Grissom Band Parents. Association, Inc. President s Message. August Directors: Bill Connell Theo Vernon. Important Dates: GRISSOM HIGH SCHOOL

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1 GRISSOM HIGH SCHOOL August 2015 Grissom Band Parents Directors: Bill Connell Theo Vernon Important Dates: August 24 7:00 pm Band Parent Meeting GHS Band Room August 28 GHS vs Albertville September 4 GHS vs Huntsville September 11 GHS vs Gadsden City September 17 (Thurs) GHS vs Hazel Green September 18 1/2 Day for students September 25 GHS vs Hartselle September 26 Marching Band Contest ALL DAY September 28 7:00 pm Band Parent Meeting GHS Band Room President s Message All, Association, Inc. Welcome or Welcome back everyone to the Grissom Band Family! I hope everyone had a great summer and an opportunity to make some memories with your family. The band has already been pretty busy all summer with a variety of camps and workshops, starting with Rookie Camp in May and culminating with Band Camp at the end of July. I hope you were able to attend the Parent Preview Show at the end of band camp. It is always amazing to see and hear the amount of progress our kids make in such a short amount of time. The pregame and contest shows really looked great that night and I can only imagine where they will go from here. The evening was made even better by being able to host our BBQ dinner and the show for the first time at Milton Frank Stadium. That may just have to become a tradition! And a special thanks to Lori and Mick Smith, and Karen Peterson for the wonderful dinner and coordinating the event, respectively! I hope by now your children (and hopefully you) have adjusted well into the routine of school and evening band practices. If not, hang in there, it will get smoother soon! Just know that the dedication and sweat our kids put in to these shows will pay off in numerous highlights and achievements during the season. The directors and upperclassmen leadership as always are doing a spectacular job in leading the band on this year s show The Mysteries of Egypt. I know for me there is no place I would rather be on a crisp fall Friday night than watching our band, the Tiger Band, do their thing perform with emotion, dynamics, and class! I can t wait and I hope you can t too! is October 17 th at Hoover High School. These are great opportunities to invite family and friends to see the band at their peak during the marching season! As you probably know, the Grissom Band Parents Association (GBPA) is the body that keeps this great band program going. It is YOUR organization run, paid, and resourced by you! It is a pure volunteer organization that gets minimal financial support from the school system. We rely on you and your family to help it work to support the directors in maintaining the standards of excellence for which this program is known. I look forward to seeing you all at our first GBPA meeting on Monday, August 24 th at 7pm in the GHS Auditorium. All of our GBPA meetings after that will take place on the fourth Monday of the month at 7pm in the band room. We have a great year of events and fundraisers lined up and we hope that you will come out and help lend your skills and expertise to support these events and our committees. As always, if you have any suggestions, concerns or questions, please don t hesitate to me at president@grissomband.org. Thanks, Kennedy Edwards, President I encourage you to come out on every football Friday (and a few Thursdays) to support your child and the band. In addition to a full schedule of football games, we also have two marching competitions in which the contest band will be performing. The first is on Sept 26 th at Spain Park High School and the second

2 Executive Board: President: Kennedy Edwards 1st. Vice President: Karen Peterson 2nd. Vice President: Dan Detrick Treasurers: Bill Ward & Debbie Searcy Secretary: Paula Clawson Committee Chairs Band Banquet: Lori Smith Chaperones: Tania Cowart Color Guard: Robyn Swaim Concerts: Suzanne Norris Fruit Sales: Scott & Amy Anton Historian: Clayton Newkirk Hospitality: Kontina Tate Newsletter: Shari Bahder Publicity: Larissa Chastain Scrip: Bill McMahon Spirit Wear: Michelle Sammarco Stadium Setup: VACANT Transportation: Crista Meeks Trucks: Cameron Grace Uniforms: Anna Grace & Beverly Olmsted Ways & Means: VACANT VBC Coordinator: Melanie Griffin Webmaster: Theo Vernon Notes from the Directors Directors Notes August 2015 WELCOME OR WELCOME BACK TO GRISSOM BAND!! We hope you have had a great summer and spent some quality time with your family. It s been a quick but productive summer for the band. We have lots of exciting activities going on that we hope you will be active in. Those of you who are returning members, we encourage your participation in the many areas where we need your expertise. First year parents are in for a wonderful experience of music and camaraderie with these great students and their parents! THIS FIRST MEETING may leave you baffled and overwhelmed with everything that is Grissom Band. Hang in there! You will make it. There are a multitude of opportunities to volunteer for. We have many needs. Please share your knowledge and expertise with us. The band gets little or no financial assistance from the school system so we need your help. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS NEWSLETTER EACH MONTH! There will be VERY important information each month that you need to be aware of. PLEASE CHECK THE GHS BAND CALENDAR REGULARLY!! Our calendar is published in early June for the next school year. There is a calendar link on the band website: It lists activities that are required attendance. Each year we have students with conflicts that could have been avoided by families taking the time to check the calendar. Be aware that band is a PERFORMANCE BASED CLASS! All rehearsals and public performances are part of the student s grade. It is impossible to make up a football game performance, a marching band festival, a concert or a concert band contest. PLEASE PAY YOUR FEES IN A TIMELY MANNER!! Like we said earlier, the band gets little or no financial help from the school system. Our only source of revenue is band fees and fund raisers. These fee amounts having increased only $75 since 1991!! The band parents board does an amazing job of squeezing the most out of every penny. If you haven t paid the $300 initial fees please do so or set up a payment plan with our treasurers. We will work with you in this matter, but it s your responsibility to begin the process. If you have applied for fee exempt status or are planning to apply please let us know immediately so we can plan accordingly. Please don t put the band directors in the position of not letting your child perform at the football games because of this matter. PAGE 2 (Continued)

