Tag Archives: PR

Final Deadline: July 21, 2020, for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Songwriters, one more week to send in that river song you’ve been humming, by midnight, Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

Follow this link to send in a song for the 2020 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest:
https://forms.gle/mvw1pAvCPyqE9JxV8

“Then it will be time to get this show on the stage by Saturday, August 22, 2020,” said Committee Chair Tom H. Johnson, Jr. “We’re just looking for a few more good songs before we choose finalists.”

You could win this year! Maybe a plaque for best in your genre, or $50 for best song from inside the Suwannee River Basin, or $50 for best song from outside.

Or the $300 First Prize!

[Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020]
Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020
PDF

“Maybe you were waiting for the food truck? It’s Rico’s Tacos of Valdosta,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “And don’t forget, our headliner is Dirty Bird and the Flu.”

“Just don’t forget to send in your song by Tuesday the 21st,” said Committee member Laura D’Alisera, who won First Prize the first year, after submitting during the extension period. “Really, we mean it this time! By Tuesday, July 21, 2020.”

The three judges are ready to hear your songs, 7-10 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601. Headliners will play, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play. M.C.: Scott James of Talk 92.1 FM Radio.

Thanks to Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River contamination –WCTV 2020-07-13

2020-07-15: Lifted: Florida Withlacoochee River Bacterial Advisory 2020-07-15

WCTV covered the recent bad water quality results in the Withlacoochee River.

We have no new Withlacoochee River data from Georgia or Florida.

Update 2020-07-14 11:30 AM: Valdosta has updated with Friday downstream results: Knights Ferry, 270 cfu/100 mL E. coli; Nankin, 250; State Line, 280. FDEP just updated at 10:57 AM with these much better Monday results: GA 31, 10; CR 150, 20; FL 6, 60. So maybe those WWALS Saturday bad results at Knights Ferry and Nankin already washed downstream.

But we do have a datapoint on the Alapaha River.

[Naylor Beach, 2020:01:11 14:06:32, 30.9253083, -83.0384972]
Photo: Tasha Ekman LaFace, of Naylor Beach, 2020:01:11 14:06:32, 30.9253083, -83.0384972

Amber Spradley, WCTV, 13 July 2020, Withlacoochee River contaminated in parts of South Georgia and North Florida,

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV)—The Florida Health Department issued an advisory last Friday for parts of North Florida near the Withlacoochee River regarding alarming rates of E. coli.

“Right now, the results are not good,” Suwannee [Riverkeeper] John [S.] Quarterman said.

For counts of E. coli, Quarterman says anything less than 410 is okay, but zero is always ideal.

On Saturday, his team discovered numbers as high as 5,233 just west of Clyattville at the Knights Ferry Boat Ramp in Lowndes County.

“Every time this happens, they immediately point and say it’s Valdosta,” Quarterman said. “Well, this time it’s almost certainly not Valdosta.”

The high data was collected just below the city from Knights Ferry Boat Ramp to Madison Blue Spring in Florida.

“You know it’s something that we’re continuing to keep an eye on, but as far as the numbers around the city of Valdosta, those have all stayed relatively low,” the City of Valdosta’s PIO Ashlyn Johnson said.

City crews test the river three times a week for 40 river miles down to the Georgia-Florida line. Since Valdosta’s major sewage spill last December, they’ve seen no alarming contamination rates in the area.

Well, they found nothing alarming Friday down to US 84, but we haven’t yet seen Valdosta’s results for the lower three stations on the Withlacoochee River, and they certainly have seen alarming contamination previously.

[Dirty Knights Ferry, Nankin, FL 6]
Dirty Knights Ferry, Nankin, FL 6
For the complete WWALS composite spreadsheet of Georgia and Florida results and other context, see wwals.net/issues/testing/.

The rest of the article is about the 7.26 million gallon catch basin at the entrance of Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Continue reading →

Headliner: Dirty Bird and the Flu; song deadline today, for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Update 2020-07-15: Final Deadline: July 21, 2020, for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, Georgia, July 14, 2020 — Our headliner is Dirty Bird and the Flu, “Funky-blues-soul-fusion born straight out of the South Georgia swamps and a charismatic front-man who catches comparisons of all the famous soul singers, Dirty Bird and the Flu is not your typical fare! Come see us live – no two shows are ever the same!”

[Dirty Bird and the Flu]
Dirty Bird and the Flu

“Songwriters, there’s still time to send in a song by the extended deadline of midnight today, Tuesday, July 14, 2020,” said Committee Chair Tom H. Johnson, Jr. “We have some songs, but we’d like more to choose from.”

Follow this link to send in a song for the 2020 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on August 22, 2020:
https://forms.gle/mvw1pAvCPyqE9JxV8

This year you could win a plaque for best in your genre, or $50 for best song from inside the Suwannee River Basin, or $50 for best song from outside. Or the $300 First Prize!

