On Saturday, October 12, Skiatook High School Marching Band went to Edmond for the Oklahoma Band Masters State Marching Contest where they performed in a preliminary round at 3:45 in the sweltering heat and impressed the judges enough to go onto the Finals performance. The band has tried their level best all season to make improvements every time they run the show, and the Final Performance was as close to a perfect run as they could have made it. After a long day of abysmal conditions and hard work, the band ended up taking 5th in the state, showing the strength of the Pride of Skiatook. The Band has grown so much this season and all staff members and student leaders are very proud of the progress they’ve made, both as a band and as individuals.
Drum Major, Brianna Russell, says “This run was in the top 5 best we’ve ever done. I am extremely proud of our band, we had a great run! This is a near-perfect end to the season.”
The president of the band booster club, Courtney Tilly, says “I am proud of you kids, you work harder than anyone else I know and it’s really a pleasure to be out here with you kids. All of us band parents start off being here for our own kids, and then everyone kind of becomes our kids, so we’re just one big family, and I’m proud to call all of you my own.”
We are all proud to have such a loving environment created by the band boosters, and there is very little to change about the way this season turned out. Mr. Tilly says “The only thing I would want to change about this band is parent involvement. You know, we appreciate the parents that are involved, but there are 70+ of you and only so many of us, so we need more parents involved. On top of that, so many kids need to have their parents involved but they just don’t show up, and that’s not fair to the kids. But at least us parents who are involved can pick up the slack and be a stable adult in their lives.”
Thank you, Mr. Tilly and all the Band Boosters for all that you do, it means the world to these kids and makes a huge difference for the band as a whole. Another Thank you to Mr. Stotz and Mr. Kitchen for fostering a greatness in the band that allowed the band to achieve 5th in the state! Good Job Bulldogs!