3 GRISSOM BAND TO HAWAII!! Our band has been invited to participate in the 75 th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II. It will be during Thanksgiving 2016 (not this year but the next). We made the trip for the 65 th anniversary and it was the most memorable trip we ve ever taken. The educational and emotional impact on the students and adults was beyond words. This truly is a once in a lifetime experience. It may be the last year that survivors of the attack are healthy enough to participate in the activities. Our band will perform at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, perform on the USS Missouri Battleship dock and will march in a parade through downtown Honolulu. Non-performance activities will include visiting the Pearl Harbor Museum, taking a ferry to the USS Arizona Battleship Memorial where it was sunk during the attack (we will place a wreath in memory of the 1,100 + men who lost their lives on the Arizona alone- total casualties in the attack were over 2,400), visit the Polynesian Cultural Center (complete with a luau!) and many other sights on the island of Oahu. This trip will included this year s junior, sophomore, freshman and 8 th grade classes (since it is during Thanksgiving in 2016). HAWAII INFORMATION MEETING: Monday, August 24 at 6:00 in the band room for those who haven t already signed up for the trip. The meeting will be short and to the point. We will have a handout with specifics on the trip. The 8 th graders at the middle schools are also invited and have been contacted. If you know of someone in the band that hasn t been invited please let them know about the meeting. The August general band parents meeting will be immediately afterward in the auditorium at 7:00pm. CHARMS OFFICE ASSISTANT Charms is a data base that we use to keep records of all our members demographic info (addresses, phones etc.), your band financial statements etc. You have direct access to this info once you have been entered in the system. The vast majority of you are already in Charms, but if you moved in town this summer or came to Grissom outside our middle school feeder programs we may have missed you. Please go online (use the name in the header above) and check your info. If you don t know your password please contact the band directors for it. The complete financial records for all your Grissom Band activities are on Charms. Refer to Charms and the monthly newsletters to keep up with payment schedules for fees etc., your status with those payments and the complete calendar of band activities. If you change address, phone number etc. please remember to update in Charms and on your medical form that was completed and turned in to the band at the beginning of each school year. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A SECURE SERVER THAT IS USED NATION-WIDE BY HUNDREDS OF ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS BANDS, CHOIRS, ROTC UNITS ETC. BAND FUNDRAISER COMING UP! Coming up on Thursday, August 27th the band will kick off a band specific fundraiser. Poppin Popcorn There are many different flavors and it is all Gluten Free! Many selling incentives will be offered to the students and all of this information will be handed out to all band students on Thursday or Friday, August 27 or 28. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to the band general fundraising account. PAGE 3 (Continued)

