. "The show is fun and

games,"said director Kenneth Beard, "but the work was hard."

Beard and assistants Myra Rhoden

and Eric Slay direct the Marching Tiger band. Beard is a 14-year veteran

of Fayette County High School, while Rhoden and Slay joined the staff

just this year. Doug Dee, a former director at Fayette County, arranged

the music, injecting popular themes from Warner Brothers cartoons. Dee

is the current director at Whitewater High School, but remains a Marching

Tiger supporter. His booming 'GO TIGERS!'from the stands just before competition

helped inspire the band's winning performance.

The hard-working students began

learning their music and the complex routine in July, well before the

start of school. Student drum majors Sarah Bradley, Jasmine Carter and

Hannah Massie conducted the band for weeks of training under the summer

sun to produce the show. The

members of the color guard, under the direction of Chris Key, began practices

even earlier. Zoe Pogrelis directed the drumline practices and created

a tight rhythmic backbone for the piece.

The investment of blood, sweat

and tears paid off with the results of the Bands of America competition. The

band will continue to perform at football games and at local competitions.

The band will perform Oct. 25 in exhibition at the LaFayette Marching

Classic, a local band competition hosted by the Fayette County Band Boosters

and held at the Fayette High School football stadium. The public is invited

to see the show.

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