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Our View
Panther Pride
Band Meter
For one Washington realtor, watching the
Rappahannock County High School band
walk down Main Street on a crisp December afternoon painted images of a Norman Rockwell scene in his mind.
For many of those who lined the streets that Saturday, the feelings were the same.
The band marched smartly, seriously and professionally but with a definite sense of spirit and bravado - remember that sax hidden in a red sock.
Band director Matt Yonkey has much to be proud of with his young team of talented, award winning musicians as does the entire community - for they not only represent the high school - they are ambassadors for the entire county.
As such, when they travel to tournaments or compete with other high schools it is surely humiliating to have points deducted, not because you’re out of step or off cue, hut because your uniforms don’t match or don’t fit right.
Rightly or wrongly, it’s the price of competition these days.
Rappahannock County isn’t alone in its quest to upgrade uniforms.
In what could be another tight budget year for the school system, outfitting one segment of the student population may not rise high on the priority list but that doesn’t make it any less important.
Neighboring Fauquier County was dealing with the same dilemma a few years ago.
As band booster clubs at both high schools struggled to outfit their ever-growing bands, a deal was struck.
The Fauquier County School Board agreed to front the costs for new uniforms and the band booster clubs agreed to pay the amount back over a period of years.
Cookie sales and car washes diminished, the kids got their uniforms, and the band booster clubs now had a set amount of money to earn each year to pay back the borrowed funds.
Granted, Rappahannock’s school budget may not have that luxury but many in this community do.
We can help and should.
What they need is $15,000 by April 15.
That amount will secure roughly 65 new uniforms.
The Panther Pride Band Meter that you’ll notice on the front page of this issue will keep track of the monies coming in.
Already generous donations from the Cole Family Foundation and Wal-Mart plus several individual contributions have ticked away $5,000 of that amount.
N^xt time you see them marching or hear them play be happy that you can share with their success - buy a book of raffle tickets - and know that the rhythm of their beat carries many notes of your support.
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