SPC Scholarship Gala Is Auctioning Off Two BIG Items

Every year south Plains Colleges puts on a Scholarship Gala, this year they are doing it big.

At the gala, they will have a live auction, silent auction, dinner, drinks, and live music. This year a former alumni will be taking the stage.

Trent Willmon made a life-changing switch from studying animal science to pursue an education in music. A few decades later, Willmon will return to Levelland, not only as an SPC alumnus but as the featured entertainer at the College’s 26th Annual Scholarship Gala.

Around 1996 when a friend from SPC told him about a gig in Nashville, Willmon made the move to Tennessee, where he performed as a side musician for other artists and worked on horse farms. A few years later, he signed his first publishing deal with Seagayle Music and later started a band called “Cow Camp.”

Willmon signed a record deal with Sony in 2004 and released his debut self-titled album in 2005. Since then, he has written songs cut by top recording artists including Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Cody Johnson, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton and many more. Willmon continues to write and perform but spends more time producing albums for Cody Johnson, Hayden Haddock and several other artists. He was awarded “Single Of The Year” at the 2022 CMA Awards as a producer for Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t,” which won “Best Country Song” at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

 At this year’s Scholarship Gala, Willmon said he hopes to perform some songs from his past record deal with Sony and some songs recorded by other artists.

The Gala is set for 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Mallet Event Center in Levelland and will feature a musical performance by Willmon along with an SPC faculty band.

While you are there you don't want to miss all the auction items. Two big ones are the signed Taylor Swift guitar and the signed Cheifs helmet by Travis Kelce.

Sponsorships and tickets for the Scholarship Gala are still available by calling 806-716-2020 or at www.southplainscollege.edu/gala. All Gala proceeds support scholarships at SPC. For information about the Scholarship Gala or other ways to support SPC students, contact Samantha Goldie at 806-716-2020 or sgoldie@southplainscollege.edu.