Community rallies around small but mighty marching band
By Peyton Furtado
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WARE SHOALS, S.C. (WYFF) — The Ware Shoals High School marching band, a group from a school with fewer than 300 students, has been selected to represent South Carolina in the Pearl Harbor Day parade in Hawaii, marking a major honor for the small-town band.
“We’re small in Ware Shoals, but we’re mighty,” said Christie Hodge, band director.
The band, the heartbeat of the town, works tirelessly to perform as one cohesive unit, even in the sweltering heat of summer band camp.
“It’s normal to feel helpless to be in such a small school, seeing those big bands getting such high scores and everything,” band captain Andres Aguero-Juarez said. “But when you know that you have a strong community, especially as strong as the one in Ware Shoals, you come to know that the size of a band does not matter.”
Despite their size, the band has achieved significant success. “We’ve finished third in the state and won the bronze medal,” Hodge said. “For the last four years, they have gone to the state concert assessment and received straight superior ratings.”
The band was recently handpicked for the Pearl Harbor Day parade, an honor that came with a celebratory announcement. “You are the South Carolina representative in the Pearl Harbor Day parade in Hawaii,” a video shared by the band revealed, followed by cheers from the students.
“Being chosen out of hundreds of schools and thousands of other bands that are around, it’s a big thing,” Aguero-Juarez said.
For many students, the trip will be a new experience. “The farthest I’ve traveled, I would say probably North Carolina,” said Daniel Winbush, the band’s drum major. Hodge added, “There are children who have never stayed in a hotel before.”
The trip, however, comes with a high cost. “We think the whole trip is going to be between $150,000 and $160,000,” Hodge said.
The community has stepped up to help, raising $100,000 so far through fundraisers and donations to the school and to the band itself. “This is something that will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them,” Hodge said. “They will always know that people fought for them to get there, that people tried so hard, that we made this happen for them.”
Although the band is still short of its fundraising goal, the students remain grateful. “Just the fact that we received the opportunity is enough to make us glad,” said Winbush.
As the band continues to prepare for its performance, the town of Ware Shoals remains united in its support, showcasing the strength and heart of this small but mighty community.
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