Good afternoon Trojan band family. I am wrapping up this Monday here at work and I wanted to send all of you a sincere and heart felt “Thank You”.
I am thanking you both for being a part of this program and a part of my life. I consider it a privilege and honor to work at this fine institution along side so many people blessed with talents I don’t have. I am in awe when I stop long enough to recognize all the things that are taking place around me. It’s simply awesome to see so many parents and students working together for a common goal. Where else does that kind of thing happen in our world?
I want to encourage all of you to also look around at the good that is among us every day. In a band rehearsal I can’t look without seeing the good. Sometimes it’s a simple thing like students laughing with their friends or maybe a word of encouragement. Sometimes it’s a student helping another with a drill move, or a horn visual, or a flag sequence, or their two turns, or pushing out someones equipment who is sick or absent. Some days it’s helping an overheated student to the sideline and finding them water. I see on a regular basis band kids helping other band kids with classwork or studying for a test. It’s everywhere, all the time, at every possible level of kindness and helpfulness.
We played YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE in the stands at our first home game last Friday night. There is something about that song that really strikes a chord with the students. “When you walk through the storm hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark”. The verses speak of forging ahead without fear, because I will be right here with you. You will not be alone. This is band family.
It is not just the kids I watch with amazement. At TVI on Saturday, I was surrounded by parents spending the day working for the betterment of the band their kids are a part of. I sometimes get emotional when I realize how lucky I am to work with a group of people who truly get it. To some of us this may seem perfectly normal behavior…….but it isn’t. Times are changing and there are less people who believe such a thing is important anymore. We live in a cynical world that preaches “it’s all about you”, or teaches people to ask “what’s in it for me?” The MSHS band preaches something all together different. We preach “put the needs of others before yourself”. A booster motto is “It’s all about the kids”. We teach this because we believe that people who help others find more happiness than those who don’t.
Even though everyone doesn’t always buy in, I witnessed hundreds of band people that were doing just that Saturday. It’s a sight for sore eyes I can tell you. And this is just one of the reasons why I love this program so much. I don’t take credit for any of it, because the people before me wove it into the fabric of the program and it still exists today.
The band staff at MSHS believes this; We are blessed beyond measure for the students, the parents, the administrators and the community which we teach and live. We have at our disposal resources that other places simply do not get to enjoy. It is because of these precious resources that we put so much emphasis on being the absolute best we can be. We really don’t get any pressure from the outside; all the pressure comes from within. Great kids, Great Parents, Great Community, Great support from Administrators, and Great resources. THIS is why we say thank you!
Sometimes………often times………we all forget what we have. We become complacent with our successes and our blessings. I wish all of us could transport ourselves into other schools and programs for a short time to earn a greater appreciation for what we have. Well,….. honestly maybe I don’t. I love it here and I don’t want to go anywhere else. However, I do want us to all appreciate what we do have and how great we have it.
Two weeks are left in our competition season. We started in July and ending November 2nd in Pelham, Alabama. I don’t know what those days are going to bring for the MSHS band. Little plastic trophies (or the lack of) are not going to dictate what months of work and progress have proven already. This band has come further than any in the past 7 years!!!!!
BUT……………..we still have two weeks left. Two weeks of working the same drill move over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over……..and over and over and over…….until we finally get it right. This time of year it takes everything we have to get 2% better. It’s a slow go, but THIS is when the students learn what it means to be great and to be a champion. Close is not good enough. Now is not the time to relax, we have an opportunity to be better than good……..but to be GREAT!
The world needs people who are willing to do all the things it takes to be great. Who would you want doing your heart surgery, a surgeon who was satisfied with getting it close…….or the one who didn’t stop practicing and studying and trying until they got it perfect? Yeah……me too.
I am not getting any younger, and I think about things that old people think about. Shoes with comfortable soles, cars you don’t have to climb into, retirement packages, my daughters college fund, and house mortgages. However, I have something in my life that motivates me in my old age to keep this program moving forward and maxing out it’s potential. Her name in Emmie Beth Waters and she will be a MSMS band member in 7 months. For the next 7 years, she will get to experience this wonderful band program. I send you the sincerest THANK YOU for keeping it great and holding the standards of excellence that has become the tradition of this program.
YWNWA