4 SYMPHONIC BAND II ACTIVITIES Being selected to perform at the Alabama Music Educators Association s Conference is a huge honor for the Grissom Band and especially for Symphonic Band II! We have started after school sectionals already in preparation for this January 21st performance. All of these sectional dates on on the band Charms calendar and were handed out to all Symphonic Band II students 2 weeks ago. If you have not turned in your AMEA agreement form please do so by August 21st. ALL rehearsals are very important to insure the best possible success for this major performance! The picture for AMEA program will be taken Monday, August 31st at the Ledges Clubhouse. Students will meet in the band room after school to change into their tuxedos and dresses and drive up to the Ledges. I will collect names of those students who can and are allowed to drive and those parents that will help drive students up that afternoon. We will meet behind the clubhouse at 4:00pm in concert dress with concert instruments. The picture taking should not take more than 45 minutes. The clubhouse is closed on Mondays so no one will be allowed in the clubhouse that afternoon. Guys be sure you have a white wing top tuxedo shirt before that day. Guys can use your black band shoes, Girls must have flat, black, closed toe shoes. Please make sure you have these prior to August 31st. Symphonic Band II text alerts: Please sign up for these text alerts. Send this to this number: PAGE 4

5 PUBLICITY Band doesn t stop after high school! If you have a student, or know of a student who has graduated from the Grissom band program and has gone on to play in band at the collegiate level, please their name and information about the school they are attending to Larissa Chastain at publicty@grissomband.org. Thanks! Grissom Graduates Keeping the Music Alive in College These students had great experiences performing in Grissom band and desired to continue to perform in college. Amanda Akridge, GHS 2012, University of Alabama. Plays clarinet in the Million Dollar Band. Wade Allen, GHS 2011, Auburn University on music scholarship. Plays saxophone in the marching band, wind ensemble and saxophone quartet. Adam Anderson, GHS 2012, is attending Mercyhurst University. Adam is playing trumpet in the Pep Band and playing French horn in the Wind Ensemble. Jeremy Barton, GHS 2011, University of Alabama. Plays percussion in the Million Dollar Band. Robert Boothe, GHS Plays trumpet in the 2014 Auburn University Marching Band. Carley Chastain, GHS 2012 received a Non-Music major music scholarship (her first year) at Auburn University. Carley played clarinet in Auburn's marching band in the fall and at the spring A Day game. She also played bass clarinet in the spring for the Concert band. Adam Chenowyth, GHS Plays trumpet in the 2014 Auburn University Marching Band. Christian Clark, GHS 2012, University of North Alabama on music scholarship. Plays drums in the marching band, wind ensemble and jazz band. He also marched in the drum corps last summer. Jeremy Connor, GHS 2012, University of Alabama on music scholarship. Plays oboe in the wind ensemble and plays alto saxophone in the Million Dollar Band. Shelby Covington, GHS 2013, University of Portland. Music Education major. Plays tuba in several ensembles and sings in the Women s Chorale. Jason Cox, GHS 2012, Auburn University. Plays trumpet in the Auburn marching band. Audrey DuBose, GHS Flag Line in the 2014 Auburn University Marching Band. Geren Dunn, GHS 2012, University of Alabama. Plays saxophone in the Million Dollar Band. Ross Ellis, GHS Plays mellophone in the Auburn University Marching Band. Michael Francica, GHS 2012, Notre Dame University. Plays snare drum in the marching band. Austin Eversmeyer, GHS Plays trumpet in the Auburn University Marching Band and Symphonic Band. PAGE 5 (Continued)

6 Allison Glover, GHS 2012, University of Alabama on music scholarship. Plays flute in the Concert Band and plays piccolo in the Million Dollar Band. Chris Healy, University of Alabama. Music Major. Megan Hathcock, GHS 2012, University of Alabama. Plays percussion in the Million Dollar Band. Aaron Jackson, GHS Plays trumpet in the 2014 Auburn University Marching Band. Amanda Johnson, GHS 2011, University of Alabama. Plays percussion in the Million Dollar Band. Chris Johnson, GHS Plays trumpet in the 2014 Auburn University Marching Band. Michael Bradley Jones, University of Alabama. Music Major. Plays in the Million Dollar Band and is in the music fraternity. Steven Jones, GHS Plays trumpet in the Auburn University Marching Band. Paul Kindred, GHS 2012, University of Alabama Birmingham on music scholarship. Plays percussion in the marching band and bassoon in the wind ensemble. Nicole Matt, GHS 2011, Auburn University. Plays piccolo in the Auburn marching band. Chris McNichol, GHS 2011, University of Alabama Huntsville. Plays baritone saxophone in the wind ensemble. Daniel Pacely, GHS 2011, Mississippi State University. Plays trumpet in the marching band. Cameron Palmer, GHS 2012, Auburn University. Plays saxophone in the Auburn marching band. Travis Redfield, University of Alabama. Plays in the Million Dollar Band. Kaitlyn Sabourin, GHS 2012, is a member of the Famous Maroon Band of Mississippi State University. She plays saxophone in the marching band and oboe and English horn in MSU s Wind Ensemble (top band at MSU). Kaitlyn received a Non-Music major, Music Scholarship. Jessica Sappington, GHS 2012, University of South Alabama. Plays clarinet in the marching band. Steven Sebastian, GHS 2012, University of Alabama. Plays trombone in the Million Dollar Band. Delon Showers, GHS 2012, Alabama A&M University. Plays euphonium in the marching band. Elizabeth Smith, GHS 2011, University of Alabama. Plays clarinet in the Million Dollar Band. Lauren Yopek, GHS 2012, University of Alabama. Plays tenor saxophone in the Million Dollar Band. PAGE 6

