Decision-Maker Collaboration on Marching Band Invitational

The purpose of this initiative is to recognize productive engagement and collaboration between the decision-makers of the Anderson High School Band Department, Anderson Band Boosters, and Administrators at Anderson High School, Highland Middle School, and Anderson Community Schools Central Office.

Our goal was to successfully host 25 marching bands at our annual “Tartan Tournament of Bands” marching band invitational. This annual competition is organized by the Anderson Band Boosters and hosted at our district’s middle school building.

When you host a marching band invitational, every planner, participant, and spectator are integral parts to the success of the event. If the person or people organizing the event neglect any of the targeted audience or stakeholders, then some critical part of the event will fall apart in front of hundreds or thousands of people.

The process begins with the Central Indiana Track Show Association approving the season calendar at our December General Membership meeting. After the December meeting, I notify all administrators at Central office, Highland Middle School, and Anderson High School of the date that we have been approved to host. Monthly Boosters meetings take place between January and the show in late July. We take time at these meetings to organize correspondence to solicit local community business sponsorships for our event, plan the concessions menu, approve vendors, organize volunteers, and make any revisions to the contest flow and logistics based upon feedback from the previous year.

Contest Coordinator – Andrea Kirkpatrick, Past President of the Anderson Band Boosters
Volunteer Roles
Concessions Menu
Contest Signage
Contest Aesthetic
Oversees all committees meet their deadlines

Band Director – Richard Geisler
Contest Schedule, Map, Director Correspondence
Revise/Create contest flow and parking grid
Communication with CITSA (Judge assignments,
Communication with Facilities/Maintenance Department
Communication with Technology Department on wifi for Pressbox, Concessions, and Director Hospitality
Communication with Highland Middle School Facilities Principal
Book/Hire: Parking workers, Announcer, Custodians

Boosters President – Todd and Jamie Smith
Oversee volunteer recruitment
Oversee all materials and food are ordered on time
Establish contest committees for Boosters Exec Board to oversee
Ensure all volunteer job assignments
Organize Director Hospitality

Volunteer Coordinator – Jennifer Wallace
Recruit and assign all volunteers their jobs, report times, and shifts

Band Secretary – Mary Beth Schoen
Processing of Financials
Creates Contest Program

Central Office Administration
Joe Cronk, Superintendent – Supports the overall vision and facility preparation required for the event.
Eric Davis, Assistant Superintendent – Awards Presenter
Jeff Sells, Facilities Director – Facility Preparation

High School Administration
Scott Shimer, Principal – Field Timer
Rebekah Dugan, Assistant Principal of Operations – Field Timer
Steve Schindler, Athletic Director – Field Timer
Alan Landes, Assistant Principal of Curriculum – Show Announcer

Middle School Administration
Ellen Finney -Picket, Middle School Principal- Facility/Operations assistance
Matt Goen, Middle School Assistant Principal of Operations – Facility/Operations assistance

Competition Suite – Judge Commentary and Recap Sheets

IHSCGA Winter Guard host manual – This is a great resource to use as a guide when hosting an event.

Visit other friend’s contests – The year before we first hosted, I called up a colleague that hosts one of these competitions the week before us and asked if I could scout out their show to make sure we didn’t leave any details out.

CITSA Rules and Entry document

CITSA Bylaws

Our boosters established a corporate sponsorship program with perks for different levels of sponsorship. This was a great way to raise funding to offset the expense of hosting and see local businesses advertise our partnership on billboards, Facebook, websites, etc. We promoted the event through email, Facebook, local radio, and newspaper.

• Director Hospitality
• Judge Hospitality
• Contest Signage
• Contest Programs
• Contest Sponsor Banners
• Light Rental
• Concessions
• Hauling
• 4-5 Custodians
• 4-6 Parking workers
• Appearance money (required to pay $100 per band)

Hosting a large-scale competition at a building 20 minutes away from all of your gear is a multi-phase challenge to have to work through. We have to take a Saturday to load up a semi trailer and guard trailer with coolers, grills, tents, signs, totes, and any other materials that we need. The stadium does not have a great exit, so we devised a plan with the assistance of our facilities department to saw off and remove a post so that fencing could be temporarily removed for field exit. The first year that we hosted, the stadium bleachers had rivets that needed to be reattached and wasp nests that had to be removed for spectator and performer safety.

This past year, the heat index was around 106 degrees. With the help of administration and our local EMT service, we had EMT’s, a water station, the school nurse and her office open, and we used the auxiliary gym as an emergency cooling station.

Additionally, our administration felt it was important to have their presence at our show to be supportive and involved should there be any emergencies.

Yes! All bands were able to perform. We did not lose money on the event. Our wifi worked without any problems. We received great feedback on judge and director hospitality. The flow of the contest worked well. We were able to find everyone a parking spot. Bands had an easy time getting in, set up, and vacating at the end of the show. Middle School administrators were complimentary of the conditions of their facility after clean-up. We had no instances of heat stroke or hospitalization at this event despite the extreme temperatures. Spectators and participants who experienced heat discomfort and needed medical attention were promptly tended to as safety is our highest priority. Lastly, directors speak positively on our feedback sheets about how well we host. We utilize these sheets annually to reflect with our contest committee about a month after the show to discuss what we need to tweak for the next year. There is always something that can go smoother, and it’s our priority to do what we can to provide a quality contest experience for the schools that choose to attend our site.

The pictures from this event look impressive. We try to get drone shots of the stadium at night to post to Facebook for people to be able to see how large an event with 25 bands looks from the sky. When you have as many visitors to your community as what we get for this contest, it becomes something that your school district prioritizes doing well. Everyone that has a hand in the project takes a lot of pride in “pulling it off” after it is over with. It’s important for administration to see what a large band event looks like. They are used to attending basketball and football games, but a marching band competition is something many admins have never attended. They are an impressive operation for an outsider to see because of all of the planning that takes place and the number of people in attendance. It’s a very positive thing for the music program and the district.

• COMMUNICATE with all stakeholders.
• RESEARCH before you even consider hosting.
• ASK others for help.
• OBSERVE what other successful hosts already do and borrow their ideas.

We try to do something different every year that we host. There is always something that could go better the next year. Perhaps we ordered too many drinks and lost money. Parking always needs to be re-examined. Does your field need rolled? Take notes on the day you are hosting and visit them a few weeks with your contest committee to reflect on and tweak for the next year. Our philosophy has always been that if schools in our association give us the opportunity to host, we have an obligation to do our best for them.