September 26, 2014 Vol. 90, No. 4
@HUStudentPubs April 25,The 2014 Facebook: Link Vol. 89, No. 18
online at thelink.harding.edu
By Hunter Beck Beat Reporter
Get Down Downtown (GDDT) festival begins Friday, Sept. 26. The free event will take place primarily along Main Street and at Spring Park through Saturday night. Get Down Downtown is put together by Main Street Searcy, an organization dedicated to the revitalization of Searcy’s historic downtown. One purpose of Get Down Downtown is to raise awareness of Searcy’s local businesses. The festival will feature more than 100 vendors set up along Main Street, most of which represent local businesses and restaurants. Amy Burton, the Main Street Searcy executive director, said that by hosting a free, exciting event downtown, she hopes people will discover the local businesses found on the square and throughout Searcy. “We still have a strong commercial center in downtown,” Burton said. “We hope people will see a business that they’ve not seen before — a bakery, a retail business, an office — so that they’ll come back.” Burton said that there is a benefit to shopping local rather than visiting strip malls. “You know who you’re mden -- Henry getting your merchandise from,” Burton said. “It’s kind of nice to have that personal relationship that people know you by name. It has that small town feel.” The festival offers a variety of attractions for students and residents in addition to the vendors. Main Street will be packed with concession stands,
carnival rides and a climbing wall. A jumbotron and tailgate will be set up on Saturday so that college football fans can enjoy the games. Spring Park will feature attractions for children, such as a petting zoo, inflatables and pony rides. Several special events will take place on Saturday. Author and former Congressman Ed Bethune will be in the White County Courthouse to promote his latest book. After the book signing will be a car show that will likely feature over 100 cars.The Robbins-Sanford Grand Hall will host a bridal fair throughout the day where vendors from Searcy can showcase their wedding features. The festival will feature live music throughout the weekend, with 12 bands scheduled to perform on the Quattlebaum Music Center Stage. The music bill is headlined by country super-group Ricochet and gospel-trio The Nelons. Harding groups Good News Singers and Belles and Beaux will perform Saturday morning. The Southwestern Energy Stage at Spring Park will host several local acts Saturday morning, including choirs and cheer squads from local schools. Senior Bethany Nicholson is currently working as an intern with Main Street Searcy. She said that Get Down Downtown is the organization’s biggest event of the year with an annual attendance of over 20,000 people. She and the rest of Main Street Searcy have been planning Get Down
It’s kind of nice to have that personal relationship that people know you by name. It has that small town feel. - Amy Burton, executive director Downtown since she started her internship. “I started working the first Wednesday of school,” Nicholson said. “That day I wrote a press release for Get Down Downtown and I’ve been working on Get Down Downtown ever since.” According to Nicholson, the variety of events and attractions is what makes Get Down Downtown such a success. “It’s going to be a very fun environment,” Nicholson said. “There’s going to be bands, there’s going to be vendors. Name a type of food and it will be there.” Junior Sam Elander, a Searcy native, said he sees Get Down Downtown as a feature of the community. “It’s a good gathering for the community to support local businesses and to have fun as a family,” Elander said. Get Down Downtown goes from Sept. 26-27. A full schedule and lineup can be found on Main Street Searcy’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ MainStreetSearcy.
