Leaning together, the women of Ju Go Ju, Ko Jo Koi ond friends perform as flight attendants in their show, "The Sky's the limit," Morch 26, 2005 , The two women's clubs won the John H, Ryan Sweepstakes trophy in 2005 for the second consecutive year. ·Jeff Montgomery Covered in face point, junior Amanda Raibley performs as a tiger in Chi Omega Pi, Delta Gamma Rho and friends' show, "The Fellowship of the Ring, " March 26, 2005. "The Fellowship of the Ring" received first runner-up for the John H. Ryan Sweepstakes trophy. ·leff Montgomery Spring Sing t s first d irector retires, leaves behind 32-year tradition Every spring semester students spent countless hours wo rking on costumes, choreography, music and developing teamwork to perform in front of crowds and judges as they competed for the Jack H. Ryan Sweepstakes trophy. Since its inception in 1973, Spring Sing was under the direction of Dr. Jack Ryan and attracted thousands of Harding parenes, alumni and friends from all over the country every Easter weekend. But after the 2005 show and years ofdedication to the production and the people, Ryan, the trophy's namesake, retired from his position. "I liked too much ofwhat I was doing, but I just knew that it was time for me to leave," Ryan said. D r. Steve Frye, associate professor ofcommunication, and Cindee Stockstill, director of musical productions, took over Ryan's position as the new Spring Sing directors beginning with the 2006 production. "Dr. Ryan was a mentor to me," Frye said. "There is almost a father-son relationship with us." Spring Sing was one of the most influential, involved, student productions in Harding's history, Stockstill said. Because of those reasons, Stockstill said she enjoyed working on the production. "The beauty of this job is getting to work with the students - seeing the camaraderie, students working . r.' student life together on a common goa!," Stockstill said. Stockstill said Ryan often stated the importance of spiritual attitudes in the Spring Sing process. He empha– sized the Christ-like attitude that should be conveyed to the students in Spring Sing, to the backstage staffand to the audience, she said. "We want to emphasize the spitituallessons that can be learned," Stockstill said. "T he foundation we set with the students is much more spiritual than the audience can see." Stockstill and Frye said they wanted to use Spring Sing as a ministry. "Spring Sing is a ministry," Stockstill said. "l hat spiritual undertone of Spring Sing is what it is all abour." Spting Sing's new ditectors, though keeping with tradition, said they made small changes to the structure and administration of the production. "The audience should not notice the change," Stockstill said. "The mission ofSpring Sing, developing Chtistian leadetshi~, and showcasing the students' talent, will stay the same. Seniot Jillian Shackelford, 2005 and 2006 Spring Sing hostess, said while she would miss working with Ryan, she looked forward to working with the new directors. "Steve, Cindee and Dottie [Frye] are great to work with," Shackelford said. "Steve always has awesome ideas rolling around in his head. It's amazing what he can come up with." One of the changes for the Spring Sing process was the implementation of a Spring Sing Committee. This committee was composed of former Spring Sing directors and social dub sponsors. 11ley were responsible for helping the directors focus on spiritual guidance to the students, looking into new possibilities and features for Spring Sing, and involving more students. "Dr. Ryan provided a great deal of leadership and a sense of authority; our goal is to make it as smooth a ttansition as possible," Frye said. Ryan said leaving Spring Sing and the production side of the show was difficult. "J will miss being a part of a musical extravaganza that benefited the students," Ryan said. "I will also miss working with such wonderful people." Stockstill said more than 800 students participated in Spring Sing 2005, with 20 clubs creating six shows for presentation. Ju Go Ju, Ko Jo Kai and friends received rhe Jack H . Ryan Sweepstakes trophy fot their show, "The Sky's the Limit." -AndrewDorsey
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