The 10th Anniversary of the Chattanooga ACT-SO Showcase will be held at ArtsBuild on June 25, 2021, at 6:00 P.M. The location is 301 East 11th Street, Unit 300. Visual Arts participants will have their work on display, with a live presentation from the Performing Arts participants. The NAACP ACT-SO welcomes ArtsBuild as an inaugural co-sponsor of the event.
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Showcase that is the brainchild of the Chattanooga ACT-SO Co-Chair, Dr. Sandra Affare. Dr. Affare has served in ACT-SO leadership for over 10 years. The Showcase is an opportunity for the parents, donors, and supporters to see the work of the participants, and for the community to come together to show support for the talented youth. The Anniversary Showcase will include past Chattanooga ACTSO Champions with pre-recorded Alumni Reflections. You will hear what ACT-SO means to them in their current careers.
Thessela White, Tennessee ACT-SO State Chair and Vice President for the NAACP Chattanooga Hamilton County Branch believes “The community should support programs like ACT-SO because if we want the best for our community, we should continue to invest the best in our youth.”
NAACP Chattanooga Hamilton County Branch President, Reverend Ann Jones Pierre says, “As we complete 40 years of work of excellence with the students in our area, we hope that the future will exceed the past. Those individuals who serve in ACT-SO leadership, as participants, judges, sponsors, and members of the community are pushing the excellence of the program through their unselfish act of support.”
ACT-SO, (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific, Olympics), is a national year-long enrichment program for high school students offering 33 categories of academic and 2 performance competition. Approximately 150 ACT-SO programs compete for a chance to have their local winners advance to the National ACT-SO competition in July of each year.
To support the Chattanooga ACT-SO program, contributions and donations can be mailed to Chattanooga ACT-SO, P.O. Box 3226 Chattanooga, TN 37404 or at https://actsochattanooga.org.
Chattanooga’s ACT-SO Medalists for 2021 are:
DeSean Aaron, Dramatics, Silver Medal, The Howard High
David Crum, Photography, Bronze Medal, McCallie School
Santana Etchison- Poetry Written, Gold Medal, Girls Preparatory School
Jerald-Arden Freeman, Sculpture- Gold Medal STEM School
John-Paul Freeman, Drawing, Silver Medal, Sculpture Silver Medal STEM School
Chloie Marshall, Poetry-Written, Silver Medal, Drawing-Bronze Medal, STEM School