7 UNIFORMS Welcome back veterans and welcome to our new students and their families! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who came and helped with the uniform fitting. We could not have done it without your help. Some important information to pass along to you about the football games: The first few games the students will be wearing khaki shorts, white tennis shoes, white socks and the band polo. As they begin wearing their marching uniforms they will need to wear black crew socks (NOT ankle socks), their black marching shoes and black gloves. The gloves will be sold at each game for $3 a pair. Parents, while your child is in uniform, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything except water. Make sure they take their time after the games to hang their uniforms up properly on their hangers. If they need to learn how to do this then they can see one of us or any upperclassman. It is very important that we take care of the uniforms to help make the band look as great as they truly are for years to come. If you are looking to plug in somewhere, this is a great place. At the games or behind the scenes there is plenty to do. We need a lot of parental support to keep these kids looking good! Please feel free to us at uniforms@grissomband.org and we ll be happy to answer any questions you may have. Anna Grace and Beverly Olmsted Uniforms SPIRIT WEAR Warm weather will be here before you know it! Stay cool in Grissom Band spirit wear. We now have basketball shorts and t-shirts in black or orange. spirit@grissomband.org to place an order. -Michelle Sammarco, Spirit Wear PAGE 7

8 NOTES FROM THE TREASURERS Thanks to all who have paid their band fees on time!!! None of us like to pay these fees but the band could not do all that it does without them. Per the by-laws, we will be assessing a 20% penalty on September 1 to all accounts that have not made the initial payment of $300 ($290 for color guard only students). Those who have made a payment plan will not be assessed the penalty if they have been keeping up with their payment plan. The next payment that is due is the Away Game Package of $25 which is due on September 1. Also, summer instrument rental fees should have been paid by now. Debby Searcy will be at the August 24 Band Parent Meeting so you may give her your payments at that time or you can drop them in the Treasurer s Box in the band room. Please label your payment so that it can be properly credited to your account. Several payments have been received this year that have been difficult to track down which student they belong to. Don t forget these easy ways to support the band: 1. If you shop at amazon.com, enter the site through smile.amazon.com. The first time you do this, it will ask you what organization you wish to support, select Virgil I Grissom Band Parents. Once you have done this, you will automatically be supporting the band every time you shop at smile.amazon.com, Have your family and friends do this also. 2. Get a Publix tag and have them scan it every time you shop at Publix. Get tags for your family and friends. If you forget your tag, ask the cashier to scan the tag for Grissom Band Parents they have the tags at the registers. If you need a tag, ask Bill McMahon at the Scrip table. 3. Buy gift cards through the Scrip program. Bill McMahon sets up a table at every band parent meeting. You can also him your orders and make arrangements to get them from him. You buy the gift card at face value; you and the band get money back on these purchases. Debbie Searcy and Bill Ward, Grissom Band Treasurers treasurers@grissomband.org FRUIT SALES Citrus Fruit Sales Announcing the following dates for the Fruit Sale season! November December January February Mark your calendars for these great opportunities to support the band and get some quality citrus fruits from the groves of Florida! PAGE 8

