We are pleased to announce that the Tony Roi “ELVIS & MORE” Show will be hosted at the Jim Stafford Theatre for the 2013 season.

“We couldn’t be happier about being there,” says Roi. “They are a class act in every aspect of the business and they know how to take care of their guests in the theater! When you think of Branson…you think of Jim Stafford and we are so pleased to be associated with him and his theater,” adds Roi.

We will continue to post updates on Tony’s website (www.thetonyroi.com) and his social media sites as well. New season will begin in March of 2013. We look forward to seeing you all there!

The Bretts Show, Branson’s Best Christmas Show (bransonbloggers.com), just released a new video of this years heart stirring grand finale “Marry, Did You Know? / O Holy Night,” on their YouTube channel. Visit http://www.youtube.com/thebrettfamily to see their powerful new arrangement. Enjoy!

MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF CIRCLE B

Some of Branson, Missouri’s finest musicians will perform for a final meal and show in celebration of the Circle B Supper Show on December 27, 2012. During the last nine years in Branson, the Circle B has featured many world class entertainers. Several of them will perform together onstage in a rare farewell hoedown.
The show will feature four award-winning fiddlers: Louis Darby, Nathan Agdeppa, Junior Marriot, and Billy Ward. Fans will recognize the names of multiple-state and international fiddle champions Darby, Marriot and Ward. Many know Nathan Agdeppa as a performer with the Baldknobbers Jamboree, and Roy Rogers, Jr.. Kathleen Lawson (neé Horn), Circle B’s original comedienne and superb soprano vocalist will be among the performers for this special performance.
This special farewell celebration will also include multi-instrumentalist and yodeler John Fullerton. There will also be a special guest appearance by “Branson’s Guitar Wizard”, Leroy New. All of the special guests above will join one of Branson’s funniest ensemble, musical casts: guitarist Earl Vaughan, bassist Christiana Horn Cordova, vocalist and emcee Kemp Horn, Irish dancer Megan Horn and guitarist Michael Horn.
The core of the Circle B group has always been the Horn family. Kemp and Michele Horn purchased the Circle B Chuckwagon in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1993. The Horn family moved to Branson to open the Circle B Supper Show in 2003. In 2005, Circle B was given the Editor’s Choice award for Must-See show of the year by Branson Show Awards. Over the past nine years in Branson, the Circle B Supper Show has entertained hundreds of thousands of Branson visitors with a down-home comic manner and upbeat live music. Circle B was recently recognized by TripAdvisor.com as providing a highly-rated experience for guests.
The Horn family is grateful for their fans’ support. The Horn’s also wish to extend thanks to the Branson entertainment community for accepting them into the Branson show family.
Guests should arrive by 4:30 PM for supper seating. The show will begin at 5:45, and will last until approximately 7:30. The cast-members have chosen some of their favorite tunes and humor from almost twenty years of performing for Circle B. Expect harmony fiddle breakdowns, fan-favorite vocal tunes, Irish step-dancing, and an all-star version of Orange Blossom Special to close the show.
Tickets for this special supper and performance will be $45 plus tax for adults. The cast and crew hope that all of Circle B’s loyal fans will join us for this special program. Please call 1-800-678-6179 now for tickets. This special performance will take place at the Branson Central Theatre at 625 S. Hwy. 165, next to the Acrobats of China.

Branson-Hollister VFW Post 11290 recently sponsored a Patriot’s Pen writing competition among area schools. The essay contest asked middle school students to write on the topic “What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers.” The writing competition is also sponsored nationally by VFW. The students are under the instruction of Junior High history instructor John Mathews.

Local level winners included Branson students:

Cecilia Corbin – first place

Jacob Banks – second place

Adriauna Youngdahl – third place

The students were presented awards by local Post 11290 representatives Gerald Long and Richard Baehr. District winners advance to state competition early next year.

