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-The Savannah Tribune
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GEORGIA’S BEST WEEKLY
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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
1805 MLK Jr. Blvd. Sav., GA 31415
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Tel: 912-233-6128 HFax: 912-233-6140
Vol. 42 No. 27
September 4,2013 - September 10,2013
savannahtribune.com
Medient Studios Groundbreaking in Effingham County
O n Thursday, August
29th, 2013 Medi
ent Studios broke
ground for its production
facility on a 1,550 acre tract
of land near the community
of Meldrim in Southern Eff
ingham County. The project
represents a $90 million in
vestment and is expected to
create 1,000 permanent jobs.
These jobs will be related to
Film and Electronic Video
Game Production and Ad
ministrative services. Other
indirect and induced jobs
will be created throughout
the entire Savannah area
as the project moves for
ward. The campus will be
environmentally friendly,
with columns that harness
solar energy and the exclu
sion of vehicles that operate
on fossil fuels, and will in
clude health care, day care,
schooling, shopping and
housing for workers and
their families. In addition to
making eight to 10 movies a
year, the company will pro
duce video games at the site.
L-R: Wendall Kessler, Chairman, Effingham County Board of Commissioners; Manu Kumaran, CEO, Medient
Studios; John A. Henry, CEO, Effingham County IDA; Dennis Webb, Chairman, Effingham County IDA Board of
Directors; Beda Johnson, Tourism Division Director, GA Department of Economic Development;
Jay Self, Film Services Director, City of Savannah
Medient’s management team
has a combined 150 years
of experience in the produc
tion and/or financing of over
250 films. Medient Studios
is a global film production
and distribution company
with a strong presence in the
world’s two largest movie
markets - North America
and India. Manu Kumaran,
Medient’s chief executive
officer, hopes to make mov
ies at the site by the end of
the first quarter of 2014.
Among the attend
ees of the groundbreaking
were the entire Effingham
County Commission, the
Effingham County Industri
al Development Authority
Board, Jay Self, the Film
Service Director for the City
of Savannah, Beda Johnson
,the Tourism Division Di
rector for the Ga department
of Economic Development,
Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie and
State Reps. Jon Bruns, Bill
Hitchens, among many.
For job information, please
visit medient.com
The 5th Annual JFIy Music Festival
32nd Annual Savannah Jazz Festival
By Dedra Holloway
JFIy with students from his foundation How Big Is Your
Dream?! at the 2013 Unity Concert.
In a time where so
many entertainers and celeb
rity figures view the idea of
giving back to the commu
nity as simply shouting out
their “hood” on award shows
and in music videos, Jorel
“JFIy” Flynn chooses to go
against the grain and truly
give back. Artist, drummer
and producer extraordinaire
JFIy, in association with
the great City of Waycross,
Georgia and the How Big Is
Your Dream Foundation?!
(HBIYD), will be hosting the
5th Annual JFIy Music Fes
tival on Saturday, September
28th, 2013 from 4pm-llpm
at Phoenix Park, in Waycross,
GA. This festival provides
the Waycross community
and surrounding cities in the
Southeast region a diverse
showcase of the best nation
al artists that have graced
the stage alongside JFIy. At
tendees at this year’s festival
will experience a stellar con
cert with live performances
from JFIy and The Fly Trap,
Tony Terry, Howard Hewett
formerly of Shalamar, Jeff
Bradshaw, Cherrelle, Chan
dra Currelley from Tyler
Perry’s Madea’s Big Family,
Antonio Allen, Good Times
Brass Band, Melvin Miller,
Emdee Brown, Latrese Bush
and surprise special guests.
This is a free family fun filled
event.
JFIy is a Waycross,
Georgia native. He grew
up in a community where
there “really wasn’t a music
scene,” says JFIy. So being
that there weren’t many out
lets for people who were mu
sically inclined he originally
started playing drums in a
Pentecostal church alongside
his siblings. Despite the lack
of upward mobility for enter
tainers in his hometown, he
found the comage to move
to Atlanta after graduating
from Waycross High School
in 1994. He initially left to
attend college to peruse an
Electronic Technology De
gree. During his pursuit he
received a call to tom with
R&B diva Kelly Price. “Ac
tually the first time I ever
came to Savannah was on
tom with Kelly Price. We
performed at the Savannah
Civic Center”. This was an
amazing life changing op
portunity that catapulted his
career. JFIy has played with
renowned artist like Cameo,
Toni Braxton, Keith Sweat,
K-Ci and Jo Jo, and Jenni
fer Holiday just to name a
few. JFIy pays homage to
his friend and mentor Savan
nah native Gospel mainstay
James Bignon who gave him
his start. Bignon was the first
person that introduced him to
studio recording.
JFIy is the found
er of the How Big Is Yom
Dream Foundation?!
Continued on Page 3
On Sunday Septem
ber 22nd, Savannah Coun
try Day School kicks off the
32nd Annual Savannah Jazz
festival, followed by several
other ensembles dming the
day to help put the swing into
things. Savannah Country
Day School (SCDS) school
has five jazz bands-two of
which are in upper school.
The SCDS band program is
nontraditional in that it cen
ters on jazz bands and not
concert and marching bands.
The upper school jazz bands
have traveled to Florida for
various jazz festivals and
have performed at Universal
Studios, DisneyworldSea-
world, as well as on cruise
ships. Considered one of the
top US jazz bands, SCDS has
performed on River Street as
part of the Savannah Music
Festival and at the Savan
nah Jazz Festival. SCDS has
featmed many guest artists
at their concerts, including:
Bobby Lee Rodgers (guitar),
Jody Espina (saxophone),
Barry Green (guitar), J.B. Scott (trumpet),
Lisa Kelly (vocalist), Jeremy Davis (sax
ophone), and Howard Paul (guitar). David
Elliott’s tenme at SCDS began in 2000, hav
ing previously led band programs in Illinois,
Kentucky, and South Carolina beginning in
1982. He has had award winning bands at
every school he has taught. Mr. Eliott plays
trombone with the Savannah Jazz Orchestra,
the Fabulous Equinox Jazz Orchestra, the Sa
vannah Winds Concert Band, and the Festival
Brass Quartet.
The Sky elite Jazz Band is up next
at 3pm. The Savannah Arts Acadamy’s band
has traveled the globe representing Savannah
and has won many awards and accolades. The
SkyeLite Jazz Band has performed in China,
London, and Washington D.C. and released
two CD recordings.
The band was also invited to play
at the National School Board Association’s
National Convention in San Francisco in
April 2007. In the 2012-2013 school year,
the SkyeLite Jazz Band was invited to Swing
Central, one of the top two jazz competitions
in the nation. Only twelve high school jazz
bands are invited and SkyeLite is the first
Savannah band to be selected. Students who
graduate from the program, electing to pursue
music in higher education, have been award
ed scholarships to the leading institutions in
the country including Indiana University and
Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Continued on Page 2
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