Editor's note: The information box accompanying this article has been revised to reflect the following correction, which appears in Wednesday's print edition. Because of an editing error, an information box accompanying a front-page article in Tuesday's edition incorrectly listed the Volunteer of the Year given at the Averitt Center's second annual Emma Awards. Theresa Novotny won that award. The Statesboro Herald regrets the error.

    Cameras flashed and captured the elegant gowns and the sharp tuxedos of the nominees as they strolled down the red carpet for Saturday’s Emma Awards.
    They entered the Averitt Center for the Arts and were greeted by a celebration for their hard work in the productions of the past year. These volunteers included both new and experienced actors, directors and others involved in the last year’s community theater productions.
    Sydney “Joe” Morgan from Screven County has said that he never really participated in plays quite like the Averitt Center’s productions, but the people as well as the critics say he is doing a fantastic job.
    During Saturday’s second annual Emma Awards fundraiser, Morgan was awarded both the People’s Choice and Critic’s Choice for Best Actor in his performance in “I Remember Mama.”
        “I’m am outsider from Screven County. It was nice to be welcomed into the Averitt Center Stars, and the cast was wonderful in helping me. It was my first time on-stage in a production like this, so it was very exciting,” Morgan said.
    The Emma Awards, sponsored by Farmers and Merchants Bank, is an event to recognize the volunteers who play in the Averitt Center productions, as well as raising money for the center. Events like the Emma Awards have raised $26,000 dollars for the arts. This year’s Emma Awards raised $8,500 for the Averitt Center.
         “We want to encourage the community to come and attend these productions,” said Melinda Roell, the development director for the Averitt Center. “Theater enthusiasts are encouraged to vote for the People’s Choice winners, and to become critics for the next Emma Awards.” 
        Sharon Altany, the committee chairwoman of the Averitt Center, said it is important for the community to support the arts.
        “Bulloch County is so blessed to have the Averitt Center here, and I believe the Averitt Stars are the best community theater. It’s getting bigger and better every year,” Altany said.
        In addition to being the committee chairwoman, Altany also directs plays for the center. She and Eddie Frazier, a theater teacher and the head of the fine arts department at Statesboro High School, shared the People’s Choice Award for Best Director for their work in the play “9 to 5.”
    Nora Franklin, who played Violet in “9 to 5,” was awarded the Critic’s Choice Best Actress award for her performance.
    “I wish everybody could feel how it feels when you win an award,” she said after the ceremony.
        Abigail Sneathen was also thrilled to win the People’s Choice Award for Best Actress for her performance in “The Wizard of Oz.” It was her first musical, and the people thought she did an exceptional job.
        “It was my first real musical, and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was more than I ever could have imagined it to be. It was really fun and magical,” Sneathen said.
         Roell encourages people to attend next season’s Averitt Center productions and cap it off with the third annual Emma Awards.
        That ceremony is scheduled for June 7, 2014.