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Lanes siblings excel at National Finals

In late July, Whitehall siblings Dawson and BreeAnne Lanes made the cross-country trip to Orlando for the 2019 Assemblies of God Youth Ministries National Fine Arts Festival. To say they did a great job representing Whitehall would be an understatement.

Dawson finished second nationally in the "Rap" category, and BreeAnne finished second in the "Book Chapter" competition. She also received an "excellent" rating in the photo category. The two were among 6,000 participants at the annual festival.

A 2019 Whitehall high School graduate, Dawson decided he would skip the awards ceremony with over 10,000 people in attendance to spend the night exploring downtown Disney.

"A friend of mine was in the auditorium that night and sent me a video of the big screen with my name on it. I literally freaked out. It was very exciting," Dawson said.

BreeAnne was also very surprised about finishing second.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. That was so awesome," she said.

She won second for her chapter titled "Missing Grace".

"It's a story about a tragic accident that claims the life of Sadie's sister Grace. Sadie learns to move forward in life in the midst of all the pain," she said.

Looking to the future, BreeAnne who is a junior at Whitehall High School, plans on participating in festival again in the writing and photography categories.

This was the second time Dawson has competed at nationals and he has also competed three years at state.

"It has been some of the greatest experiences of my life so far, and I have made some amazing connections and friends through Fine Arts," he said.

After spending numerous years working on music, Dawson feels it is extremely rewarding to have it pay off with such a high finish.

"I have worked really hard to get my music to sound where it is at today. It's required a lot of dedication and determination, but above all, the openness to learn and to be taught. I am beyond grateful for the mentors in my life; they are responsible for why I am where I am in my musical journey. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be here. It's truly a blessing to know them and call them friends. I have been greatly blessed," he said.

Dawson also wanted to give a special thanks to Whitehall Schools musical director Janet Heilig.

"While I was in high school, she was my choir teacher and piano instructor. She taught me so many things and strengthened my love for music, and especially singing. I still do choir warm ups before I go on stage," he said. "Thank you, Janet, words cannot express my gratitude to you."

Now that he has graduated, Dawson plans to pursue a career in music.

"I'm going to keep chasing this dream down. I hope to one day be able to make a living in music, whether as an artist, or producer. The music industry is complex and difficult, but I'm ready for the challenge. It's amazing the support it requires to 'make it' as an artist, but that's something that can only be built up over time. I am currently finishing up my first album and it will be released everywhere music is available," he said.

For more information about Dawson and his music find him on Instagram@dawsonsamuelmusic or by Facebook at "Dawson Samuel".

 

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