9 Scrip News Another exciting year has started, and there are several new opportunities to help the Band with the Scrip program. For those unfamiliar with this program it is essentially selling gift cards from merchants both local and across the country which the Band gets a percentage of the sale. There are many merchants which participate in this program from restaurants to department stores to online shopping. If there are merchants on the list you utilize, you should buy the Band s gift cards. You pay face value, but the band gets a cut from the vendor. So you are out nothing, other than the effort it takes to buy and use the gift card for your purchases. Two Ways to Order Gift Cards: You can buy your cards the traditional way by filling out an order form and ing/ delivering it and a payment to GBPA. The current in-stock order form is located at We keep most everything on this list in stock at some level, usually ~$100. If you need more than that we can order it for you, we generally order 2 times a month during the school year. You can alternately submit an order online at the Shopwithscrip.com website. This is a NEW FEATURE for us this year! To set up an online account with Shopwithscrip.com you will need to me scrip@grissomband.org to receive an enrollment code (required). Once your online account is active, you will have additional options for purchasing gift cards: In addition to ordering traditional plastic gift cards, online ordering allows for purchase of E-gift cards and gift card reloads. Since these orders are done electronically, they will be processed and delivered quicker than traditional plastic card orders. Online orders can be paid with check to GBPA or via bank draft. The bank draft can take a few days to get set up, but once completed you can purchase gift cards, gift card reloads, and E-gift cards very quickly from the a computer or smart phone. Whichever method you choose to participate in the scrip program, please feel free to contact Bill McMahon to answer any questions you have via at scrip@grissomband.org or on cell phone PAGE 9

10 Stadium Set-up Committee band bulletin board We are still looking for someone to head up stadium setup for this year. Responsibilities for this committee include: 1. Installing stadium seat covers and/or wiping stadium seats to protect uniform pants. 2. Arrange for drinks following half-time shows. 3. Arrange for and collect donations, or either funds or beverages, to insure adequate drinks are available for band members. If you are interested in heading up or serving on this committee, please REMINDER: We ask all families to donate two cases of water each year. If you have not already brought your water, please do so as soon as possible. Also, the Directors have informed us there are FIVE either Freshman or JV football games being held at Grissom this year which will greatly impact the Marching Band rehearsals (some Color Guard and Drumline, some entire Marching Band). With these games being on the football field, people will obviously park in the rear parking lot where the Band normally practices. On the evenings of these games, the Band will have to relocate their rehearsal to the south parking lot next to the band room. It is imperative that we get parent volunteers to come after school and stay until rehearsal begins to assist with telling people where to park and ask them not to park in the south parking lot. The pylons can be set up to help, but people often ignore them. The dates and times of these games are: 24 Aug - 6:00 25 Aug - 6:00 7 Sep - 6:00 8 Sep - 5:00 14 Sep - 6:00 We cannot do this alone, we desperately need parent volunteers to help. Volunteers are needed from immediately after school, approximately 3:15, until rehearsal begins at 6:00. If you can volunteer for one or all of these dates, the entire time or part of the time, please send an tovp1@grissomband.org. Thank you, Karen Peterson, VP1 Hospitality WATER NEEDED! If you have not already done so, we need each family to bring in 2 cases of water. We will be looking for volunteers to help throughout the year. There will be a sign up sheet available at the first band meeting. If you have any questions, please contact me at kontinas@aol.com or call Kontina Tate Hospitality (Continued) PAGE 10

11 VBC Volunteers band bulletin board Earn Credit Toward Your Student s Fees!! Your student receives $5 credit toward band fees for every hour you volunteer with the VBC concessions!! Open to students age 16+, parents, grandparents and anyone interested in earning credits for their student. *For details, see the flyer attached at the last page of this newsletter. Visit the VBC website for event specifics. Playhouse events are not open for Band volunteers. Please request as a shift times available instead of by specific event times. Contact Melanie Griffin at vbc@grissomband.org to volunteer. PUBLICITY If you have a student, or know of a student who has graduated from the Grissom band program and has gone on to play in band at the collegiate level, please their name and information. (Also, if you notice any corrections that need to be made to our list, please let me know.) Larissa Chastain at publicty@grissomband.org. Thanks! PAGE 11

12 earn credits toward band fees by volunteering at von braun civic center concessions areas! Open to students 16+, parents, grandparents and anyone interested in earning credits for their student. Please feel free to contact Melanie Griffin ~ VBC Coordinator at vbc@grissomband.org to volunteer or ask any questions. HOW IT WORKS At the beginning of each month a VBC event schedule will be sent to the parents via . Let me know what days and times you are available to volunteer in the concessions area. I will pass that information on to the VBC scheduler. You will be notified when the VBC scheduler has selected you for an event time. Every hour you volunteer ~your student receives $5.00 credit toward band fees!! RULES OF THE ROAD Student has to be 16 or over Dress is black pants and black shirt, closed toed shoes. Hair has to be put up if it is long. As a lot of parents like to work the same shift as their child please let me know who is related. Also, let me know which volunteers are over 21 and which ones aren't. The volunteers have to adhere to the rules of the VBC, if at any time they do not then the supervisor can send them home and ask them not to return. PAGE 12

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