Reflections 2007
On behalf of Dr. Rick Good, Dr. Jon Woods, Mr. Scott Lang, the
band
staff, the guard staff, and the staff of MUSIC TOURS UNLIMITED/MUSIC
FESTIVALS, we
wanted to say thank you to all of the students who truly lived up to the
motto, "the more you give, the more you get!" Thank you for making
the second Macy's Great American Marching Band very special. You
have now raised the bar tremendously for the 2008 band. Your
spirit, attitude, enthusiasm, and work ethic made rehearsals run quickly
and efficiently and made performance day spectacular! As you look
back on this experience, I hope that you can be proud of what you
accomplished in just a short amount of time.
To the
parents of these wonderful and talented young men and women, thank you
for your support and for allowing your children to participate and
providing the necessary funds for their trip. To the band
directors, thank you for what you did every day to help prepare the
students to get to New York. Their musicianship and preparedness
was evident from your day to day teaching. To the administration, thank you for
approving the trip and supporting your school's music programs.
And to the community, we know that you are proud of these students.
They are not only wonderful and talented musicians, they are also
wonderful people! Many of you helped sponsor these young people
with financial assistance, and on their behalf, we say thank you.
A very gracious thank you is extended to our wonderful chaperones.
Words are not enough to express our gratitude for all that you did to take care
of your assigned students and duties. For those of you who returned this year, thank
you for two wonderful years and for helping us provide continuity. We hope we will have the opportunity to work
with you again in the near future. And a special thank you to our
nurse. Not only did he take care of the students when
needed, he pitched in and helped wherever help was needed.
We also need to thank our partners for helping to make
this event and band a success. Once again, the band, guard and dancers all
looked fantastic in the wonderful uniforms provided by the BAND HALL.
Keith, Tim and Gilles are so wonderful to work with. Thank you! YAMAHA, thank
you for providing outstanding sousaphones and percussion instruments.
These sections not only looked great but sounded wonderful as
well. Thank you VIC FIRTH for providing the mallets and
sticks for the drum line and to SABIAN for providing those wonderful,
crisp-sounding cymbals! Special thanks to REMO for
providing all of the drum heads. Thank you Glaceau for providing us
the bottled vitamin water that kept the students and the staff from
dehydrating. To MAJESTY COACH & TOURS, INC., the official
carrier of The Macy's Great American Marching Band, we say thank you to
our drivers for helping make all of our transfers smooth as
possible. Special thanks to DANCE DISTRIBUTORS for
rehearsal attire and supplies, and others who helped The Macy's Great American Marching
Band.
The second Macy's Great American Marching Band
has continued to raised the
standard for the other Macy's Bands to follow. Once again, we are
all grateful to each and every one of you. We hope that this will
be a memory that will last a life time! We wish you all the very
best of luck in everything you do!
Best Wishes,
Dennis Rhoads, President
NOTES FROM STUDENTS &
PARENTS..........................
Here are some comments from the members and their families of
The Macy's Great American
Marching Band as they reflect on their experience. As they are
submitted we will add them as we reflect back on this wonderful
experience. We have not included full names for
security reasons.
Hey Mrs Rachel! How are you? Thank you so much for everything you did this
yr! You guys are so amazing!!!! Ya'll made my 2nd year a year to remember!!
Again, thank you soo much!
God bless & Merry Christmas!
-Veronica H.
Rachal,
Hi. Once again I have to tell you that Lauren had an awesome time.
Your staff was great and that surely made the difference. She has been
walking around school talking about it. She even is showing off some of
the pictures that we collected during the week. She is really sorry that
she is a senior as she would have loved to do it again.
Lauren, Barbara and Brian K.
I cannot express how thrilled my daughter was to participate in the 2007
Macy's Parade! She was one of the dancers and had an absolutely terrific
week, already keeping in touch with several new friends. It would seem
nobody wanted to leave on Friday! A most thrilling moment came when, prior
to the start of the parade, a young spectator pointed to Alida and said (out
loud!!) "I want to be her!" To top that, she'll HAVE to march again
next year! It was a very well-run operation and I only wish I had
been a chaperone so I could have seen the magic for myself. Maybe next
year?
Many thanks!
Lorren S.
Alida's Mom
Rachal,
Thank you so much - my daughter, Rosie W. had a wonderful time again this
year. She would definitely say that this is one of the top ten events of
her high school career. You do a fantastic job - what a thrill for these
students. Best of luck in future years. My Rosie is off to college
next year - (hopefully Ohio State) and definitely plans to pursue Marching Band
- and the Macy's experience helped her identify this passion. I just
ordered several beautiful photos from the web site and her smile is a mile wide
- that kind of says it all! Happy Holidays to your staff.
Sherri S. W.
