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5K run to benefit band activities
The Nevada High School's Tiger Pride Marching Band and Band Boosters are inviting the community to come out and support the band and have some fun at the same time. On Saturday, Sept. 11, the band will hold it's first 5K Run/Walk so students can raise money for a trip planned for the 2011-'12 school year.
Race director Ann Jones said, "You don't have to buy anything, just come out and have fun. Jones is the treasurer of the Band Boosters and walks a lot.
She said that one day, "I was walking and I thought 'our kids can do this.'"
From there it was a matter of getting people involved.
Panera Bread Company of Joplin has donated eight dozen bagels, the Nevada Sonic has donated bottled water and the band parents have do-nat-ed a variety of fruits for runners.
The Nevada Area Multisport group has volunteered its services to time the event. "
I can't thank the community enough for what they've done for these kids," Jones said.
The Tiger Pride Marching Band is made up of about 100 students and besides playing at ball games and other school events, it participates in several big marching competitions each year. These are hard working kids, Jones said. They are on the practice field each school day from 7:15 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Sophomore Courtney Crall said she gets up at 5:30 on most mornings in order to get ready for the day and make practice on time.
Part of the reason for choosing the 5K as a fundraiser is to "promote a healthy lifestyle," said Jones.
Band director Tom Meyers agrees.
"Physically they need to be in pretty good shape," he said of his students. They have two weeks of band camp in the summer and practice regularly. Meyers said that the students may walk, or march, as much as a mile during each morning's practice session. From a cardiovascular standpoint, "it can be pretty taxing," he said.
Meyers also said the run will be a "neat way to do something different. No one else in the school does anything like this," he said.
Most of the band members will be present on race day. Some of them have the ACT exam on that day and there is a choir event, too; but Meyers said his members will either be in the race or working behind the scenes of the race.
Everyone agrees that this is a great bunch of kids. They consistently place in the top 10 percent of their division in competitions according to Meyers. He says part of the reason for the band's success is because of the personal relationships the members have. "We're a close-knit group, we work hard together," he said. Band Booster vice president Pookie DeCocq says, "part of why the Nevada High School band is so successful, is because our kids are in good shape." The upcoming 5K should showcase and reinforce both of those organizational qualities.
The cost for the run will be $16 for those who registerbefore the day of the race, $20 for those who register on the day of the race. Anyone with past or present military service, law enforcement personnel or fire and rescue workers can register for $12 with proper identification. The event is open to people of all ages, but children younger than 18 must have a parent's signature on their entry form. Everyone who enters will receive a T-shirt.
Registration forms are available from any band member or by logging onto the Nevada Area Multisport Web page at nevadaareamultisport.weebly.com.
Those who want part of the entry fee to go to a particular student should write the student's name on the bottom of the registration form and half of that fee will go into that student's trip fund.
Registration tables and the start/finish line will be set up near the main crosswalk from the high school to Logan Field by 7 a.m. on race day, and entries will be taken until 8:15. The Tiger Pride brass ensemble will kick off the event by playing the national anthem, in honor of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The race will begin at 8:30.
The 5K Run/Walk is open to runners and walkers of all ages. The course is 3.1 miles. It is all open, flat terrain. Wheelchairs are welcome, but bicycles are not allowed. United States Marine Corps recruiter, Sgt. Chad Moppin, said he is bringing his wife, his 3 -year-old child and his dog as well as several of his recruits. The race is to be a timed event; and some of Moppin's recruits will get a chance to see what they can do, he said.
Refreshments will be available after the event. Trophies for first place will be awarded to male and female overall winners, as will the first-place male and female winners of the five separate age divisions. Overall and age division second and third place winners will be awarded medals.
Entrants may pick up pre-race packets and "goody bags" at Logan Field, main entrance, Friday, Sept. 10, 4-6 p.m.
For more information, contact Ann Jones at trumpetmarchingmom@gmail.com.