Last night was the end of the year Band Banquet for The Marching Pride of Riverside. Band Banquet is a celebration of all the accomplishments of the students in the past year. End of year awards are handed out and students are recognized for their hard work. It is also a time to recognize and honor the Band Director and Auxiliary Sponsors. We also celebrate all the hard work of the Band Boosters. For me this was the end of a two year journey as the head of this world class organization. So I got to pay tribute and say farewell to all my Boosters. I thought I would post some of my speech to honor all those who have gone on already either through graduating or moving.
It goes with out saying that I believe we have the best band director and faculty at Riverside that an arts program could ever want. While the treasure of The Marching Pride of Riverside is it's talented kids, I know that the program is supported by the unnumbered parents that make up the booster club. There are far to many of them to name so I will try to list a few things that they do for our program. For the past two years here are some things done by parents that I truly appreciate; the text saying, "what do you need boss", the e-mails saying, "I'll be there", the jambalaya cooked, the ice bagged, the chicken fried, the nacho cheese slung, the money counted, the pizzas hustled, the trailers pulled, the camp lunches made, the forms filled out, the money spent, the trips chaperoned, the bibbers hemmed, the sponsorships sold, the dances decorated, the buttons sewed, the speeches endured, the sweaty buses rode, the popcorn popped, the miles marched, the hotel rooms taped, the undercarriages loaded and unloaded, the booths manned, the desserts baked, the fry boats loaded, the hamburgers wrapped, the coolers stocked, the pots washed, the trash picked up, the pep rallies attended, the performances cheered, and even the tears shed. I thank you for doing all these things and much, much more. It is from the platform of this solid foundation that our kids are able to showcase their talents in an award winning fashion.
I also want to thank all my fellow officers past and present. Lord knows I needed you guys to keep me from losing all sense of sanity. I am very excited to see the next group of officers ready to take the helm. They are very eager and ready to move the program to the next level. With new leaders, the best band director in the world, and a re-commitment of the school to better it's arts program, I see a very bright future for The Marching Pride of Riverside. There is no question that our kids have the talent to succeed. It has been a blessing, honor, and privilege to serve our kids. I will always be proud to say that I am, Marching Pride!
"Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward." (Colossians
3:23-24)
