Coastal Carolina University will host the Smith Sapp CPAs Choir Challenge on Saturday, April 9, at 6 p.m. in Wheelwright Auditorium. General admission is $8 in advance and $10 at the door, and $5 for children 10 and younger. The event benefits Each 1 Teach 1, a CCU mentoring program for local youth.

Local choirs, including church choirs and school groups from across Horry County, as well as high school glee clubs, compete for $1,000 in prize money. Mandy Noell of WMBF News and Dave Priest of WRNN FM will host the challenge. Last year's event raised more than $21,000.

Competing choirs include Georgetown High School Gospel Choir, Conway High School Gospel Choir, Bridgewater Academy Choir Club, Carvers Bay Choir and Spirit of Excellence (Church of God in Unity).

Each 1 Teach 1 is a joint initiative of CCU's E. Craig Sr. Wall College of Business Administration and the Spadoni College of Education. It's designed to provide area middle and high school students with the tools necessary to build prosperous and successful futures in education and business. Students learn how to plan for the future, work in groups, market their ideas and make effective presentations. The goal is to inspire tomorrow's leaders, who will teach the next generation how to succeed as business entrepreneurs.

Smith Sapp Bookhout Crumpler & Calliham P.A. is the main benefactor of the choir challenge. Other sponsors include: HTC Cooperative, Each One Teach One, WMBF, Horry County Council, Anderson Brothers Bank, the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, F&J Associates, Spadoni College of Education and The Horry County Independent.

Wheelwright Auditorium is located at 108 Spadoni Park Circle on the Conway campus. For tickets and more information, contact the Wheelwright Box Office at 843-349-ARTS (2787).