Nilsa,
Wanted you and everyone at Music Festivals to know what an awesome time
Michael had this past week. It was a wonderful experience for him to spend
a week with musicians from all over the country. When we dropped him off
on Saturday, he knew no one. When we picked him up yesterday, he had made
many new friends. A special thank you to the directors and chaperones that
made the experience possible for Mike and the other students. Although
Mike had marched with his high school band in 2004 in the Macy's parade, he says
that doesn't begin to compare with his experiences this past week. Thank
you for a well-structured and supervised week. I'm certain that Mike will
never forget it.
Sincerely, Darcy and Dave S.
We have been looking at the pictures on the web-site....awesome!! What
an experience for my daughter (in NYC) and for us (at home...still exciting!).
Thank you for your patience and help.
Lisa C.
I enjoyed A LOT of it and am already working on recruiting some dancers to
audition for next year. Your organization does a great job. Thanks for offering
such a wonderful opportunity for so many kids!
Johnny Amos, the dance choreographer, was great. I really appreciated the way
he worked with the dancers. Thanks! It was nice to meet you also. Hope you had a
nice (late) Thanksgiving holiday.
Rosemary Ganey Blankenship
Owner, GARCE Dance Studio
I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you and all the many people who
showed my daughter the time of her life. Working with our high school band helps
me appreciate and see all the hard work that was done to make it happen. Often
times the people behind the scenes never get the credit they deserve. So my wife
and I wanted to say thanks. Please pass that along to as many people you
correspond with. If you should ever be in the Atlanta area, do not hesitate to
contact us. Give us the opportunity to take you and yours out to a nice dinner
on us. Thanks again.
LESTER G. H.
I just want to let you know Samantha had a wonderful time in New York. I
don't think she wanted to come back home. She has been bitten by the New York
bug. She said it felt so good waving to everyone up in the buildings as they
marched. You and all the people involved in making this happen have been so
great. You were the biggest help to me. We had no problems what so ever.
Samantha mentioned to me you had asked her if she was going to be in the Macy's
Parade next year too. I know Samantha wants to be in it again
Thanks! Mrs. G.
I would like to take just a brief moment to extend my warm gratitude to the
Macy's Great American Marching Band organization for making it possible for me
to join such a diverse and phenomenal group of band members (not only in the
practice facility but also as far as personality is concerned)! Words cannot
possibly begin to describe what a tremendous time I had in New York City or even
the outstanding band that was produced in less than a week in the two times that
I played alongside this unique group of kids. I would also like to wish everyone
in the MGAMB organization the best of luck as this band continues to blossom
into a national and international influence that will have everyone saying,
"Gosh, I have to see this group again!"
I hope that whatever college I get into will grant me the opportunity to
participate in its marching band (the way that this organization has), and
possibly take the opportunity to take the marching band up to NYC to perform in
the Macy's Parade with the MGAMB and company.
I hope all goes well for this organization in what appears to be a great
future and I look forward to seeing this group perform again and again either on
TV or in person!
With warm regards,
Sean G. (2x MGAMB member-Maryland)
P.S: Please pass my compliments on to Dr. Good and Dr. Woods as well as the
rest of the staff for a job well done!
I would like to just say thank you for being so understanding and for helping
us know what had to be done. This was all new to us. You have been great. Again
Thank You. Teresa and Samantha G.
Thanks so much! You have placed me on the "You don't have to buy me an X-mas
gift" list for my daughter! So I owe you lunch. (make her buy when she gets to
NY) You have made one young band member a happy camper today. Thanks so much for
your assistance and patience.
LESTER G. H.
It sure has been awesome to have you there to help me through this. You guys
have been INCREDIBLE.
Sheri M.
Dear Music Festivals,
Wow! I really appreciate your personal attention to all of these
details. Thanks!
Susan J.
I just wanted to thank you for sending information about the girls Christa
would be rooming with in advance. This sure helps ease some of the "unknowns"
and helped her feel like she already knew the girls! Thank you so much. Donna A.
Dennis and Bethany (please forward this Ron to and everyone else whose email
address I do not have):
I hope that as you read this letter, you have finally had a chance to rest,
relax and perhaps most importantly, reflect on what an amazing event the 2007
Mac's Great American Marching Band was. The fact that you were able to launch
this from scratch to the success that it is in just two years is nothing short
of amazing. To give the kids the opportunities you do, both musical, and
personal is nothing short of life changing. I can only imagine how proud you
must be.
I had the chance to hunker down with a cup of coffee and my TIVO box and
watch the band on several channels and from several angles and I must say that I
thought they did a great job. They looked and sounded great. You could just
tell that this years group had far surpassed last years group and set a new bar
for the years to come.
As a courtesy, listed below are copies of the emails I have received this
weekend from members of the organization. I know that you perform your own
information gathering activity but I I hope that you find them interesting and
enjoyable to read.
Once again, please accept my most sincere congratulation and thanks for
allowing me to be a part of this wonderful and life changing experience. If
there is anything I can do to be of service for future events, please feel free
to let me know as, "once a client, always a friend."
