EATON — The Eaton Board of Education received a special demonstration from the Eaton Color Guard during a meeting on Monday, May 14. Coach Lisa White brought some of the team members out to perform and discuss what the program means to them.
“When we started this program two years ago, we hung up a flyer and started with 11 students. Starting a brand new program was kind of tricky, but we had support from a lot of people. We also decided to compete and in two years we hold six regional titles. We have been very successful,” White said.
“In our second year we went from 11 students to 24 students. We more than doubled in our second year for marching band. Then, we went into our second Winter Guard season and competition season and we now have close to 40 students who are actively involved in either the fall or winter programs.
“The program has just blasted and we have only done a few flyers here or there. We haven’t really presented it to the community. Thank you for inviting us out to demonstrate what we do.”
The Color Guard and Winter Guard are open to both girls and boys. The Winter Guard gives band members an opportunity to try guard, since they cannot participate during the fall.
Captain Tatum Durbin added, “I was selected for the captain this year out of all of our seniors and I am very honored. There are a lot of reasons this program is important to me. First of all, not only is it important to me, but everyone else. It creates such a good environment for us to go to. Sometimes, when students go to practice they’re tired, but we are always so happy to go to practice, because it is such a positive environment.
“It teaches leadership skills and other real world skills. Not only that, but we have grown a lot as a team. We are represented by amazing students at Eaton High School. We’re not only proud to represent this school, but we hope that you feel the same having us represent you.”
