JCHS Beta Club Travels to Kentucky, Performs at Nationals
On the morning of June 16, 33 Jasper County High School Beta Club students boarded a bus bound for Louisville, Kentucky to compete at the 2023 National Beta Club convention.
Students competed in the following events: character performance (aka skit), recreate/reimagine/recycle, banner, speech, show choir, engineering, meeting of the minds, group talent (large group), and living literature. With the exception of the two nationals only competitions (meeting of the minds and recreate/reimagine/recycle), students had to place first thru fifth at the state convention back in January to qualify to compete at nationals.
Jasper County placed second in the nation in character performance (aka skit). Students wrote an original script based on the ninja turtles that highlighted the Beta ideals of service, character, achievement, and leadership and then brought it to life through their acting.
Living Literature placed eighth in the nation. For this category, students select a scene from a literary work and create a freeze frame (like a wax museum) depiction of that scene. This year’s selection was The Masque of the Red Death from Edgar Allen Poe.
Both show choir and large group talent placed ninth this year at nationals. The show choir performed a mash up of “Survivor” and “I Will Survive.” Group Talent performed included a live band, dancers, and singers who performed a number of jazz related songs including “After the Rain,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” “At Last,” and “I Got Rhythm”. All students represented Jasper County exceptionally well in their events.
Beyond the competitions, students took a night out to go to Kentucky Kingdom: an amusement park Beta had rented out in the evening for members only. Despite the rain, students enjoyed riding roller coasters, swings, and all manner of other rides. The next day, the group attended the Louisville Slugger museum where they were able to see the bat factory where bats were being manufactured, saw baseball memorabilia, and played at the batting cages.
From there, students went to Churchill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held. There they decorated their own derby hats or their own lucky horseshoes. Students then went on a tour of the horse track and were amazed at the size of the viewing screen (three basketball courts put together). Finally, students were ready to head home to Jasper County stopping at Buc-ee’s on the way home.
The following students attended the convention: Lizzet Arizmenidi, Hunter Cleveland, Faith Cook, Andrew Cumbie, Skye Eads, Jacarian Grier, Will Garvin, Abigail Garland, Bryant Harrison, Carlie Hall, Alona Jackson, Hannah Lewis, Tara Lightfoot, Isai Lugo, Sarah Mann, Reagan Mask, Tiffani McClain, Lyla Melton, Matthew McNure, Grady Moore, Zoey Parks, Hollie Prentiss, Kayla Pulliam, Bethany Strength, Madelyn Taylor, Charlie Trawick, Cameran Tuggle, Isabella Waddell, Adelyn Walls, Stephanie Waters, Houston West, Asa Whitmire, J.D. Williams.
A big thanks to all of the adults who worked to helped support these students in their state competition endeavors: convention sponsors Bonnie Garvin, Amy Fontaine, Caleb Fontaine, Matt Hyde (builder of banner stand), Cheryl Jacobs (advisor), Emma Jacobs (show choir choreographer), Christie McAlum (advisor), Rhonda McFarland (advisor), Alicia Moore (backdrop stand designer), Christopher Savage (group talent band consultant), Matt Tumlin (bus driver and chaperone), and Wade Clemons (advisor).
Another big thanks to all of the businesses and individuals who helped sponsor the nationals trip. The trip would not be possible without the generosity of the Monticello community.
When asked about her Beta nationals experience, sophomore Alona Jackson said, “My overall experience was great. It was my first in Kentucky or going to nationals and I had a blast with my sponsors and friends. I enjoyed going out to do things or even just walking to the convention for competition and I would love to do it again.”
Junior officer Carlie Hall shared “Convention gave me a chance to meet new people and step outside my comfort zone. I am so proud of our Beta Club this year and everything that we won and accomplished”.
Senior officer Bryant Harrison said “Nationals was extremely fun this year! I can’t believe this was my last Beta trip. I hope the club continues to grow and improve as time goes on. Thank you to all of the sponsors and the members themselves that made high school very fun!”
Freshman Lyla Melton summed it up with. “I had a great time at nationals!! It was a great experience for me to be able to get closer with my fellow Beta members and have fun while being competitive. It was really awesome being able to compete in all of the different varieties of competitions, especially engineering and group talent.