Una Sophomore Dillon Hodges Performs National Anthem For Cincinnati Reds Aug. 20

Aug. 14, 2009

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - University of North Alabama sophomore Dillon Hodges, of Florence, will perform the National Anthem at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati Aug. 20, when the Reds take on the San Francisco Giants. First pitch for the game is at 12:05 p.m.

Hodges, an entertainment industry management major, will perform the anthem with friends Tim May and Gretchen Priest-May, of Nashville, as part of an acoustic instrumental trio, with Hodges on guitar, May on mandolin and Priest-May on fiddle. The opportunity to perform the anthem came about as part of Hodges' position as the national spokesman for DHR Music Experience, a Cincinnati-based premier guitar retailer and distributor. Hodges signed a five-year agreement earlier this year to exclusively endorse DHR and its lineup of Benedetto, Breedlove, Collings and Hamer guitars. While in Cincinnati, Hodges will also be interviewed by a local television station and will perform at a post-game reception at the DHR headquarters. DHR sponsored a guitar summit with Hodges and May back in July in Florence as part of the W.C. Handy Music Festival. Hodges has performed the National Anthem at numerous sporting events, including the Huntsville Havoc, the Tennessee Valley Vipers, the Times Daily Basketball Classic and several UNA basketball games.

FOR PHOTOS OR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Office of University Communications at 256-765-4225 or jlwoods1@una.edu.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I’s ASUN Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/