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Today's date: 2/4/2010

Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters

Official Rules, Mission

Revised January 2010

Administered by

The Songwriters Association of Mid-North Indiana (SAMI)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Shirley Martin Scholarship shall be administered annually to a young adult who is actively seeking to advance his or her skills in the craft of songwriting. It is the objective of this scholarship to encourage, support and foster growth in all applicants.

SECTION 1 – ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

1. Candidate must be a permanent resident of one of the following Indiana counties to apply: Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Howard, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Warren, and White.

2. Candidate must be age 14 to 19 at the time of application.

SECTION 2 – JUDGING CRITERIA:

1. Applicants will be judged on songwriting abilities, not performance capabilities. Judging will focus on song components including melody, chord structure, rhythm and lyrics.

2. If the applicant so chooses, it is acceptable for the writer to have someone else perform his or her song on the demo recording.

SECTION 3 – REQUIRED MATERIAL AND DUE DATES:

Applicants must provide the following materials and entries MUST BE RECEIVED at Tippecanoe Arts Federation NO LATER than 4:30 PM on April 9, 2010. Entries received after this time may not be considered.

1. A completed application.

2. A brief written statement explaining how receiving the scholarship would assist the songwriter in pursuing their passion for songwriting.

3. An audio recording of one original song with corresponding lyric sheet(s). Although demo recordings do not have to be professional, they do have to be clear and concise.

4. A letter of recommendation from a sponsor (examples: teacher, coach, pastor or music professional.)

SECTION 4 – RULES AND REGULATIONS:

1. Copyright of entry remains the property of the scholarship applicant, but physical scholarship application materials (CD's, cassettes, copies of lyrics and essays) will become the property of the scholarship judging committee unless the applicant arranges to pick up materials from the Tippecanoe Arts Federation building prior to May 31, 2010.

2.Candidates should not submit their only copy of a recording.

3. The Songwriters Association of Mid-North Indiana is not responsible for damaged or lost entries.

4. It is the responsibility of the applicant to supply legible applications and lyric sheets.

5. All music and lyrics must be the original work of a single writer. Songs written by more than one author will not be eligible for consideration.

6. It is not necessary for applicants to formally copyright songs prior to submission. US copyright laws protect applicant's songs regardless of formal copyright registration. If applicants would feel more comfortable undergoing formal copyright registration, they are encouraged to do so.

7. Applicants must not infringe upon any existing copyrights or the rights of a third party.

8. The Songwriters Association of Mid-North Indiana, in conjunction with the Shirley Martin Scholarship, reserves the right to modify rules, regulations and recipient entitlements as necessary.

SECTION 5 – RECIPIENT ENTITLEMENTS:

1. The scholarship winner shall receive a $500 cash award to be applied towards the winner’s education, musical instrument or other songwriting endeavor.

2. Additional cash prizes may be awarded based on merit.

SECTION 6 – SCHOLARSHIP DISTRIBUTION:

1. The scholarship board of directors and/or their designees will be responsible for choosing the winners.

2. Winners will be announced on or about May 3, 2010.

3. The scholarship will be distributed at the awards ceremony to be held on or about May 11, 2010. The winners must be present at this ceremony.

4. Top candidates will be invited to perform at the awards ceremony.

5. Other participants may be invited to perform.

Sponsors

The 2010 Shirley Martin Scholarship for Young Songwriters is sponsored by:

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Finney

Scott Greeson & Vickie Maris in Memory of Jan

Hoosier Surf Records

Ivy Tech Community College

Lafayette Journal and Courier

The Family of Mike Lane

McGuire Music and Sound

Dustin & Janae Price & SAMI Groupies in Honor of Mike Lane

Raven Glass Studio

Teresa Rohler

Sound Logic Recording Studio

Bobby Steel and the Voice of the Independent Artist

Tippecanoe Arts Federation

Tippecanoe Music Teachers Association

University Church

Von’s Records & Video

WBAA Public Radio from Purdue

Shirley Martin
"A Life That Inspired a Scholarship"

Shirley Martin was taken from this world abruptly and unexpected, but her caring nature and love for music lives on through a scholarship for young songwriters.

On the surface, Shirley's life may have appeared typical of countless rural mid-western women living in central Indiana. She was a committed wife, loving mother, a friend to many and deeply committed to her Christian Faith. The type of person you could literally count on in times of need. While it is true she was all of these wonderful things, Shirley was also something more. Shirley's something more was that of having a unique ability to express her wit, life experiences and sense of humor in song. Wonderfully simple songs that made you laugh, reminisce and sometimes cry.

Shirley and her husband Harold would travel throughout mid- north Indiana singing her original songs as well as other tunes she had learned from church, radio and beloved bluegrass jam sessions. Shirley loved bluegrass music and had been known to say things like, "why don't you play that like God intended, bluegrass style". One of her tunes that left folks reeling was a tune called "Midol Moment and PMS Attack". It was the kind of tune that every woman in the audience had lived and every man had endured. Relatable and real, just like Shirley.

Shirley's love for singing and writing extended to that of continuous improvement of her writing skills. It was that passion for improvement that led her to be one of the first members of the Songwriters Association of Mid-north Indiana (SAMI). Shirley took a leadership role in the organization that is dedicated to the education, development and support of area songwriters. One of things Shirley helped co-organize with SAMI co-founder Scott Greeson was a song writing camp for kids. The camp was to be held in northern Indiana and was sponsored by the Prairie Art Council. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, that camp was never held.

Following the months after Shirley's death, the late Janet Greeson re-discovered the syllabus for that camp. She and her husband Scott had wanted to approach SAMI about doing something in Shirley's memory. With the blessing of SAMI's general membership and the support of Shirley's family, the Shirley Martin Scholarship was created.

The Songwriters Association of Mid-north Indiana likes to think that every song considered by the scholarship committee echo's the memory of that very special person that was Shirley Martin. Her memory lives on through young lives and songs.

The Horizon Award: Dedicated in memory of Mike Lane

Mr. Mike Lane was born in Danville, Illinois but he spent the majority of his life (over 25 years) in the surrounding communities of Lafayette, IN. In his early musical career he performed, playing both solo and with several rock bands, including Lear Force, Shoot the Moon, and Almost Illegal. He was mostly influenced by artists such as Jim Croce, James Taylor, Tom Petty, the Eagles, Hall and Oats, Foreigner, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Smokey Robinson, and Eric Clapton but had a variety of music in his repertoire. He worked with local musicians such as Scott Greeson, Mike Kelsey, Dick Landrum, Jeff Krintz, and Dawn O’Day. Later in life he became much more involved in writing and recording his own music and was one of SAMI’s early members and strong supporters.

Mike created a strong foundation of music and laughter for his family that provided an escape during hardship and instilled life principles through the stories of his music. In addition to this he involved his family in his passion for music; his wife running audio for the band while the kids were in tow during practices, set-up, and tear-down. He was a hard working, honest, and simple man who wanted nothing more than to share his passion for life through music.

His musical writings include: Lady, Snowball’s Chance in Hell, I Wanna Be the One, Red Headed Woman, and One More Chance to list a few.

Mike Lanes’ family would like to thank SAMI for the Horizon Award Scholarship. He would be very pleased to know that his love of music has had an influence in helping local musicians to further develop their talents and push the boundaries of their musical inspirations.