Named after its first recipient, Ella Fitzgerald, the ELLA Award is given to those singers whose musical accomplishments are paralleled by their commitment to humanitarian and charitable causes locally and internationally.

Mr. Andy Williams has been performing for nearly 70 years and still continues to do so through touring as well as singing at his Moon River Theatre in Branson. Earlier this year Mr. Williams was given the opportunity at the Grammys to present the Lifetime Grammy Achievement Award. Mr. Williams is widely known for his signature song “Moon River” and his voice was once called “a national treasure” by former president Ronald Reagan. His accomplishments include, but are not limited to, 3 platinum albums and 18 gold albums, as well as the Andy Williams Show television series that ran for almost a decade.

The award ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on May 19th, 2008. Among the performers there at the Society of Singers’ presentation will be Barry Manilow, Petula Clark, Steve Lawrence, Glen Campbell, Johnny Mathis, and Monica Mancini.

Other recipients who have previously accepted this very prestigious award include Frank Sinatra, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Dame Julie Andrews, Joe Williams, Barry Manilow, Placido Domingo, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis, Celine Dion, and Elton John.

Proceeds from this event will go to the Society of Singers Emergency Relief Fund and Scholarship Fund.

The Branson High School will be performing their 16th Annual Talent Show March 26th, 2008. The show will feature Branson High School students and will be held at the Legends Theatre.

Tickets are $5.00 per adult and $3.00 per child. All proceeds will be donated to the Skaggs Foundation Cancer Treatment Center.

The winners have been announced for the 15^th Annual Billboard World Song Contest. These winners were selected from an overwhelming amount of submissions. “Our numbers just keep growing,” stated Mark Furnas, contest director. “Every year, I think the songwriting ability has improved. This year, we had a better quality of songs than ever before,” says contest president, Impresario Jim Halsey.

The winners were judged on structure, originality, lyrics, composition, melody and commercial appeal. Their songs will be featured on a CD, provided by sponsor DiscMakers, distributed exclusively to recording industry decision makers. Other prizes include membership to online song submission partner Sonicbids, TAXI – The Independent A&R Vehicle membership, CASIO keyboards, Indie Band Manager Software, BluBlocker Sunglasses, D’Addario Guitar strings, Halsey Institute Online Music Business Courses and female membership in GoGirlsMusic.com. The first place winners in all categories will be invited to receive their award and perform the winning song onstage in front of music industry professionals, theater owners and buyers. The award show presentation will be March 29, 2008 at the Mansion Entertainment and Media Center in Branson, MO.

A grand prize winner will be chosen from the live performance at the awards show and will receive $5,000 for Overall Best Presentation, $1,500 for first runner up and $1,000 to the second runner up. The award show provides a platform for aspiring songwriters to display their work before an industry audience.

The winners of the 15^th Annual Billboard World Song Contest are…

Rock

1. Jimi Anderson (Jimi Anderson Band) – NJ – “Another Way to Run”
2. Jonathan Rush (Joal Rush) – SC – “Bleed”
3. Greg Hyde – IL – “Crush”

Rap

1. Derrick Ashong (Soulfege) – CA – “From The Soul”
2. Kym Smith (BoBo Ken) – Bahamas – “I Know”
3. Chris Hamilton (Chris Mugs) – DE – “Fever”

Pop

1. Joel Plaskett (Joel Plaskett Emergency) – Canada – “Fashionable People”
2. Matt Gorney (The Specimen) – NY – “Do U Damage”
3. Nafsica Gavrilaki and Zach Amitt – NY – “Perfect”

R&B

1. Leah Tysse – CA – “You Don’t Scare Me”
2. Micheal Hunter – TN – “Echos of Eden”
3. Charlotte Kelly – United Kingdom – “Symphony”

Country

1. Rick Huckaby – TN – “Ain’t Enough Blacktop”
2. Jennifer Mangum – CO – “I Can’t Breathe For You”
3. Damian Follett – Canada – “Perfect”

Jazz

1. Alyse Black – WA – “Stood For Stand For”
2. Ja’nos Egri – Hungary – “Little Johnny”
3. Steve and Karen Multer – IL – “Look Out For Love (Crash Boom Bang)”

Contempory Christian/Gospel

1. Carmen Calhoun – DC – “Dare 2 Be”
2. Kayla and Rachel Carlson – WI – “Love Him”
3. Tom Paden – TN – “Everytime You Pray”

Electronica/Soundtrack

1. DJ Boom, Victoria Patchen, Scotty Beam – DC – “Back To You”
2. Demetrios Katis – Greece – “Gathering of the Tribes”
3. Giselle Minns – Ontario – “Him”

Dance

1. Jeremy Yeremian, Alyson – CA – “Here With Me”
2. Gerald Kohlbeck – NY – “Calling Angels”
3. James Burrell (The True Self Gang) – United Kingdom – “Velvet Kingdom”