Branson Country USA with Special Guest The Stutterettes – December 7, 2012

Branson Country USA is co-hosted by Grand Country nuts, Jamie Haage, as Jim Dandy, and Mike Patrick! With a rotating roster of talent, the show features special guest stars from the rich Branson entertainment industry. From celebrities such as Mickey Gilley and Roy Clark to the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow, the weekly line-up is always a hit!

Audiences also enjoy the incredible voices of Jackie Brown, Melody Hart and the power harmonies of New South, both weekly regulars on the show. The entire show is backed by the dynamic Grand Band.

Recorded LIVE on Friday night at 10:30 PM
This show is broadcast on radio stations around the country.
Airing Saturday nights at 7:00 PM on KRZK – 106.3 in Branson, MO.
And Sunday nights at 9:00 PM. on KHOZ – 102.9 in Harrison, AR.

You can also listen via the internet. www.bransoncountryusa.net
Show airs at 7:00 PM (cst.) – Every Saturday Night

Grand Country Music Hall
1945 W. 76 Country Blvd.
Branson, MO 65616
417-335-2484 – Reservations
417-336-5829 – Fax

Tony Roi’s “Elvis & More” Show will be closing out the 2012 Season this Saturday December 8th at 8:00pm at the Caravelle Theatre in Branson.

“It has been a wonderful 2012 season and we have met so many new fans and saw many familiar faces throughout the year”, says Roi. “We were able to accomplish some great things this year with the launching of our new website (www.thetonyroi.com), we enhanced our internet presence with Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, and Pinterest…and it was our fans that we have to thank for their valuable input…without them, we couldn’t have done it.”

“This Saturday will be bittersweet for me and my Powerhouse Band. We have loved performing this season and the Christmas shows have all been very special…we will be sad to see them come to a close”, says Roi. “We will miss the passion and energy from the fans.”

Be sure to call the Caravelle Theatre ticket office at (417) 334-5100 to get your tickets for Saturday night December 8th…it will be a fantastic show and a great night to end the season!

On Dec. 2, seven College of the Ozarks students and six WWII Veteran survivors of the Battle of Guadalcanal will travel to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the campaign, which began Aug. 7, 1942 and lasted until Feb. 9, 1943.
The Battle of Guadalcanal, the first major offensive by Allied forces against Japan, resulted in nearly 40,000 Allied and Japanese deaths. Five of the students traveling with Veterans on this historic journey have direct family ties to the battle. Veterans participating in the trip Charles Monroe, John Christiansen, Chester Thomason, Theron MacKay, Elmer Hawkins and Paul Castiglione all served in the campaign.
During the trip, the contingent will travel by ship to the various islands, such as Guadalcanal and Gizo, which comprise the Solomon chain. They will tour what were hospitals and airstrips once vital components to the campaign. They will lay wreaths in waters littered with wreckages where hundreds perished in battle.
Students will have the opportunity to learn about personal experiences from the Veterans, like the time Charles Monroe, a fighter pilot, crash landed on the Japanese side of Guadalcanal, received help from the island natives and was able to return to his chore of flying in torpedo runs. They are also likely to hear about Paul Castiglione’s account of how one ham sandwich made the difference between life and death for him, as taking an extra few minutes to enjoy the treat spared him from a shelling attack.
This trip is part of the College of the Ozarks Patriotic Education Travel Program, wherein students accompany veterans to their fields of battle to learn about history and sacrifice from the individuals who lived it. Student participants relish the opportunity to learn from the veterans and understand that they are in a unique position to learn and pass on precious historical accounts. During the journey, students will record the Veterans’ stories and the trip by journaling, using voice recorders and keeping a travel blog.
The College recognizes patriotic education travel as a powerful opportunity to reinforce one of the five goals of the College, patriotic education. The rich educational journey provides a life-changing experience for College of the Ozarks students, who not only learn volumes of history from participants, but grow to love and appreciate them as well. Since the inaugural trip taken in 2009, 12 trips have been taken with a total of 173 students and 73 Veterans participating. For more information on the Patriotic Education Travel Program, please visit www.cofo.edu. To follow the students and Veterans journey to the Solomon Islands, go to www.cofopacific.blogspot.com.
College of the Ozarks is a four-year, fully accredited, Christian work college located in southwest Missouri. At “Hard Work U” students don’t pay a penny of tuition. Instead they work campus jobs at one of more than 80 campus workstations ranging from a restaurant to dairy farm. Upon their participation in the Work Education Program, the College guarantees to cover the entire cost of their education, allowing them to graduate debt-free. Working for one’s education has been a distinctive tradition of the institution since its founding.