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Searcy, Ark., 72149
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Searcy, Ark., 72149
Junior Jesse Hixson
Senior Kelsey Sumrall
Sophomore Renee Maynard
Senior James Morgan
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Helping veterans adjust By Joshua Johnson News Editor
A veteran’s association is currently being established by faculty and students to aid and minister to those returning from the military. Shawn Fisher, assistant professor of history and social sciences, said the Harding University Veteran’s Association (HUVA) is picking up where similar organizations have left off in the past. The association was founded last fall and organized this spring. Officer elections will take place in a few weeks. David Collins, executive vice president, approached Fisher last fall about starting a new veteran’s association. Fisher said he is pleased with the support the school shows to veterans. “We’re all about ministering to Harding’s veterans,” Fisher said. “This group allows the school and the students to come together with any issues that our veterans bring forward.” Fisher said HUVA not only supports veterans, but also supports current servicemen and spouses. HUVA has already held group devotionals, meetings and service projects, all in an effort to bring veterans together and help them find a safe place amidst a group of
like-minded individuals, according to Fisher. One of the projects initiated by the group this spring was a postcard drive, in which postcards from students were sent to deployed serviceman. “About 830 postcards were sent out to soldiers in Afghanistan,” Fisher said. “The soldiers were so happy to receive mail from so many Harding students.” Junior Paden Timms, a Marine Corps veteran, said HUVA is about helping soldiers transition from the military lifestyle to the college lifestyle. “It’s a wholly different environment, being in the army versus being in college,” Timms said. “There’s not a lot of decompression time for veterans. So if we can minister to these people, we’ve done our job.” Current veterans have an incredibly high suicide rate, according to Fisher. “Groups like this provide good support, and they prevent feelings of isolation,”Timms said. “Students who are not veterans come to college and find their clique of friends. This group helps provide similar feelings to vets.” Anyone interested in being involved can contact Fisher at sfisher@harding.edu.
Relay for Life looks to add teams, continue fundraising
By Julie Anne White Asst. Web Editor
Plans are well under way for this year’s Relay for Life. According to executive director senior Matt Woodson, the event will take place on Oct. 17 from 6 p.m. - 6 a.m. and the theme is “Kick Cancer in the Tailgate.” Woodson said he came up with the football game festivities
theme during a brainstorm session in hopes that it would encourage as many students to participate as possible. Woodson said the fundraising goal is $25,000, and he hopes to have around 30 teams.Twenty-three teams are currently registered. “Anybody can be a team, it doesn’t have to be a social club,” Woodson said. “I want to encourage people to
utilize the ease of online registration. It makes it really easy to fundraise.” Woodson said participants can send out emails to potential sponsors directly from the website after signing up. He said he tried this method last year and raised hundreds of dollars in a matter of minutes. Along with the excitement of tailgating games and food, public relations chair senior
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Senior Rachel Weiss lights a luminaria during last year’s Relay for Life. She participated in honor of a boy she babysat who was diagnosed with cancer.
Football, page 1B
Rachel Weiss said Relay for Life will include all of the traditional events honoring both those who have lost the battle and survivors. “We want to celebrate those we have lost and celebrate those who have fought and won,” Weiss said. The Relay for Life committee hosts a Survivors’ Benefit dinner prior to the event. Then, cancer survivors and their caregivers kick off the evening by making the first lap around the front lawn. After dark, everyone will gather for the Luminaria Ceremony. Participants can purchase paper bags and decorate them in honor of cancer patients; then the bags are filled with sand and candles are lit and placed inside. Weiss said she got involved with Relay for Life after a young boy she babysat was diagnosed. Last year she decorated a luminaria for him. “It lights up the whole front lawn — it’s so cool,” Weiss said. Woodson said the ceremony is his favorite part of the evening. He said he draws some of his passion for Relay for Life from witnessing his grandfather battle cancer.
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“This has always been a passion for my family,” Woodson said. “My grandfather was diagnosed six times and he survived five.” Woodson said he grew up helping with Relay for Life, and has learned to appreciate the hard work involved by watching his mother serve as a Relay for Life community director. He said he has seen firsthand where the fundraised money goes: into wigs, food pantries, transportation, treatments and Christmas presents for diagnosed children. Woodson said knowing what a difference the money can make spurs him towards ensuring Harding’s relay is a success. “I’ve got so much going on, and Relay adds so much to my plate,” Woodson said. “But in the end it doesn’t matter because I have so much passion for it.” Woodson said he encourages students to remember that although Relay for Life is lots of fun, it is more meaningful than mere entertainment. “It’s not all about having fun; the focus is to raise funds,”Woodson said. Students can sign up to participate in Relay for Life as a team or an individual at www.relayforlife.org.
Teacher, retired coach and flea market vendor, page 3B