Pompano Beach Teacher’s Song Wins State Contest
By Gretchen Parker, Tampa Tribune, Fla.
Jan. 11–TAMPA — After counting 8,700 Internet votes, organizers of Just Sing, Florida! announced today that a Pompano Beach elementary school teacher penned the tune that has a shot at becoming Florida’s new state song.
Jan Hinton, a native of England, took a week to write “Florida — Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky,” an ode to the “land of flowers, land of light … where our dreams can all take flight.” She teaches music at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale and has lived in Florida 11 years.
Hinton sang the song on the recording she submitted to the contest — a feat she said she was sheepish about. Today, the song was performed live by Tampa’s King High School chorus at the Tampa Convention Center after the announcement.
The song will be written into legislation for lawmakers to consider this year.
A panel made up mostly of music educators chose Hinton’s song, along with two other finalists, from a pile of more than 243 entries submitted. Internet voters did the rest of the work by logging onto www.justsingflorida.org, where they could listen to all three and make their pick.
The contest is part of a push by Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Ed Homan, R-Tampa, to retire Florida’s current song, known as “Swanee River,” because of its racial undertones.
Not everyone agrees that the old song should be retired. The three finalists met criticism from those who thought they sounded too somber.
One Web site, www.taxteaparty.com, is run by Tallahassee lawyer Pace Allen and invited voters to cast ballots for other songs, including different versions of “Swanee River.”
Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at gparker@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7562.
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