The Branson Arts Council and the First Presbyterian Church will be presenting A Christmas Community Concert at the Old Stone Church. The concert will feature the Branson Chamber Singer, performing classic Christmas songs for your enjoyment. The concert is at 2pm, so it’s a great opportunity to get you in the spirit before the Adoration Parade! The Concert is free and open to the public.

College of the Ozarks will present Christmas Card to the Community on December 9, at 7 p.m. in the Williams Memorial Chapel. The event is a traditional, Christian worship service that features Christmas music presented by the College’s Chapel Choir, Chorale and Handbell Choir.

The service, themed “Worship Christ the Newborn King,” will feature hymns and traditional carols with opportunities for congregational participation.

College of the Ozarks invites the public to share in this annual Christmas service. A light reception with cookies, fruitcake and hot cider will immediately follow the service in the Fellowship Hall of the Chapel. Tickets are not required; seating is limited. For more information, please contact Public Relations at 417-690-2212.

Lady Bobcats Assistant Coach Paul Voliva, Former Lady Bobcats/C of O alumni Kelsey Combs Howerton, Miranda Vaught, Julie Posey, and Morgan Hickey, and C of O Athletic Director Al Waller received the award on behalf of the team.

November 26, 2012

Outstanding sportsmanship, citizenship, servant leadership, character, and winning are descriptors often used when talking about the College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats. For the fourth time, the Lady Bobcats earned the National Runner-up title in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II (NAIA D-II) Women’s Basketball Championship held in March. Equally, if not more, important (than the team’s record), is the off-the-court activities that led to the Lady Bobcats receiving two of the most prestigious honors given by the NAIA and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CSTA).

Recently, the NAIA and CTSA named the Lady Bobcats as the recipient of the “All That’s Right in Sport” award, which the team formally received on November 17, at the 13th Annual National Sportsmanship Awards (one of the most renowned sports awards events in the country) hosted by the St. Louis Commission and CSTA.

During the NAIA Women’s Championship tournament held in March, the Lady Bobcats also were recognized—that time with the “Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character” award. At the end of each sports season, the NAIA recognizes only one college in every sport with the Champions of Character award. Teams are selected based on “exemplary character and sportsmanship displayed during practice, competition, on campus, and in the community.”

What caught the attention of the NAIA and CSTA, that team members or their coaches would never boast, is that the Lady Bobcats quickly responded to the needs of nearby Joplin High School, which was destroyed by an EF5 tornado May of May 2011. The Lady Bobcats would not sit idly by as Joplin residents struggled to rebuild. Only a few weeks after the storm, with the help of Head Coach George Wilson and Assistant Coaches Becky Vest and Paul Voliva, the team organized a benefit game that raised $10,000 for the Joplin High School girls’ basketball team that had lost everything to the tornado.

“We were very overwhelmed with College of the Ozarks, the women’s basketball team, and coaches in how they took it upon themselves to rescue our program,” said Joplin Lady Eagles Basketball Coach Vicki Spivy. “We will forever be thankful to Coach Wilson, his staff, and his girls for what they did for us. Not just material things were given; hope was restored. My girls realize that there are great people in this world, and it starts with the team from College of the Ozarks.”