Patriot Pride Marching Band scores big in Bartlett

Competition season underway

By ANDY WELD

MSD Director of Communications

The Marion Patriot Pride Marching Band brought home a wealth of awards from its first competition of the year Saturday at the Championships at Bartlett Station in Bartlett, Tenn.

Ten high school bands from Tennessee and Arkansas competed at the event. Marion came home with the following awards: 1st Place for Color Guard 1st Place for General Effect 2nd Place for Music 2nd Place in Class 5th place overall “I am so proud of our kids for their showing on Saturday,” said Monty Hill, Marion High School band director. “We rehearsed over 28 hours during Fall Break in preparation for our competitive marching season. For the first time in many years, Marion competed at the same level as some of the premier band programs in this part of the country, and finished higher than Jonesboro High School in a headto- head matchup for the first time in 15 years!”

All bands competed by size of their woodwind, brass, and percussion sections. Marion competed in class AAA, with AAAA being the top classification.

Hill also noted that band members’ parents were incredibly supportive during Saturday’s competition.

“The band has worked extremely hard, and our parent ‘army’ was quite impressive at this competition,” he said. “They tailgated, fed the students, and cheered them from the stands in huge numbers.”

The next competition for the Marion Patriot Pride Band is Saturday, October 16 at the West Memphis Classic. Performance time for the band is 3:15 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.

“We urge everyone to come out and support this great group of kids,” Hill said.

With a growing enrollment of nearly 3,900 students, the Marion School District is committed to helping students develop the academic, social, and decision-making skills needed to become productive citizens in the rapidly changing technological world. For enrollment information, including information on school choice, visit https://www.msd3.org/ or call 870-739-5100.

The Marion Patriot Band celebrates their award-winning performance.

Photos courtesy of MSD

The Patriot Pride Marching Band marched home with some impressive hardware from the Bartlett battle of the bands.