Catching Up with Gwinnett County Native Lilly

Hart

By Tana Poncsak

Lilly Hart played basketball growing up and throughout her school years. She even went on to play basketball while attending Birmingham Southern College. But as she was shooting hoops, there was another talent brewing in the Gwinnett County native and Parkview High School graduate – music.

Lilly started taking piano lessons at a young age. Later, she picked up a guitar, inspired by both her mother’s musical talent and her maternal grandfather’s musical talent and a pitch-perfect ear that she inherited.

The girl who was once a star athlete at center court is now making a name for herself as a singer-songwriter in the music industry. And thanks to some help along the journey, she seems to be well on her way.

Having time on her hands during the recent pandemic, Lilly found herself looking to make some music. She set up a makeshift studio in her bedroom and started writing songs. And, as it turns out, they are good songs. The kind of songs that people want to listen to.

“I knew I had a musical background,” Lilly said. “I didn’t really know I could write like that. But I had all the time in the world, so I just wrote.”

She produced the music with a MIDI keyboard, a laptop, headphones, and a microphone, and then recorded some vocals.

“It wasn’t super professional or anything,” she added. “But it worked.”

Through the support of various people along the way including her family, a series of fortunate events, and the right people listening to her recordings, Lilly signed her first record deal about a year ago with Mick Music in Nashville.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Lilly said getting her music out for people to hear hasn’t always been easy.

“From the time when I started writing to when I was actually able to figure out how to record and mix it, it took like a five-month span of

Middle School Golf League

Continued from page 19 for play is team competition best ball play including during one week “High School Day,” where high school team golfers are invited to play along with their cluster middle school teams, and a week of individual stroke play, where the most advanced players are invited to play in an invitational individual stroke 9-hole tournament. The season culminates for everyone with a Drive, Chip, and Putt competition, and the MSGL Awards Presentations. Players play from forward or junior tees based on ability.

“Each team has a volunteer team marshal who is responsible for team lineups and supervises the play on the course,” added Witmer. “Parents may walk with their players and caddy, or may rent a cart if available; and players may ride with them and have their bag of clubs in the cart; but again, parents must keep the carts on the cart path at all times.”

However, Witmer, who is also an assistant high school golf coach at Brookwood High School, emphasized that middle school players play from tees based on ability, and that players are encouraged to walk the nine holes and carry their clubs or have a pushcart.

“As a high school golf coach, we see it as a challenge for many junior players trying out the first time for high school golf and being required to play from tees farther back and walking 18 holes,” concluded Witmer. “We encourage our more advanced junior players to play and experience that in local junior golf tournaments!” trial and error,” she said.

At the close of online registration, there will be a parent orientation either in person or via video conferencing.

More information at https://www.middleschoolgolfleague.com or email Les Witmer at lawitmer@comcast.net.

And then finding ways to get her music to the right ears was another challenge.

“Again, it was a bunch of trial and error with how to figure out how to market myself and how to figure out who to trust when there are so many scams.”

Lilly also knows how fortunate she’s been. In April she had the opportunity to open for St. Paul and the Broken Bones at the Lyric Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama, and sing in front of about 750 people. It was during that performance she caught a glimpse of what could be in her future.

“It was the biggest gig I’ve had so far, and it was awesome,” Lilly said. “I was like this is what I want to do.”

So for now, she’s put down the basketball and opted for a guitar while making some other pivotal changes in her life for the sake of a future in the music industry. After a busy summer, Lilly plans to attend Middle Tennessee State University in the fall to pursue music academically and where she’s closer to Nashville, so she can continue to pursue music professionally as well.

At her current age of 20, Lilly already realizes that wherever her musical journey takes her, she will always create music.

“I want this journey to take me as far as it’ll take me,” she said. “Obviously I want to be an artist. That’s the goal. But overall, I want to be a songwriter, so I can still be in the industry, even if it’s just writing for other artists.”

Songs have a way of transporting listeners to a different time and a different place.

“I just remember connecting songs to different points in my life,” Lilly said. “So when I hear a song now, I’m like, ‘Oh, that song reminds me of this time.’”

Lilly said that when people listen to her songs, it’s not about what the lyrics mean to her, but what the lyrics mean to the listener so that the listener creates his or her own connection with the song. She stressed that good lyrics make a song personal and that’s what keeps people listening.

Her musical influences include genres such as alternative and R&B, and her current favorite song is Always by Canadian R&B artist Daniel Caesar.

Lilly Hart has a unique musical style all her own. Her debut EP, Overrated:Complicated dropped on June 16th, and look for her new song, Summertime Feels, to follow. You can find Lilly Hart on all the popular social media platforms.

