Published: November 20, 2007 10:47 am         

Boys and Girls Club watch performance by Bo Bice

The Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club along with hundreds of school-age children from across Mississippi attended and participated in the Lights On Afterschool 2007, a celebration of afterschool programs and the positive impacts they have on children and communities, at the MSU Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts in Meridian Nov. 15.

Attendees were surprised by American Idol alum Bo Bice and Julia Burton, an up-and-coming country singer and 2004 Miss West Virginia.

“More than 14 million U.S. children are alone between the hours of 3-6 p.m.,” said Mary Peavey, president of Peavey Electronics and member of the Afterschool Alliance’s National Board of Directors. “Lights On Afterschool allows us to address the need for afterschool programs, and also gives children the opportunity to show us how these programs are enriching their lives.”

For the second year, this special celebration featured the finale of Peavey Afterschool (Not) Idle™, a singing competition for students who are enrolled in public, private or home school grades K-12.

Meridian native Sarah Margaret Huff won the 2007 Peavey Afterschool (Not) Idle singing competition.

Huff, a junior at Meridian High School, won over the crowd and judges with her rendition of “Oh Atlanta,” a song popularized by country singer Alison Krauss.

As the Grand Prize winner, she will travel to Nashville to record with professional session musicians. Oshima McKee of Newton placed second and won $750 in Peavey musical equipment, while Holly Brand of Meridian placed third and won $500 in Peavey gear.

The 2007 finalists performed for the audience and a panel of judges including Bob Saporiti, a music-industry veteran and former senior vice president and general manager of Warner Brothers Records Nashville, and Peavey founder and CEO Hartley Peavey.