CENTERBURG — Thanks to community support, the Centerburg marching band has new uniforms this year — 100 of them. The money for the uniforms was raised through the fundraising efforts of the Centerburg Music Boosters and the support of the local community.
Music Booster Janine Hebenthal said, “Besides individual donations, many local businesses donated goods and services that were auctioned at our ‘Dinner and Song’ fundraiser last April, and the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County gave us a grant of $7,500, which made up the last piece we needed to reach our goal of $34,700.”
“The new uniforms were really needed,” Hebenthal continued. “The music program owned pieces and parts of about 60 marching uniforms, and some of those parts were over 20 years old. The cuts in state funding for schools means that there isn’t much money for the arts, and certainly not enough for the purchase of new uniforms. We are grateful for the generous support of the Centerburg community and the Community Foundation.”
From a low of 25 marching band members in the 2006-07 school year, this year’s marching band program has 62 musicians, and the combined band program enrollment in grades six through 12 is 126 students; last year 47 fifth-graders entered the instrumental music program.
“Without the purchase of new uniforms,” said Hebenthal, “we would not have been able to outfit all of the students who would be marching in this year’s band. We expect the growth in the program to continue, and we wanted to be able to allow all interested students the opportunity to participate in marching band.”
The Centerburg Music Boosters is an all-volunteer organization that exists for the sole purpose of supporting the music education program at Centerburg Local Schools. Although primarily an organization of parents of band members, anyone interested in supporting the district’s music program is welcome. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in the high school band room and is open to the public.
