Daily Reporter staff reports
FORTVILLE — At the recent Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS) Band of Marauders’ Community Night Performance, the MVHS Band of Marauders presented the Mt. Vernon School Board with a retired uniform. The uniform, presented in a frame, was given in recognition and thanks for the corporation’s support of the band and its fundraising efforts to purchase new uniforms for the 2020 season. The retired band uniform will be housed at the MVCSC Administration Building.
The uniform was last worn during the “Wheel’d” performance in the fall of 2019. The significance of the “Wheel’d” performance was that it consistently finished in the top three during the 2019 marching band season and placed first in three of those contests. The Band of Marauders finished its season in second place at Scholastic Finals last year.
The MVHS Band of Marauders’ previous uniforms were first worn in the fall of 2008. The average life expectancy for band uniforms is 10 years; the MVHS band uniforms were beyond their prime and had definitely seen better days.
According to Mt. Vernon School Board President Kellie Freeman, the retired uniform represents a new era in our band program, with a fresh start and new expectations. Although the pandemic forced high school band competitions to be cancelled in 2020, the staff and students of the Band of Marauders chose to pursue mastering a new full performance. MVHS Band Director Jackie Nason supported this idea due to band being an outdoor activity which gave students the opportunity to be active and spend time with friends.
