Baber to headline free NPC concert
Barrett Baber, an Arkansas native and a former contestant on “The Voice” television show, will be featured next month in a free community concert on the campus of National
Park College.
The outdoor concert will be held Sept. 16 in the college’s parking lot across Mid-America Boulevard from the
Gerald Fisher Campus
Center. The concert is scheduled for 5 p.m. and seating will begin at 3 p.m. Guests are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs.
The event is sponsored by National
Park Medical Center, Entergy and Lloyd’s Auto Sales.
“It was something we wanted to do for our community and potential students, along with current students,” said Jason Hudnell, dean of enrollment. “We want more eyes and more bodies on our campus to see what all we have to offer.”
Hudnell said the concert was the brainchild of Jennifer Lyons, head of the Business Division. The event is part of the college’s strategy to create an environment on campus similar to that of a four-year university.
“These are the types of events we want to show not only our students, but our community, that you can have the same experience here at National Park as if you go to Henderson, UCA or some of those other larger state schools,” Hudnell said. “We can provide you that same college experience, but at half the cost.”
The college reached out to Baber and his associates during the summer. Hudnell said Baber was quick to accept the invitation.
“They have been great to work with,” Hudnell said. “They were really excited about being on a college campus and coming to Hot Springs.”
Baber grew up around West Memphis and Marion in east Arkansas, but his mother is from Camden and his father is from Hot Springs. He was a member of a singing group in college at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia and married his wife, Sarah, at Garvan Woodland Gardens.
Fans of the voice watched Baber earn third place during the show’s ninth season in 2015 as a member of country music star Blake Shelton’s team. Baber said it was a sort of “homecoming” in 2016 when he performed in a benefit concert at Lake Hamilton Wolf Arena with a fellow contestant from “The Voice.”
Zach Seabaugh joined Baber for the Lake Hamilton concert to benefit the Kamo’s Kids foundation and the Garland County Drug Court program, Helping Each Other Reach Our Sobriety, known as H.E.R.O.S. Seabaugh began on the show at the age of 16 and advanced to the final six.
“We hope for it to be not only an event for our students, faculty and staff to come back and create that atmosphere on our campus on the weekend, but then also an outreach event for our community and potential students,” Hudnell said.
Free tuition waivers will be among prizes available to those who attend. The event will include games and several food trucks.
Vendors and college employees will set up booths for various programs. Hudnell said campus volunteers and student athletes from the college’s new club basketball teams will help work the event.
“Faculty and staff have been great about saying they want their divisions to have tables,” Hudnell said. “We want the community to see some of the programs we have to offer.
“We are providing an event for our students and we are providing an event for the community, but we also want to show off some of the programs we have and some of the opportunities they have to come out and get a degree.”