Sincerely,
Scott Lang
NOTES FROM STUDENTS TO
SCOTT LANG....................................
Mr. Lang,
I was recently in the Macy's Great American Marching Band and I wanted to thank
you for the inspiration that you gave me. I am a leader in my band at school,
but I haven't been very assertive. They listen to me, but what I say doesn't
really sink in. I plan to go back to school and use some of the things I learned
from your seminar. I want to be drum major next year, and I learned so much that
will help me to achieve that. You should come talk to my band. My band doesn't
really care, but I think you telling them would make them care more. It would
also bring us closer. The seminar that you gave brought the Macy's band closer
than any of us think. We all shared inside jokes that we all could laugh at. We
had a common thread that tied us all together. I made so many friends after the
seminar because I had something to talk to people about. My band was very united
last year, but this year it seems like it's a battle between brass, woodwinds,
and percussion. We're not exactly unified. It doesn't really affect our sound,
but band could be more than just a class. We spend so much time together that it
could be more of a family. I know that a couple people in my band would like
that, but we don't know how to start. Thank you so much for the inspiration and
confidence that you gave me. It really helped me and will definitely help me in
the future.
Dear Scott,
I can't thank you enough for your words of encouragement that you gave us. Yes,
I did hear them last year when you visited, but this is a time in my life where
I REALLY needed to hear them. In school, I'm not doing too well and your words
made it so much clearer as to why that is the way it is. You said, "The more you
give, the more you get." I have now realized that I haven't been giving that
much effort into school, and life in general. I will apply all that you've said
to my life. And I'm sure that it will get a LOT better than it currently is.
Thank you once again.
Hey Mr. Scott,
I know you probably don't remember me, but I was part of Macy's Great American
Marching Band this past Thanksgiving. I shook your hand and told you my name,
though we were doing that game where we all were trying to find people for
different things. You gave a seminar about your old English teacher, Mr. Bob
Larabell, and it just touched me so much how a teacher would care that much. I
do believe you're my Bob Larabell. I haven't been doing so well in school,
I've been pulling D's in all my classes when it used to be B's. Since I have
heard your seminar, I've taken everything seriously, not only school, but
everything else, life more so. Wherever I go, I meet new people, I help anybody
if they need it, (though, I used to do that before.) I can also be very quiet,
now I speak before I'm spoken to.
If everybody in this world would listen to you speak with an open heart, the
world would be a wonderful and blessed place. World peace might actually break
out, but until everybody is willing to listen, it might never happen.
I have a teacher, his name is First Sergeant Stanley Zeigler, he wants to see
everybody succeed in life, and he tries to help him any which way he can. He
hates to see kids walk through high school and end up on the block in the
ghettos selling drugs and asking for money. But yet, no matter how many times he
tries to tell them, if they don't give anything, they're not going to get
anything, they will end up as nothing.
Mr. Scott, I do believe you are the answer to a lot of parent's prayers.
I recently got accepted to Georgia Military Academy and will be entering as a
freshman in the Fall of 2008. I will be studying Music and Computer Science and
I will be then going to the army as a Second Lieutenant. The information you
have instilled in me will never be forgotten.
Dear Scott,I had the honor of listening to
you speak to us last week, and I just wanted to let you know how inspiring you
were. Both nights I left your seminars feeling absolutely enlightened- you made
me want to be an "Emily"! Thank you!
PS: I also wanted to say that you were a little
bit right about us flute players!
Dear Scott Lang,
I was recently a participant in the Great American
Marching Band, and had the opportunity to see you a few days ago. I wanted to
thank you for your time and everything you said to us. You truly changed my
life by your words. I didn't realize it before but I was walking through life
being a "Bruce". I always thought negatively on everything and basically walked
through life without really living it. The only person I was really hurting was
myself. And my life was whatever I was going to make it. Usually I am not
really open to change or meeting new people, which made the adjustment of being
at MGAMB really hard. But after I heard you spoke I realized, do I want to just
sit in my hotel room talking to no one the whole time and look back and say I
had a bad time? The night after I heard you spoke, everything changed and I
decided to step outside my comfort zone. By the end of the trip I didn't want
to leave because I met so many new people. Thank you for helping me.
Mr. Lang, I want to thank you for the inspiration you gave me during our
sessions together....Yea, I'm not really good with the formal crap... but your
sessions were pretty awesome... I'd say life changing.. your message was so
amazing... I just wish more people could hear it...
Everything you said was so true, and.... so revolutionary to me....I can say
you have truly changed the way that I look at the world.and I think that if
everyone could see it this way, the world would be so much better... not just in
band class, but everywhere. Yea.... the whole thing sounds corny and what
not... but your seminar really has that effect on people....
I really.... REALLY hope I get to see you again..... but unless I do join the
Macy's Band again next year..... or go march with THE ACADEMY. I doubt I
will.....keep it up man....... don't stop until you get a message like this from
every band student in the county...... why not everyone on earth....
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