Lyon student receives award

BATESVILLE — Dana Leigh Smith of Searcy has been named the 2017 award recipient of the Epic Project.

Smith is a freshman at Lyon College pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics. She is the bass-drum player for the Lyon College Pipe Band and a tuba player for the Lyon College Marching Band.

A highly motivated student, Smith hopes to one day pursue her graduate degree in bioengineering. Her goal is to eventually become a designer of advanced prosthetics, she said.

Smith began playing the bass drum shortly after arriving at Lyon and has worked hard to learn the techniques unique to pipe-band drumming. Known as “Li’l Red” in the pipe band, she provides the heartbeat of the band.

The Epic Project was founded in 2015 by Susan Gordon Rose, a kilt maker from Valley Center, California, with the support of Clan Gordon. The project’s mission is to support and encourage young bagpipers, drummers and Highland dancers by supplying them with uniforms and equipment.

This support allows them to further their careers in both Celtic music performance and competition. Pipe majors and instructors recommend promising candidates, and a committee of professionals considers the nominees and selects one recipient per year.

Smith’s outfits will bear the tartan of the Epic Project’s 2017 sponsor, Clan Moffat. She is the first percussionist and the first Arkansan to receive the award.

Smith will receive complete handmade kilt outfits from My Kiltmaker, as well as a new bass drum and accessories. She will also fly to Pleasanton, California, for the gifting ceremony at the Pleasanton Highland Games next fall.