MCHS Band Instruments Destroyed
The MCHS football season opener wouldn’t have been the same without the marching band, which is an important part of Tiger Pride. Thanks to the outpouring of concern, the show went on and it was described as a great performance.
According to Band Director Joey Wilburn, earlier in the week a band member was getting water for the rehearsal when he backed over the woodwinds. “He’s a great kid but unfortunately the woodwind players had lined up their instruments in the blind spot behind his truck last Tuesday afternoon. He put the truck in reverse and backed over the 24 instruments.”
“One of the biggest things of all was the students support of the individual involved in this accident,” said Director Wilburn.
“The first school that reached out to let us borrow instruments was Westmoreland High School and then Smith County also contacted us,” continued Joey, “which I thought was really cool since the Tigers were playing the Owls in the first football game of the season.”
Joey then got in contact with Rick DeJonge, who is a representative of Jupiter Band Instruments, and after looking in the warehouse they were able to find all the needed instruments except for one saxophone. “These instruments are on loan until at least the end of the marching season,” said the band director, “and then as long as a student needs it until we can get them a replacement.”
“It looked like Christmas in the band room when the Jupiter instruments arrived,” laughed Joey. “We got to open some of the instruments that had never even been taken out of the box.”
Joey says at the end of the day, he wants every student with a destroyed instrument to have a repacement instrument of their own. “We want them to have an equal or even better quality instrument.”
“The outpouring of concern has been unbelievable,” said Wilburn, “and I want to thank everyone involved especially Westmoreland High School and Smith County High School. Westmoreland let us borrow 14 instruments until Jupiter got here and we certainly appreciated it.”
The band director said, “if anything this accident has brought us closer. Even the school support was great. It was really awesome that the band got the spirit stick at the community pep rally on Thursday night on the public square.”
Director Wilburn said he would also like to thank the parents for being so supportive and understanding. “And I want to especially thank Jupiter Band Instruments for coming to the table to help,” said Wilburn. “This company believes that music is an essential part of everyone’s life and they were happy to be a part of this effort.”
