Martin Methodist College Winter Blast Concert a Hugh Success

Story submitted by Brynn Wade, Martin Methodist College

PULASKI, Tenn. - Thalon is a group with three hearts and one vision which is to revitalize and awaken a generation of seekers. They consist of three band members: Austin who is on Lead Vocals and Guitar, Jeremy who is on Bass and BG Vocals, and Wes who is on drums. Thalon’s cry is that “We would live our lives fully alive and throw off anything that gets in the way of doing so”. Taking their sound from small town Clanton, Alabama to Los Angeles, California and now to the cities and streets of America, Thalon engages the movement and emerges from the waters of life. “Let us dance, let us scream, let us fly…let us hear the sound…of hearts beating for you”. 

Thalon graced Martin Methodist College’s presence on Monday, January 26th, 2009 for a wonderful and entertaining Winter Blast Concert that was sponsored by our Champions of Character Program Center.  The college had two warm-up bands before the featured event, Vini Santos from Brazil who is a member of the RedHawk Men’s Tennis team, and the Adamson band consisting of four band members, two of which were MMC students, Tripp Howell from Georgia who is also a member of the RedHawk Basketball team, and Josh Smith. The college had approximately 525 in attendance ranging from students, faculty, staff and community members. “It was a very fun and enlightening night for everyone on campus, and one that will be remembered for a very long time to come”, said Brynn Wade, Director of Athletic Marketing, “especially when Wes, Thalon’s drummer, took the stage to say a little about himself and the band”.  

Thalon drummer, Wes Springer, provided the audience with an unique personal testimony of the importance of character in his life. Wes stated that he urged everyone to emphasize the core value of “respect” to others, no matter what their role or association in life to you maybe. He asked for everyone to take the time to express love and respect to one another. Wes shared a personal example of how a senior basketball teammate took him under his guidance (when Wes was a freshman) to help make Wes a better person and better basketball player. This leadership gesture came just 24 hours after another person on campus had singled Wes out for average ability and skills on the basketball team and that he was wasting his time attempting to play basketball and that he was an embarrassment to the team. Wes said that this 24 hour period in his life helped identify that type of person that he would become as a young adult. Wes has committed his life to serving the word of God and expressing respect, love, and a helping hand to others. Wes states, “I still remember as if it was yesterday, the extreme low that one person caused me to feel and then the extreme high, confidence, and love that my teammate injected into me. We all have that choice to how we want to impact others.”  

“As Brynn Wade and I were working to fine tune all the details of this event, I sincerely wondered, was all this effort going to be worth it… but WOW how more wrong could my questioning have been.  This was our first attempt of an indoor concert; and as it turned out, it was the ideal event to be sponsored by our Champions of Character Program Center.  The night had a perfect blend of MMC students, guest bands, and an important message from the band’s perspective of character", stated Martin Methodist College's Athletic Director, Jeff Bain.