CollegeInsider.com profiled Belmont men’s basketball coach Rick Byrd recently. Click here to read the article about Byrd’s leadership through Belmont’s NAIA years through last March’s debut in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
Walter Interns With Blender, Conan O’Brien
Belmont music business student Rebekah Walter is interning for Blender Magazine and Late Night with Conan O’Brien in New York City. Walter and 20 others were selected out of 300 eligible candidates to participate in the NBC Pilot Program, in which she will help develop a pilot and business plan for NBC. At the end of July she, along with her team of three other participants, will present their work to junior level executives. A winning team will be selected to present to the top level executives at NBC.
Physical Therapy Student Begins Program for Children
Special Kids, a Christian care center for children with special needs, will introduce a new program thanks to the vision of Megan Stinson, a Belmont physical therapy student. Megan previously interned at Special Kids and had the idea for a “Prayer Pal Bear” which would be with the children throughout their therapy service and upon completion of the program.
Stinson acquired corporate sponsorships to fund this program from such companies as Build-A-Bear, LifeWay, Liberty Trust Mortgage, Inc. and Hyde Electric. Through her efforts, Stinson has provided over 500 bears for Special Kids. Each bear has Stinson’s favorite verse about children on the back of its shirt: “And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” Matthew 18:4-5
The Prayer Pal Bear will be introduced on July 15 at Southeast Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.
For more information on Special Kids and the Prayer Pal Bear, click here.
Raines Recognized by Nashville Chamber
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce named Dr. J. Patrick Raines, dean of the College of Business and the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business Administration at Belmont University, the Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in the Arts, Entertainment and Music category. Belmont and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce conducted a study that showed the total economic impact of the music industry in Nashville. Led by Raines and released in January 2006, The Economic Impact of the Music Industry in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro MSA was the first ever study to assess the economic impact of Music City’s signature industry.
Belmont In The News
Nashville Medical News ran an article featuring the opening of the Gordon E. Inman Center, “Teaching Compassionate Care,” in its most recent issue. The article can be read online here.
Belmont Alumna to Be Featured on ABC Primetime
Laura Rosser (’04) will be featured on an upcoming five-hour primetime series on ABC dealing with various health issues. Rosser, a pianist, lives with a condition called synesthesia – a combining of the senses – which causes her to see letters, numbers and music in color. She will be interviewed for a segment of the series that will cover the senses.
Belmont Student to Compete in Miss America Pageant
Shelley Bryson Benthall, a Belmont student from Florence, S.C., was crowned Miss South Carolina, winning a $20,000 scholarship and a chance to go to the Miss America pageant. She also won the pageant’s physical fitness competition, which accounted for 15 percent of the total score. Benthall was crowned Miss South Carolina Teen in 2003; she is the first contestant to win both pageants in South Carolina.
The Miss America pageant will tape a seven-episode documentary series titled “Finding Miss America” in Los Angeles from Sept. 5 to Sept. 13. The series will air on Country Music Television for a week before the televised pageant finals in January and will show the 52 women in preliminary competition and give viewers a chance to choose which ones advance to the top 15 for a shot at becoming Miss America 2007.
Sturgis Wins Imperishable Flame Award
Amy Sturgis, adjunct instructor of liberal studies at Belmont University, received the inaugural Imperishable Flame Award sponsored by the Northeast Tolkien Society in the category of “Tolkien/Inkling Inspired Scholarship.” Included prominently in her accomplishments for the year was her coordination of the “Past Watchful Dragons” C.S. Lewis conference held on Belmont’s campus last November. In a related award, progressive rock band Glass Hammer received the award in the catetgory of “Inspired Creativity” for their performance at the same conference debuting their C.S. Lewis-inspired album. The performance at Belmont is now available on DVD.
Sturgis accepted her award in a special ceremony at the International Tolkien Society Conference (“The Gathering”) in Toronto. While in Toronto, Sturgis also signed copies of her new edited edition of Baron de la Motte Fouque’s The Magic Ring. The book was available to conference attendees before its official release in September.
Ocean Way Named Nashville’s Best Studio
Music Row, Nashville’s music industry publication, awarded Belmont University’s Ocean Way Studios Nashville’s Best Studio at the publications’ 18th annual awards celebration. Glenda Cones, manager of Ocean Way, accepted the award.
Built in a reconditioned greystone church from the 1850s and purchased by Belmont in 2001, Ocean Way was named the No.1 tracking room in Nashville three years in a row by Billboard magazine and is recognized nationally as one of the top recording studios. Ocean Way now serves as a world-class teaching laboratory for Belmont music business students in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business while still serving an impressive client roster that includes Vince Gill, Harry Connick, Jr., Faith Hill, Train, Bob Seger, Yo Yo Ma, Reba McEntire, Michael W. Smith, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, matchbox twenty, the Nashville Symphony and Belmont alumni Trisha Yearwood, Lee Ann Womack and Brad Paisley.
Babb Earns PHR Certification
Stephanie Babb, Human Resources Generalist in Belmont’s Department of Human Resources, recently earned certification as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), a certification awarded by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). The PHR certification demonstrates a mastery of the body of knowledge in the human resources field. To become certified, an applicant must pass a comprehensive examination and demonstrate a strong background of professional human resource experience.
HRCI is the credentialing body for human resource professionals and is affiliated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The purpose of the institute is to promote the establishment of professional standards and to recognize professionals who meet those standards.