Tickets to listen are on sale now, $10 online:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/third-annual-suwannee-riverkeeper-songwriting-contest-finals-tickets-110284875030
Or $12 at the door. Children under 12 free. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

“Dirty Bird and the Flu look a lot like this finalist from last year, who won Best Funk Song,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. Continue reading →

Deadline Extended for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Update 2020-07-15: Final Deadline: July 21, 2020, for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hahira, Georgia, July 9, 2020 — “Last year a couple of winners got in through the extension,” said first year First Prize winner Laura D’Alisera. “And the first year, so did I, because someone emailed the songwriting community and l had my song 95% in place.” So the Contest Committee has voted to extend the deadline a week, to Tuesday, July 14, 2020.

“Please send in your song by midnight Tuesday,” said Committee Chair Tom H. Johnson, Jr. “We have some songs, but the committee would like more to choose finalists from.”

Follow this link to send in a song for the 2020 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on August 22, 2020.

[Deadline Extended to July 14, 2020]
Deadline Extended to July 14, 2020

“Be sure to send it by Tuesday, July 14, 2020. That’s Bastille Day, if that helps in remembering it,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “Who knows? Maybe somebody can relate Bastille Day to the Suwannee River.”

You could win this year! Maybe a plaque for best in your genre, or $50 for best song from inside the Suwannee River Basin, or $50 for best song from outside. Or the $300 First Prize!

We’ll have a food truck, and a cash bar by The Pour House mobile bar.

The three judges are ready to hear your songs, 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601. Headliners will play, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play. M.C.: Scott James of Talk 92.1 FM Radio.

Thanks to Dirty Bird and the Flu for handling sound.

Tickets to listen are on sale now, $10 online (children under 12 free), or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

Thanks to our top tier sponsor, Georgia Beer Company.

More sponsor opportunities are available. Sponsoring the contest is a great opportunity for Continue reading →

Video: Save Our Suwannee –Jay Jourden; deadline today for your song for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020-08-22

Deadline today at midnight (11:59 PM, July 8, 2020) to send in your song. for the 2020 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on August 22, 2020.

Last year, Jay Jourden and band sang their Save Our Suwannee. Jay and his band from Ponte Vedra, Florida, swept the awards, winning a plaque for Best Newgrass Bluegrass, and $50 for Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin, and the $300 First Prize, all for “Save Our Suwannee.”

You could win this year!

[Jay Jourden Winning]
Jay Jourden Winning

“Yes, Jay submitted the same song the year before,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “But last year he stopped in the middle, said he forgot some verses, and rattled off names of a whole bunch of rivers, all in perfect time. Naming rivers was one of the criteria, and it’s a great song: Save Our Suwannee!”

The three judges are ready to hear your songs, 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601. Headliners will play, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play M.C.: Scott James of Talk 92.1 FM Radio.

Thanks to Dirty Bird and the Flu for handling sound.

Tickets to listen are on sale now, $10 online (children under 12 free), or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

We’ll have a food truck, and a cash bar by The Pour House mobile bar.

Thanks to our top tier sponsor, Georgia Beer Company.

More sponsor opportunities are available. Sponsors get Continue reading →

Video: Withlacoochee Watershed –Tom Hochschild; deadline tomorrow for your song for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020-08-22

Tomorrow at midnight (11:59 PM, July 8, 2020) is the deadline to send in your song. for the 2020 Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on August 22, 2020.

Last year, Tom Hoschchild sang his song Withlacoochee Watershed and won a plaque for Best Folk. You could win a plaque, or one of the $50 regional prizes, or the $300 First Prize.

[Playing]
Playing

We’ll have a food truck, and a cash bar by The Pour House mobile bar.

The three judges are ready to hear your songs, 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601. Headliners will play, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play M.C.: Scott James of Talk 92.1 FM Radio.

Thanks to Dirty Bird and the Flu for handling sound.

Tickets to listen are on sale now, $10 online (children under 12 free), or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

Thanks to our top tier sponsor, Georgia Beer Company.

More sponsor opportunities are available. Sponsors get named in the program, on the stage, in the sponsor banner, online, on radio, TV, newspapers, etc., as well as other perks.

Here’s Tom Hoschchild playing Withlacoochee Watershed last year: Continue reading →

On Scott James Talk 92.1 FM: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2020-07-06

Monday morning at 8AM, Suwannee Riverkeeper will be on Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio, about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Once again I’d like to thank Scott James for agreeing to be the Master of Ceremonies for the Contest.

[Scott James Talk 92.1 banner]
Scott James Talk 92.1 banner

The radio interview

When: 8 AM, Monday, July 6, 2020

Where: Talk 92.1 FM radio, Scott James drivetime show

Listen: Over the air, or through the radio show’s own website, or through any of several online listening services.

