KY. STATE BAND BOOSTERS / BAND PARENTS ORG. 2008 - 2009 Fall & Winter Newsletter
As
most of our State Members know by now, one of our goals from our first state
meeting in Lexington, and then our follow-up
meeting in the Spring in Ft. Mitchell,
KY., 5 years ago, to have our own website, has
finally come to fruition!
Since
the launching of our website during this past summer 2008, we have grown to
almost 80 State-Wide members! This
couldn't have been possible without the support of many of our members whose ideas
and suggestions in building this website for all parents, boosters, and music
students, in our great State of KY.
After
a few emails of assistance of help to our members, I have to mention that one
of our original members, Mr. Bill Hewins, a former band parent officer from
Highlands High School, located in Ft. Thomas, KY., our dream of launching our
own website wouldn't have been possible.
He contacted me and offered his experience and our dream became a
reality, due to his dedication, time, talent, and efforts, in believing that
our State Organization would benefit every band student, parent, and booster organization,
in our great State! Since Mr. Hewins has been working in computer
world for many years, this was the perfect person for the job.
We
met on one very hot day at the local library, and he already had the basic
website set up for me to authorize for the rest of our members. Since that time, our website is still
"Under Construction", but Bill and I are planning to add the most
viable websites for anyone in the High School Music Field, to utilize, to assist
their child in every way possible. Bill
and I are the Webmasters of this website, but if there's any technical concerns
to deal with during it's operation, Bill will be the one that we turn to. I'm planning to continue operating as the
State Coordinator of the KY State Band Boosters / Band Parents Org. when
requests for assistance come to us from band booster organization throughout
our State, with the help from many of our members. Thank you Bill for stepping up and taking on
such a daunting task. On behalf of all
of our members, thank you for making our dream come true! Please feel free to visit our website at
kybandboosters.org. If you're currently
not a member or if you ever have any questions, concerns, or idea's to share
with all of us, please use one of the "Links" on our website, and
that information will be forwarded to both Bill and myself. We'll try to help you with your
concerns. You may also sign up to be a
member of our Organization on the website as well. We are looking forward to a great year in
2009!
You'll
also notice on our website that we have also added a few other Links, that
offer assistance with new Fundraising Idea's, Current News, and our Newsletter
will appear there every Quarter of the year.
We'll
also be adding college contact information for those Juniors and Seniors
looking for assistance in finding the best Music Departments in our State. Concert and Jazz Band information will be
forthcoming on our Website. One of our
other Links is other Organizations that we feel any parent or student may need
to further their horizons when trying to locate other Music and Band
Organization in KY and even outside of our great state. If any of you have any other suggestions to
build upon our current website, please feel free to contact us at anytime.
Congratulations
go out to all of the state-wide bands that made their Class Band Regional's,
Semi-Finals, and especially the top 4 bands from all 5 Classes, to make the K.M.E.A. State
Finals, in Louisville,
2 weeks ago. Your passion, dedication,
and talents, have certainly made for another great Marching Band season in the
K.M.E.A. Circuit.
Congratulations
also go out to those KY. Marching Bands that attended the B.O.A. Grand
Nationals, that either placed, and/or won their Class, in Indianapolis, Indiana,
just last weekend. Several of our member
schools bands were there representing our great State! Special recognition goes out to Bourbon
County Marching Band, who won the National Grand Champion of all of Class A!!! Beechwood
High School, a former B.O.A. Class A
National Grand Champion, also placed 3rd, two places behind Bourbon County
High School. Many other KY schools attended and showed the
world that some of the best Marching Bands are still a factor on the world
stage. Congratulations to all of the
bands that participated in the B.O.A. Grand Nationals!
Several
requests have come through our website asking for your assistance by sending in
copies of your local Band Boosters and Band Parents Organization’s By-Laws and
Mission Statements to assist those KY Band Boosters Organizations that are
revamping their rules and By-Laws for next year. If you, or your local organization, can help
them, please forward them to me directly and I'll be glad to forward them along
to them. Please remember that one of our
goals of our State Mission Statement is to assist other Booster Organizations
in our State. I'm asking that you assist
them in their quest.
Since
our State membership has grown so much this past year, we've had several requests
to schedule another state-wide meeting in the Spring of 2009. I've contacted several locations, schools,
and meetings halls, throughout KY to try and find a central location for all of
us to meet and share our experiences from this past year and to discuss the
future of Marching, Concert and Jazz Band for the 2009-2010 school
session. If anyone knows of a central
location for our Spring 2009 State Meeting, please forward any information to
me and I'd be glad to follow-up with making the final arraignments.
Lastly,
I've been bogged down with serious concerns regarding Band Etiquette by some
Parents, Students, and Fans, at many of the state-wide competitions this past
season. I've witnessed this myself and
come away with a bad taste in my mouth about the way some people conduct
themselves in the stands while the bands are performing.
Please
try to remember to show your support to ALL of the bands that perform on any
given weekend. These students and
directors have worked most of the year to bring you some of the best talent
you'll see each weekend throughout the season.
I know that some people in attendance are ignorant of the rules while
attending these competitions, but it's up to us to educate them so they can
pass it along to their family, friends, fans, and neighbors.
Here
are a few things that we need to pass along to our local organizations,
friends, and family, so we can make next season even better for the students
and their band members.
Please
applaud and show your approval of all the bands that perform that day. I know that some bands are considered
"rivals", but that needs to stay at home and keep your responses
positive in the stands.
Please
turn your cell phones off and leave them off during all performances. If you're expecting a personal or business
call, then you need to stand behind the grandstands outside the performance
area. I've heard people carry on
conversations for 20 minutes at a time without any regard for the people who
paid to attend and watch their child perform along with the other 10-15 other
bands.
Once
a performance has begun, sit down and listen to the great music! Making fun of other bands that make mistakes
is a huge discredit to the performing band and brings hard feelings toward the
school whose people are making these remarks.
This happened to me and my family, when a Guard Member dropped her flag
during a performance, on a cold and windy afternoon. I waited for their performance to end, and
then approached the group of students and parents, and nicely told them I
didn't appreciate their remarks and informed them that I planned on reporting
them to their school’s directors, principals, and their Board of
Education. They left the stands, and
moved to another area. I continued to
watch them until the students had to leave for their own performance. I have made contact with one of those schools
involved in one of these instances, so don't think it won't happen to your
group of fans. Please be respectful at
all times and allow those bands to perform their well earned time on the field.
In
closing, with the Holidays approaching, I'd like to wish all of you a joyous
Thanksgiving, and a wonderful Christmas season.
Always, please feel free to contact us with any suggestions, ideas, or
concerns, at anytime. If you're new to
the band world in KY, please consider joining our ever-growing State Band Organization. We'd love to hear from you! Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Mr.
Thomas Schwartz State Coordinator
KY.
State Band Boosters / Band Parents Organization
kybandboosters.org tschwartz@fuse.net