World

1. Robert and Wendy O’Hearn – OR – “Lost Sons of Erin”
2. Sinem Varoglu (Sinem Saniye) – NY – “Boom Sheke Nana”
3. Joule L’Adara – CA – “Red Earth Hands”

Americana/Folk

1. Jared Scharff (Jared Scharff & The Royals) – NY – “Bedroom Eyes”
2. Amy Hafner (Johnny Rodgers Band) – FL – “Home to Mendocino”
3. Eric Scott – MD – “Starting Today”

Latin

1. Mariella Gonzalez (The Mariella Show) – NY – “Flyaway”
2. Zoraida Santiago – Puerto Rico – “Canciones Por Tadas Partes”
3. Jorge L.Quintana – FL – “Ahora Etas Aqui”

Success in this contest has provided a launching pad for many aspiring songwriters. Last year’s country song writers, Stephen Desjardins, Lisa Firestone and Charles Harn landed a publishing deal for their song, “When He Comes Home to Her.” First place pop winners Peter Roberts and Ron Boustead’s song, “Fearless,” has been featured in the motion picture, Bratz.

Contest sponsors include Billboard Magazine, CASIO, D’Addario Strings, TAXI – The Independent A&R Vehicle, Indie Band Manager, Discmakers, BluBlocker Sunglasses, GoGirlsMusic.com, The Halsey Institute and online song submission partner Sonicbids.

The American Bus Association (ABA) announced the election of Ross Summers, President/CEO of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, to their Board of Directors at their annual convention in Virginia Beach, Va. He will serve on the Board of Directors for a term of three years. The board is instrumental in providing leadership and direction for the members of ABA and for the motorcoach, tour, and travel industry.

“I am honored to represent Branson. It is truly reflective of the great relationship that the Branson business community has with the motorcoach industry in my being asked to serve on the ABA board of directors,” said Summers.

Each board member is an active participant in ABA’s legislative and regulatory efforts, in particular, monitoring and attending local and state legislative sessions of concern to motorcoach and transportation issues. Board members regularly correspond with local, state and national lawmakers on transportation, travel and tourism policy issues.

For more information or to order a free Branson Vacation Guide, call the Branson/Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-214-3661.

Playtime Pizza is currently open Thursday through Sunday.

• Thursday Special – $5.99 for everyone
• Friday Special – $4.99 for seniors 55+

Get out of the COLD — Come have some food & fun in our climate-controlled facility. 3101 Gretna Road. Ph. 332-1112

Branson.com is excited to announce that they have released a new section of their site: Branson.com/Gadgets. The free gadgets allow Branson-related websites to display show schedules, Branson area events, and Branson weather.

All of these gadgets automatically stay up-to-date through the Branson.com internal sytems. This allows a Branson website to just copy and paste a gadget into their site and no longer need to worry about their website staying current.

With so many hours spent by countless businesses attempting to keep current with Branson show schedules, events and weather, this will take the burden off of a website’s need to update constantly and allow them to focus on other areas of their site.

To get Branson.com Gadgets for your site, go to www.Branson.com/Gadgets.

For more information or questions please call: 417-334-2360

Thursday from 5:30 PM till 8:00 PM, Playtime Pizza will be combining its regular Karaoke with a “Jam” and live music.
If you sing or play an instrument, come prepared to have dinner and join in.

At Playtime Pizza, it’s all about “Just Having Fun”

Every Saturday night at 7:30 PM, at Playtime Pizza, we clear the floor in the middle of our dining room, and offer line dancing and couples dancing to the beginner or the more experienced dancers. If you’re looking for a place to dance, or you want to learn how to dance, come join us at Playtime Pizza. The cost is the price of our buffet. Come have dinner, see our weekly Saturday show at 6:30 PM, then join in the dancing at 7:30.

At Playtime Pizza, it’s all about “Just Having Fun” !

Factory Merchants Branson is proud to announce three new outlet stores under their “red roofs”.

Crocs
Building 6
Upper Level

Jones New York
Building 9
Upper Level

Christmas Decor
Building 5
Upper Level

Be sure to check out the hottest new stores in Branson!
Join us for exceptional fall savings throughout the Center. Only at Factory Merchants Branson will you find Pfaltzgraff, Red Wing Shoe Outlet, Lane Bryant Outlet, Carter’s, K*B Toy Outlet, Pendleton, Tuesday Morning, Legg’s Hanes Bali Playtex, Footworks (The Walking Co. outlet) and Case XX Chicago Cutlery Denby Pottery!

The Branson Entertainment Hall of Fame and Museum is looking for volunteers to assist with museum tours. An outgoing personality and basic knowledge of Branson's entertainment history is requested. The Branson Entertainment Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring those who have had significant impact on Branson's entertainment industry. For more information please contact Deidre at 336-FAME (3263) ext. 225 or [email protected].