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RHHS marching band earns top awards
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Band members march across the field at the Effingham County compeition. - photo by Photo provided.
The Richmond Hill High School Wildcat Marching Band had their first marching competition of the season Oct. 9 an 10 as they took part in the 29th annual Coastal Empire Classic Marching Band Competition at Effingham County High School.
The competition hosted 11 high schools – two bands competing in Class A, three in Class AAA, two in Class AAAA and the Wildcats competing in the largest Class AAAAA.  
Richmond Hill brought home the following awards:  Color Guard – Superior; Percussion – Excellent; Drum Major – Superior (drum majors also awarded the Best Overall Drum Major Award); Music – Superior (also awarded the Best Overall Musical Performance Award); Visual – Superior (also awarded the Best Overall Visual Award); General Effect – Superior; and a Superior rating for their “overall” performance.  The Wildcats also came in second overall out of the 11 competition bands and Class AAAAA standings.
The Wildcats presented their competition show “Ninja – Live by the Sword,” with music and drill written by Countermotion Inc.
This year’s marching band consists of 118 students ranging in grade level from freshman to senior. The band, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Kiene, and the Color Guard, led by Marlon Smith, entertained and impressed the crowd with precision marching drill and a terrific sound. The competition show is presented in three movements; The Training Montage, Mediation and The Final – Samurai Melee.
The achievement of superior rated drill and music at the high school level is no easy task. The band spends countless hours working up to the competition season; two weeks of band camp in the summer; three after-school practices a week; and Friday night football games.
The Coastal Empire Classic clearly showed the band’s hard work paid off.  
The superlative scores in this competition are just the tip of the iceberg for the Wildcats this year as they gear up for the remainder of their competitions, including The Heart of Georgia Marching Invitational on Saturday in Warner Robins and the Battle of the Border in Lowndes County on Oct. 23. 
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Groups hand out scholarships
RH theater scholarship
Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer shows her Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. With her are Tom Harris, Ashlee Farris, Brett Berry and Kim Diebold. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016. - photo by Photo provided.

Three reports recently presented scholarships

Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer received the Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016.

Garden Club

The Richmond Hill Garden Club recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Katherine Wood and a $500 scholarship to Carly Vargas, both seniors graduating from Richmond Hill High School.

The awards were presented May 8 during Honors Night at RHHS.

Wood plans to attend Green Mountain College in Vermont and major in environmental studies.

Vargas plans to attend Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, to pursue a degree in either environmental studies or biology.

The garden club awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to a local high school senior who plans to major in a field related to environmental concerns, plants and/or gardening.

This year, due to having two exceptional candidates, the garden club awarded an additional $500 scholarship.

Exchange Club

The Exchange Club of Richmond Hill recently named Caroline Odom as its student of the year.

The club each month during the school year names a student of the month, and the student of the year is chosen from among those winners.

Awards are based on academic performance, community involvement and leadership.

Monthly winners receive $100, with the annual winner getting a $1,000 scholarship.

The Exchange Club has been recognizing students for more than 30 years.

Odom will go on to compete in the Georgia District Exchange Club against students from across the state.

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