The dawn’s early light had long since yielded to the glare of the midmorning sun when Alamance County’s commissioners convened their latest regularly scheduled meeting on Monday. But the words of The Star Spangled Banner were as poignant as ever when they were invoked for the commissioners that morning by a talented soloist from Alamance Community College.
Daria Harris ultimately serenaded the county’s governing board at the invitation of its chairman John Paisley, Jr., who had previously heard the young singer perform at a ceremonial ground-breaking. In addition to Paisley’s endorsement, the board’s expectations of Harris were further raised by ACC’s president Algie Gatewood, who introduced her as the sort of multi-talent phenomenon that’s known as a “triple threat” to show biz professionals.
“She’s been singing since she was a toddler…and she also enjoys acting and dancing,” Gatewood told the commissioners. “She’s majoring in ‘college transfer,’” he added, “and she’ll make a great student wherever she goes.”
In the end, Harris would live up to the hype with her rendition of the National Anthem, which included a few Whitney Houston-esque embellishments that wrested new life from the old standard.
The board went on to extend its commendations to Harris and fellow ACC student Ruth Mann, who have been chosen to represent the community college at an upcoming leadership conference in Orlando.
