CCSC Board hears band trip details

CLOVERDALE -- Clover Command, the Cloverdale High School band, has been nominated to perform in the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C., July 2-6. There are currently 93 students signed up to go.

"That's outstanding," Band Boosters President Greg Williams said. "We didn't think we'd have that many. We're tickled to be going."

Clover Command was nominated to represent Indiana by Congressman Todd Rokita after its performance at the Fall Foliage Parade in Martinsville. They have also been nominated to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington Cemetery.

The only thing standing in the way is the cost of going, which currently sits at $511 per student. To reduce the cost to $250, Williams and the Band Boosters hope to raise $24,000.

"The more we raise," Williams said, "the cheaper it's going to be per kid. We do have some kids in the community who it's going to be hard to come up with $250 and we understand that, so we want to bring it down as low as we can. We've already had several donations from the community, different businesses. With the funding that we have right now, we probably have a little over $7,000. So we're well on our way, but every little bit that we can get helps."

The next big thing in their efforts is a raffle of a restored 1987 El Camino (or $6,000) donated by Al Tucker.

"I want to publicly thank Al Tucker," Superintendent Greg Linton said."Once again, another opportunity to come forward and support the community in a big way, particularly the school, in making that donation to us. That will ensure that the kids get to go and it'll reduce cost. It's quite an honor to be the only band in Indiana nominated to go. It'll be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most of the kids who are involved."

The tickets, costing anywhere from $20-150, are still at the printers, but 100 have already been spoken for. Most of the proceeds will go the D.C. band trip, but 25 percent will also go to Dollars for Scholars.

If the raffle receives approval from the Gaming Commission, Williams hopes to start the raffle on the first of April and have the drawing at the graduation ceremony in May. A GoFundMe account can be accessed through the Clover Command Facebook page, but direct donations can also be made out to the Cloverdale High School Band (memo: "D.C. trip").

For the half-dozen seniors going on the trip, participating in the Independence Day Parade would be the cherry on top of a good high school band career.

"The guard is having an amazing year so far," Williams said. "They're scoring higher than they've ever scored. When you go to other schools you hear 'We've got to beat Cloverdale this year.' We have a lot of talented kids in the music program and guard at Cloverdale. The kids really enjoy it. And Mr. Cole is a great mentor to the kids."

Member Bobbi Nees said, "When many schools are struggling to keep students involved, we notice that the band just seems to grow. And that's a tell-tale of how things are working."

In other developments:

-- Four Cloverdale FFA students presented their projects to the school board. Annika Whitlock and Hannah Long presented "DIY: Homemade Hydroponics at Home," while Brayden Mann and Morgan Goss presented "Artificial Insemination of Swine."

-- Zachary Thomas (4th grade), Ray Bates (middle school) and Sidney Goins (sophomore) were named Cloverdale School Corporation's Students of the Month.

In other business:

-- Member Vivian Whitaker was absent from the meeting.

-- Updates on Dollars for Scholars and the 1:1 technology lease were postponed until the next meeting.

-- President Duane Huge said, "There's a lot of good things going on in the corporation. I think it's a great time to be proud of what we can offer our students."

The next Cloverdale School Corporation board meeting is scheduled for April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Cloverdale School Administration building.