WWALS River Revue 2024-09-07

WWALS Watershed Coalition

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.

WWALS River Revue 2024-09-07 [Up]

The Second Annual WWALS River Revue sit-down fundraising dinner was held
Saturday, September 7, 2024, 5-9 PM,
at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia,

It incorporated the 7th Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
Here are videos of the finalists and the winners:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QzJ7P8gLZAeDYW2TpNdVIdP&si=fJAnB4M6fC2JmVlE

The Winners, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, WWALS River Revue 2024-09-07
Center top: Rachel Grubb of Lake City, Florida, won Best Americana Indie-Folk Song for “Cruising Down the Suwannee” and First Prize, with $300.
Top left: Sweet William Ennis from Palatka, Florida, won Best Blues Song for “Catfish Stew (Suwannee River Blues),” and Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin, with $50.
Top right: David Rodock from Adel, Georgia, won Best Pop Country Folk Song for “Moonlight Echoes,” and Best Song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin, with $50.
Bottom left: Robert Thatcher from Signal Mountain, Tennessee and Tom Brown from Dalton, Georgia, won Best Folk / Americana / Bluegrass Song for “Roll On, Echo River.”
Bottom right: Bill Berry from Valdosta, Georgia, won Best Americana Song for “The River.”

2024-12-11: Thatcher Keeps the Music Coming --The Lookout Mountain Mirror 2024-09-07.

Ferris Robinson, The Lookout Mountain Mirror, December 2024, Pages 18-19, Thatcher Keeps the Music Coming,
Lookout Mountain native and longtime Signal Mountain resident Robert Thatcher has always loved writing, poetry in particular. Coming from a very musical family, he probably learned to play the guitar before he learned to ride a bike. Those were always two separate activities, and Robert wrote poem after poem in various notebooks and on scrap sheets of paper and whatever was handy when the words came to him. And he has played guitar for a lifetime, strumming other folks' songs.

Robert Thatcher and Tom Brown profiled in hometown paper, After winning prize in Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

His uncle is the late legendary Fletcher Bright of The Dismembered Tennesseans fame, and his cousin is Frank Bright, a great musician and songwriter. Both encouraged Robert's music, but Frank planted the seed that Robert might want to try writing some tunes on his own, something that simmered for a while on the back burner.
But then things changed when he went to college...
Bill Berry, The River, Best Americana Song @ Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024
Robert Thatcher and Tom Brown, Roll On, Echo River, Best Folk / Americana / Bluegrass Song @ Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024 2024-09-07
Sweet William Ennis, Catfish Stew (Suwannee River Blues), Best Blues Song, Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin @ Suwannee River Songwriting Contest 2024
David Rodock, Adel, GA, won Best Song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin 2024-09-07
Rachel Grubb, Lake City, FL, First Prize, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024-09-07

Logo: WWALS River Revue 2024

Tickets:
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024
Facebook event
Sponsorship Package with WWALS River Revue Flyer
Silent Auction Donation Form
Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest
- Song submissions: Opened April 1, 2024 and closed August 14, 2024.
- Rules for the Songwriting Contest

Flyer: Food, Speakers, M.C., Headliner, Songs, Judges, Prizes, and Sponsors So Far
PDF, PDF 2 per page, PDF 4 per page

Press Releases:

2024-09-09: Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2024-09-07,
Hahira, Georgia, September 9, 2024— the First Prize winner in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest is from Lake City, Florida, with Best from Inside the Suwannee River Basin from Adel, Georgia, and Best from Outside the Suwannee River Basin from Palatka, Florida.
Everyone listened to the two main speakers, the talks about WWALS, and the headliner at the WWALS River Revue. More about all that later.
Then the three judges listened to the five finalists of the Seventh Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and picked these winners.

The Winners, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, WWALS River Revue 2024-09-07
Center top: Rachel Grubb of Lake City, Florida, won Best Americana Indie-Folk Song for “Cruising Down the Suwannee” and First Prize, with $300.
Top left: Sweet William Ennis from Palatka, Florida, won Best Blues Song for “Catfish Stew (Suwannee River Blues),” and Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin, with $50.
Top right: David Rodock from Adel, Georgia, won Best Pop Country Folk Song for “Moonlight Echoes,” and Best Song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin, with $50.
Bottom left: Robert Thatcher from Signal Mountain, Tennessee and Tom Brown from Dalton, Georgia, won Best Folk / Americana / Bluegrass Song for “Roll On, Echo River.”
Bottom right: Bill Berry from Valdosta, Georgia, won Best Americana Song for “The River.”

