Pride Of Prescott Steals The Show
On October 21 the Pride of Prescott competed in the Mile High Marching Invitational. It’s an event that showcased the talent of our own Prescott High School Marching Band “Pride Of Prescott”, as well as other hard working students from high schools all over the state.
The Pride of Prescott has worked hard all year to compete in the invitational and their hard work payed off as they placed first in their division (division 3) and received the second highest score of the night, just one point behind the first place division 1 band.
We got a chance to speak with the band booster president, Lisa Hosking for a close-up view of the work that students, directors and volunteers alike have poured into this year’s event. Here’s what she had to say:
Jeff Daverman:
What kind of practice went into preparing for that win and what amount of preparation makes an event like this possible?
Lisa Hosking:
Our musicians practice marching every Monday and Wednesday from 6:00-8:30 p.m., practice music every Tuesday from 2:45 to 3:45, perform the show at every home game in addition to playing pep tunes in the stands to keep the crowd fired up.
New members learn to march at pre-band camp and all members practice the show at 5 days of band camp before the beginning of the school year. It is evident that these students work very hard.”
I would love to give a shout out to Traci Rainey, the event chairperson, who worked tirelessly for weeks in preparation for this outstanding event and fundraiser. This is my favorite event of the season and it took over 200 volunteer positions to make it happen.
In addition to Traci Rainey, Lori and Barry Barbe headed up concessions which provided food for the hundreds of band members and spectators throughout the day. Lisa Schlegel was in charge of the logistics of moving buses in and out of the parking lot during the festival and Brian Rainey and Clint Brown orchestrated the pit trucks and trailers in the south parking lot and provided water to all the thirsty band members.
It was so exciting to watch as Prescott took first place in their division and sweep all the caption awards for auxiliary (color guard), percussion, music performance, visual performance, and general effect.
Jeff Daverman:
Where can people go to learn more about Pride Of Prescott?
Lisa Hosking:
Our website is prescottbandboosters.com where we have a link to a tax credit form that anyone can download, fill out and, send to the PHS Bookstore with a $200 individual donation or a $400 married donation. We also have a sponsorship form that details other ways to support the band through ads and instrument sponsorship.
Like you, we love supporting the 'Pride Of Prescott' and attending local events like the Mile High Marching Invitational. Our community and families all benefit from the collaboration that goes into making something like this happen, and we’re excited to have been involved with the PHS band and witnessed their hard work pay off.
If you are or someone you know is interested in volunteering for or donating to the Prescott High School band program, go to www.prescottbandboosters.com or find Prescott Band Boosters on Facebook for more information.