COMMUNITY

Dr. Sam Campbell, director of Helping Hands of Franklin County, recently received a $1,000 donation from the Smith Mountain Lake Lions Club. Campbell said Helping Hands provided financial assistance to 1,000 people in 2007. He has seen an increase in requests for assistance with fuel costs as winter approaches and is concerned that there will not be enough funds to meet all the needs. He would welcome any donations.

Rose Yopp of Salem recently received a credential to become a certified medical assistant.

Yopp became a medical assistant after she passed the CMA certification and recertification exam, which is administered by the American Association of Medical Assisstants.

The Vinton Masonic Lodge elected their new officers for 2008 in December.

James Meadows was elected as the worshipful master, David Richards as the senior warden, Richard Brenner as the junior warden, Alfred Anderson as the treasurer, Ronald Undewood as the secretary, J. Brian Meadows as the senior deacon, Donald Smith as the junior deacon, James Nelson as the chaplain, Frederick Knapp as the marshal, Ronald Fisher as the senior steward and Richard Erickson as the tiler.

The Vinton Masonic Lodge, chartered in 1890, meets the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

EventZone is looking for the next five charitable partner organizations to join BB&T's Party in the Park 2008 season.

The concerts will take place every Thursday in Elmwood Park from May 29 through Sept. 18. The organizations chosen will be responsible for providing 20 volunteers at three concert dates and assisting to promote the event. In exchange, the non-profit, will receive the following:

• 10% of the net proceeds of the entire concert series;

• The opportunity to publicize the organization during the event;

• Publication of the organization's events through EventZone and BB&T's Party in the Park Web sites.

In the three years of Party in the Park, EventZone has donated $38,285 to local nonprofit organizations. In an effort to benefit as many of Roanoke's nonprofit organizations as possible, EventZone asks that the 2007 Party in the Park partner organizations and the 2007 First Fridays at Five organizations not apply for this upcoming year.

Visit www.eventzone.org to receive an application.

CAMPUS

The Hollins University Theatre Department's production of "Paper Cup Ocean" has been selected as a finalist in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

The play is an orignial production created by 2007 Hollins alumna Rachel Nelson and is one of five productions from the southeast in the nation that will be showcased during a regional competition.

The competition will be held on Feb. 8 at Clemson University, where one of the five productions will be selected to represent the region with a full production at the 2007-2008 American College Theatre Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in April 2008.

The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival was created in 1969 and highlights work produced in university and college theatre programs.

"Paper Cup Ocean" is the only original script written by a student to advance into the regional finals. Other finalists include pulitzer-prize winning productions "Doubt" and "The Piano Lesson."

The cast of "Paper Cup Ocean" was recently featured at the first Roanoke Arts Festival in October. The cast includes Roanoke native and recent Hollins graduate Adrian Wade and Toby Thelin, who currently resides in New York City and is a graduate student enrolled in Hollins' master of fine arts program in playwriting.