More information at https://lillyhartmusic.com/.

Drive Carefully

Continued from page 10 come to a complete stop, checking carefully for children on sidewalks and in crosswalks before proceeding.

6. Watch for bicycles. Children on bicycles are often inexperienced, unsteady, and unpredictable. Slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle. If your child rides a bicycle to school, require that he or she wears a properly fitted bicycle helmet on every ride.

7. Look for AAA School Safety Patrollers. More than 679,000 AAA School Safety Patrollers stand guard at over 35,000 schools nationwide. When you see one, a school zone is likely nearby.

“If parents and other driver’s follow these simple rules when driving in and around school zones, countless children can avoid injury and death,” says Townsend. “It’s up to us to help all drivers become more aware of the risks of driving around our schools.”

More information at https://member.acg.aaa.com/mi/driving-safety/ aaa-school-safety-patrol.html

Weeding…A Word for Your Day

Continued from page 9 weeds in the yard, weeds in our self-leadership can show up and stage a takeover when we consistently neglect ourselves. Proactively be aware of who you are and how well you are leading self. Removing invasive or unnecessary elements creates space for new growth and keeps us leading forward. could make a real difference and even offer her help at a better price.

More information at www.janebishoplive.com.

It wasn’t until after Juanita’s colon cancer diagnosis in 2011 that Sharmele decided to change the format and the name of her salon and rebrand it into a hair clinic. Unfortunately, Juanita never saw the plan come to fruition. When Juanita was diagnosed, she was given twenty-three months to live. She passed away twenty-two months later.

It took Sharmele some time to work through her grief, find the right location, and get the hair clinic up and running. Finally, about four years after Juanita’s death, Sharmele opened Smiley’s Hair Clinic. And with her family’s help and the help of others, the hair clinic is thriving. The staff of five are confidently helping people with hair loss from age-related conditions to genetics, to stress, to cancer treatment, and more. Sharmele says they focus on the scalp and finding the right treatment.

Her clients come from near and far, including those who live in the area, those who drive a few hundred miles, and those who board a plane for their visit.

“It’s very private,” Sharmele said of her consultations. “People can be very emotional about hair loss.” She stressed that’s it’s important to have an in-depth consultation to pinpoint the right technique and solution for each client.

And what would her mother, Juanita, think about the clinic?

“She was my biggest cheerleader,” Sharmele said. “She was so amazing, and if she was alive, she would be sitting at the front desk. Trust me, she’d love to greet the people. She loved to hug on people, and she loved to make people feel good about themselves. That’s what I think she would love the most about this – that it makes people feel good about themselves again.”

In Juanita’s honor, Sharmele and the family started the Smile 4 New Life Colon Cancer Foundation. While during her illness, Juanita showed no outward signs of being sick before or after her diagnosis. Had the family been more aware of the signs and symptoms of colon cancer, and with some changes in lifestyle and eating habits, perhaps the ending to Sharmele’s mother’s story could have been different.

Now armed with more education, awareness, and with the knowledge that colon cancer is the third most common cancer for men and women in the United States according to cancer.net, the family hopes to bring awareness and help others in their fight against the disease.

The foundation holds an annual fundraiser in March, which also coincides with Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Past events have garnered modest attendance, but they hope to ramp up next year’s event by promoting it earlier. The annual event includes a 5K walk with proceeds going directly to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.

More information at www.smile4newlifefoundation.org. or www. smileyshairclinic.com.

Malerie’s Hope

Continued from page 13 cer, to help families who have a child diagnosed with childhood cancer, and to make an impact in the life of a person who has made a difference and had an impact in the life of a person with special needs.

Each year Malerie’s Hope holds an annual fundraiser event – either a silent auction or a golf tournament. This year a golf tournament is planned for September 25th at Legacy Golf Course at Lake Lanier. The event will be held in September to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The goal for this year’s event is to raise $100,000.

Marla said that for those who would like to help, they are looking for volunteers and golfers to sign up to play during the event. Other ways to participate include becoming a sponsor for the event or creating a fundraising page on social media.

As for Malerie, today, she is twenty-five years old and works part-time at Chick-fil-A. She graduated from Mountain View High School and the UGA Destination Dawgs program (for Special Ed kids). When she’s not working, you can find her helping out at the family’s real estate office, playing baseball at ESP (Extra Special People) on their Miracle League Field in Watkinsville, or helping out as a Dugout Dawg for the UGA baseball team. She is definitely looking forward to attending day camp for a couple of weeks this summer at ESP.

More information at www.MaleriesHope.com