Congratulations are extended to Mrs. Heather Orr, director of our MHS choir department, for being recognized as one of the 15 top UIL sponsors in Texas having received the UIL Sponsor Excellence Award. At this year’s Holiday concert held in December, Mr. Phil Eaton, MHS Principal, recognized Mrs. Orr with the trophy and stated that "there are only two music teachers in the state that earned this award this year."
This UIL Sponsor Excellence award, now in its 20th year, was created to identify and recognize outstanding sponsors who assist students in developing and refining their extracurricular talents to the highest degree possible within the educational system while helping them to keep their personal worth separate from their success or failure in competition. Montgomery High School choir students have earned a total of 32 UIL Sweepstakes Awards over the past ten years in large part to the efforts of UIL choir sponsor Heather Orr. Just last week, Orr’s choir students earned 165 medals at the Region Level of UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest. In addition, each year approximately 50 or more students qualify for State UIL Solo and Ensemble Contest.
Winners of this prestigious award receive $1,000 and a distinctive trophy from the UIL in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the pursuit of educational excellence through interscholastic competition. In the spirit of this award Mrs. Orr noted, “When students have the passion and the drive to succeed, then the competition becomes a tool to build a strong moral character. Awards are wonderful, but the process of learning and challenging ourselves is more important.”
Submitted by Dianne Darling
