Senior receives $10,000 scholarship for Ocean Springs volunteer work
Published: May 23, 2005
As the two shaggy-haired brothers opened the door to what will be the music room at the Mary C., it became apparent the room needs a lot of work.
“You can see why we need to raise money,” Alex Scharr said, entering the empty room with white walls.
Alex Scharr, a senior at Ocean Springs High School, and his brother, Travis, 21, have put on several concerts to raise funds for the Scharr-Ello Music Room for musical education, practice and recording at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center for Arts and Education.
Alex Scharr received an AXA Achievement Scholarship for $10,000 for his volunteer work at the Mary C. He will attend Loyola University in New Orleans, where he will pursue a music degree with a concentration in business and performance.
The idea came about last summer when the brothers needed a place to practice. They were well aware of the recent renovation of the theater, and they agreed a music room would be a nice addition for the community.
“It’s kind of hard for people just getting started (in music) to get a demo made,” Alex Scharr said. “Hopefully, this will give them the space to do that, because most places expect you to have a demo.”
The Scharrs and their friends, Bradley Dale and Daniel Lorrain, formed a Beatles tribute band called The Un”Beatle”bles. They played a series of three concerts — the first to a sold-out crowd in July 2004 — to raise money for the music room.
“What they’ve done is nothing short of amazing,” said Lisa Lacy with the Mary C. “They started out wanting to do this little benefit concert, and their three concerts combined raised $10,000 for the room.”
The Scharrs solicited support from local businesses, the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce and the city of Ocean Springs. They have raised almost $25,000 to date, about half of their $50,000 goal.
“Obviously the more we raise, the better it can be,” Alex Scharr said.
The band, renamed Figment, played in the Grand Fabulous Greyhound Rock n’ Roll Review Show last Thursday. The show is put on by the Sound Hounds, a music club at OSHS of which Alex Scharr is a member. Half of the proceeds from the event, which features the talent of students and faculty, went to the music room.
“He’s shown a lot of independence,” Alex Scharr’s fa-ther, Donald, said. “Like at the Mary C., he grabs a hold of something and runs with it.”
After the demolition phase was complete, the floors, air conditioner and vents were installed in the soundproof room. The brothers are looking for a contractor who will work for little money or donate his time to the cause, they said.
The Scharrs have helped establish the Mary C. O’Keefe Music Festival to raise funds for the remainder of the costs. The festival, which they hope to be an annual event, is set for June 17-19.
Travis Scharr said working with his younger brother on the project has been rewarding.
“It’s been fun. I’ve been lucky enough to get along with my brother,” Travis Scharr said. “It’s been a joint effort the whole way through.”
Travis Scharr said they originally planned to have the room compete before the music festival, but now they are aiming for the end of summer.
“We want some visually tangible thing that says we’re so close,” he said.
Lacy said the soft-spoken senior is more than worthy of the scholarship for his volunteer work. In addition to raising funds for the music room, Alex Scharr has participated numerous events at the Mary C.
“He is a humble young man. … He is one of those people who when he does have something to say, he does it eloquently and with great purpose,” Lacy said.
As a four-year letterman in the choir and vice president of the school’s model U.N. club, Alex Scharr is one of 52 students in the country who have been awarded a $10,000 scholarship from AXA. The scholarship program is administered by Scholarship Management Service, a program of Scholarship America, the nation’s largest nonprofit private sector and educational support organization.
“We’re certainly going to miss him when he goes off,” Donald Scharr said. “He has been involved in music at school and in the community. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t hear music in the house, so it’s going to be real quiet when he’s gone.”
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