Greetings from Eureka Springs

Hey gang. I'm sorry I'm away from you guys for a couple of days, but things are going well at the conference. I heard a great speaker this morning from Philadelphia. His name is Salome Thomas-EL. He's a principal there and just an amazing teacher. He focused on many of the same things we harp on and work so hard on in band - students' responsibility to those around you, the importance of serving others, the importance of always striving to get better.

I spoke with V after this morning's rehearsal. He said you did great learning the 6 new sets. I'm looking forward to hearing how the next 4 pages of drum drill go tomorrow. Keep it up.

Spend time daily practicing on your own. The only way the group can be its best is if you are your best. Be on time. Be ready to work. Have all your stuff. You know the expectation and and you know the drill. When you do right everybody benefits. When you don't, everybody is hurt. The success of the bands rests in the hands of each individual member. Think about it. If all but one sound great and one sounds awful, then we all sound awful. The same goes with marching.

Thanks for working so hard while I'm gone. Thanks to Mr. V for standing in the gap. Y'all are awesome. Continue to work on being on time. I don't want any company in the band set on Friday night during 3rd quarter.......... : )

I'll leave you with two thoughts from Mr. Thomas-EL

"You can not be a passenger. Everybody is a member of the crew."
"If you're not on your way, you're in our way!"

Those two lines parallel our "band on a mountainside" philosophy. We're on the side of the mountain and we're either moving toward the peak and getting better, or we're sliding down the slippery slope. There is no standing still.

Are you a passenger sitting back and taking it in? Or, are you a crew member working hard to make the voyage smoothe? Are you on your way to getting better or getting in the way of those who are?

Both those thoughts are "either/or" propositions. There is really no middle ground. I want to do all I can to help you be the best you can be.

Press on band! Keep working hard to get better each day. Let's continue to want to be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we are today.

I miss you guys!! See you Wednesday at 7:00 a.m.!!!! I can't wait! Really!!!!!! I'm not kidding!!!!!

c