Event: facebook

The Songwriting Contest

You can still send in your song until this Wednesday, July 8.

The three judges are ready to hear your songs, 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601. Headliners will play, food truck and cash bar, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play

Tickets to listen are on sale now, $10 online (children under 12 free), or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

Songs can be about the Suwannee River, or the Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Alapahoochee, Little, New, Dead, or Gopher Rivers, Okapilco, Piscola, etc. Creeks, the Okefenokee Swamp, Grand Bay, or springs, sinks, swamps, or ponds. (But not the Santa Fe River; which has its own contest.)

For much more about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, see: wwals.net/pictures/2020-08-22–songwriting/ Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on WKUB 105.1 FM 2020-06-23

Brian Blount of WKUB asked me to talk about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on 105.1 FM.

[Songwriting Contest on WKUB 105.1 FM]
Songwriting Contest on WKUB 105.1 FM

You can send in a song until July 8 about any river, creek, swamp, sink, or spring in the Suwannee River Basin. You can sing about any issue, such as that proposed titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, subject of the previous WKUB interview. But please no partisan politics or specific candidates for office; WWALS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity. Also not about the Santa Fe River: it has its own songwriting contest.

Here’s the audio from the July 23rd interview about the Songwriting Contest:

Tickets to listen are $10 online now (children under 12 free) or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

The Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest will be 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 North Patterson Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601.

Headliners will play, food truck and cash bar, finalists will play, silent auction and kayak raffle, judges will judge, prizes will be awarded, winners will play.

The Master of Ceremonies will be Scott James of Talk 92.1 FM Radio.

Three judges are ready to hear the finalists play.

All about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest is here:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2020-08-22–songwriting/

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Video: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on Steve Nichols Radio 2020-06-23

On the Steve Nichols radio show we talked about how song submissions are open until July 8, 2020, for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. We also talked about fishing, bacterial contamination and mercury in the rivers, coal plants, solar power, and upcoming WWALS outings on Banks Lake and the Suwannee River.

[Flyer]
Flyer

Tickets to listen to the finalists play 7-9PM Saturday, August, 22, 2020, at the Turner Center Art Park in Valdosta, GA, are $10 online (children under 12 free) or $12 at the door. For VIP tables send email to song@suwanneeriverkeeper.org.

The Steve Nichols show was the first to reveal the judges are selected. Continue reading →

Watching over the Waters: WWALS paddles, songwriting contest –VDT 2020-06-27

Amanda M. Usher, Valdosta Daily Times, 27 June 2020, Watching over the Waters: WWALS sponsors paddles, songwriting contest,

[Paddle Georgia from Spook Bridge, Withlacoochee River]
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, Paddle Georgia from Spook Bridge, between Quitman and Valdosta, GA, Withlacoochee River, June 15, 2019.

VALDOSTA — John Quarterman has been around the Suwannee River Basin since his childhood.

Living on land his [grand-]father purchased near rivers and swamps in 1921, he has always felt attracted to rivers and works to keep them clean.

Quarterman is the Suwannee [R]iverkeeper with WWALS Watershed Coalition. WWALS is an acronym for Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, Little[, Santa Fe,] and Suwannee.

The coalition was established in June 2012 to eliminate issues with rivers and creeks such as sewage spills, he said. Quarterman became the Suwannee [R]iverkeeper in 201[6].

WWALS Watershed Coalition serves a significant purpose of water quality testing, he said. The City of Valdosta tests waters three times a week from U.S. 41 North to the southern state line, he said.

Through the years, the group has hosted cleanups at the Troupville boat ramp and holds two or three paddles monthly.

[Lakeland cleanup, Alapaha River]
Photo: Gretchen Quarterman, Rivers Alive Cleanup, Pafford’s Landing near Lakeland, GA, Alapaha River, October 12, 2019.

“We’re not just a paddling organization,” Quarterman said. “… We do paddles, but we’re also an advocacy organization. We want to do conservation of stewardship.”

Quarterman is about awareness. He strives to bring attention to the rivers’ existence and informing people they can make use of the recreational rivers by boating or fishing.

“Getting people out there on the rivers to see what it is they are trying to conserve and protect is really important because until you see it for yourself, you’re not really appreciating the beauty of these rivers,” he said.

The rest of the article is about the upcoming paddle outings at Banks Lake at 7:30 PM Sunday, July 5, and at Dowling Park River Camp; for that one please be at Dowling Park Boat Ramp a 11:30 AM, Saturday, July 18, with camping gear.

The article concludes with the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 7-9 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2020, at Turner Center Art Park, 605 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA.

Come on down!

Thanks Amanda M. Usher, for Continue reading →