Friday night, Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda was the site of a very special event. The musical evening, called "In the Spotlight," was held to raise funds for a state-of-the-art electronic marquee.

This California Distinguished school, tucked away in a quiet Reseda neighborhood and soon celebrating its 50-year anniversary, has out-performed district standards in academics, athletics and the arts.

The school wants to reach out to the community to let them know of the wonderful events happening at the school and what better way than with an electronic marquee.

The evening opened with the presentation of a generous $10,000 donation from John McMillion, president of Majestic Mortgage, a Tarzana-based commercial and residential real estate financing company.

McMillion, who has been a Cleveland benefactor since 1998, roused the crowd of students and parents with excitement as he spoke about the importance of believing in oneself and becoming community leaders.

Cleveland's Science Building is named in honor of McMillion for his generous past donations, which assistsstudents to perform at higher levels along with his annual donations that help pay for science supplies.

During the two-hour, all-star performance open to the community, the talented student chorus, led by Linda Escobar, performed Broadway music tunes from recognizable shows such as "Wicked," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Les Miserables," and finished with a wonderful medley from "Sweeney Todd."

Teachers Bill Smith and Benett Berkowitz sang impressive solo numbers "Music of the Night" and "If I were a Rich Man," respectively.

The audience was treated to a performance by tenor Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos, who has sung leading operatic roles as well as roles in zarzuela, oratorio, and musicals with various opera companies.

The packed auditorium was filled with an enthusiastic crowd and the fundraising event hoped to raise over $20,000. This event launched a great start to an effort to erect a school marquee, which will benefit the entire community.

For more information, contact Dr. Marshall Goldman at Cleveland High 818-885-2300.