Here's video of WWALS President Sara Squires Jones awarding the prizes:
https://youtu.be/5zSHNeVzOZs
Video by Doug Jipson for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.

We will post videos of each performance soon.
...
2024-08-11: Speakers and last call for songs for WWALS River Revue,
Last call, songwriters: August 14, 2024 is the last day to send in your excellent song about the Suwannee River Basin. We mean it this time. Here’s the entry form:
https://forms.gle/ett6ne6DxMc8Ln897
The Finals for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest will be at the WWALS River Revue, Saturday, September 7, 2024, at the Turner Center for the Arts, in Valdosta, Georgia.
Songwriters will perform for the audience and the three judges will decide, after the speakers from Florida and Georgia.

Logo: WWALS River Revue 2024

Dr. Jason Evans will speak about his many-year study of water lettuce, which establishes definitively that it is native to Florida. This may mean that the state should not spray to try to get rid of it.
He is Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida. Jason Evans is an interdisciplinary systems and landscape ecologist who works in the fields of climate adaptation, land cover change, and water quality improvement within the built environment.

Dr. Jason M. Evans, Stetson University, Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience, DeLand, Florida, speaking to the Santa Fe Springs Working Group, December 14, 2023

Heather Brasell will speak on the impacts of forest management on water quality.
She is the founder of the Gaskins Forest Education Center, Alapaha, Georgia, where she has won state and national forestry awards. She holds frequent events for adults and children, such as the annual A Day in the Woods, where WWALS always has a booth. She has won state and national forestry awards. She owns several miles of the Alapaha River and has paddled many times with WWALS. She is a former WWALS board member. She is a WWALS water quality tester.

Heather Brasell, Gaskins Forest Education Center, Alapaha, Georgia

...
2024-07-26: More time for your Suwannee River Basin song
2024-07-22: It’s Suwannee River Basin song time 2024-07-22.
2024-05-30: Three judges for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting 2024-05-30.

Judges, 2024-09-07, 5-8 PM, Valdosta, GA, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Anna Stange (Madison, FL), Tony Buzella, (Lake City, FL), Robert Griner (Nashville, GA)
2024-04-01: Sponsors, WWALS River Revue.

Hahira, Georgia, May 1, 2024 — WWALS thanks our sponsors for the WWALS River Revue fundraising dinner, including the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest: Wild Green Future, Georgia Power, and Brooksco Dairy.

WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, “We thank all our sponsors so far, and we look forward to many more! Many people and businesses will be hearing from me and others in the near future.”
2024-03-29: Send in your song for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest,

Hahira, Georgia, March 29, 2024 — On April First, really, no fooling, submissions are open for the 2024 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, “Musicians, don't wait until the deadline to send in your song. Also, we could use more volunteers to help at the show and committee members to help plan it.”

The Seventh Annual Finals will be held at the WWALS River Revue, an indoor fundraising dinner to benefit WWALS Watershed Coalition, with an evening of food, drink, and entertainment. That's 5-8 PM, Saturday, September 7, 2024, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said, “Your ticket or sponsorship helps support everything WWALS does, from water quality tests, paddle outings and swimming & boating lessons, to chainsaw cleanups, and beyond to advocacy to stop trash at its sources, strip mines, and pipelines. We work for water trails, solar power, and Right to Clean Water, with growing engagement for youth and marginalized communities.”

Song Submissions Open, No Fooling, April 1, 2024, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Finals: Turner Arts Center, Valdosta, GA

There will be plaques for each best song per genre, prizes of $50 each for best song sent in from inside and from outside the Suwannee River Basin, and a $300 First Prize. All finalists get videos posted on YouTube, and a one year WWALS membership.

Here's the entry form:
https://forms.gle/ett6ne6DxMc8Ln897
Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2024
2024-01-09: WWALS River Revue, September 7, 2024,

Hahira, Georgia, January 9, 2024 — Save the date for the second annual WWALS River Revue. This indoor sit-down fundraising dinner will be held 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 7, 2024, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia. Tickets are $100 a person. It will include the 7th Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, with 2023's First Prize winner Jane Fallon as 2024 Headliner. Chuck Roberts returns as Master of Ceremonies.

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Pictures

Photographs by WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc.,
licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 U.S. License.

WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), est. 2012, is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-for-profit charity.
WWALS advocates for conservation and stewardship of the surface waters and groundwater of the Suwannee River Basin and Estuary, in south Georgia and north Florida, among them the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little, Santa Fe, and Suwannee River watersheds, through education, awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen activities.
Since 2016, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® is a project and a staff member of WWALS as the Waterkeeper Alliance® member for the 10,000 square mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia.