams.

WHEN: April 15, 2010, 4:00 pm
WHERE: Bennett’s Mill Middle School, Media Center
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: Joseph R. Bankoff, President and CEO, The Woodruff Arts Center
ITINERARY: Guests will arrive, mingle and enjoy catered refreshments. Joe Bankoff will then say a few words about Mr. Williams and the importance of art in education in Georgia schools. Mr. Bankoff will then present Mr. Williams with a check for $2,500 to be donated to the Bennett’s Mill Middle School Band Boosters. Woodruff Salutes is a program designed to honor teachers, school and arts administrators, community leaders, and volunteers throughout Georgia who have championed and demonstrated the ability of the arts to impact positively the lives and learning of young people in grades PreK– 12. Honorees were selected by the Woodruff Arts Center Education Task Force.

The Woodruff Arts Center recognizes the power and potential of opening young minds through the arts. Woodruff’s divisions – Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and Young Audiences – share a mission to provide arts learning experiences of the highest quality. This campus-wide commitment makes arts education uniquely based on performances, exhibitions and school curriculums accessible via one arts center. Through the Woodruff, the arts bring learning to life for more than a million students across Georgia and neighboring states each year.

For more information about Woodruff Salutes, please visit http://www.woodruffcenter.org/Center-Initiatives/Woodruff-Salutes.aspx.
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Read our other Arts related blogs:
http://backstagegeorgia.blogspot.com/
http://artsacrossga.blogspot.com/
http://musicmattersga.blogspot.com/
http://hummingbirdhollowstudio.blogspot.com/
http://georgiaswriter.blogspot.com/
http://artzapalooza.blogspot.com/
http://gaclicks.blogspot.com/
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