Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508150006
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ryan Johnson was elated when Gov. George Allen invited the Jefferson Forest High School Band to represent Virginia in the 50th anniversary commemoration of V-J Day in Omaha, Neb.
Johnson, a junior at the Bedford County high school, thought the trip would be fun and the band would have the opportunity to participate in a historic event, the anniversary of the victory over Japan that ended World War II.
The four-day celebration early next month will feature a military-style parade, military re-enactments and other ceremonies.
"When we found out we were going, we were excited," said Johnson, drum major for the 93-member band. "We looked forward to it."
But there was one contingency.
The band had to pay for the trip. Allen did not offer for the state to pay expenses when he issued the invitation in June.
The band boosters estimated that it would cost $40,000 to transport, house and feed the band for the five-day trip. They had two months to come up with the money.
They went to the Bedford County Board of Supervisors and School Board, but neither made any commitment to provide money.
"We had just started our fund raising when we went to the supervisors, and they told us to come back Aug. 14 after we knew how much we could raise on our own," said Marie Johnson, co-president of the boosters and Ryan Johnson's mother.
She said Saturday that the boosters and band members knew that it would be difficult to raise $40,000 in two months. Usually, it takes them an entire school year to raise that much.
But they launched an aggressive campaign.
They wrote letters to businesses. They went door to door in temperatures approaching 100 degrees. They had bake sales, car washes and rummage sales.
"The kids and the boosters worked their hearts out. They never quit," Marie Johnson said.
"We knew it was going to tough, because school was out when we started and the band members had gone in different directions," she said.
They raised nearly $26,000, but time has run out. Payment for the trip's expenses is due Monday, and the boosters have decided to cancel it.
"We fought hard, but we have exhausted our effort," Marie Johnson said. "If we had a couple of more months, we could have done it."
Mike Austin, vice president of the boosters, said the band believed it was an honor to be chosen to represent the state and made a valiant effort to raise the money.
Band director David Heim and the boosters considered alternatives to save money, but they decided that the trip wouldn't have been enjoyable for the students if it was rushed or too much was eliminated.
One option was to cut a day from the trip, but that would have meant the band would have been on the road for more consecutive hours, said Bob Johnson, Marie's husband and co-president of the boosters.
Driving time would have been about 24 hours each way, he said.
Even though the trip has been called off, Marie Johnson said that she might attend the supervisors meeting next week, even though she doesn't expect them to offer any money.
"Neither the state or county helped us," she said, "but the community was really supportive, and we appreciate that."
The band members had mixed reactions to the cancellation. Some were disappointed, but others said the band will have more time to practice for their upcoming marching season. They can still participate in a parade contest for 50 of the nation's best bands at James Madison University in October.
"Some members feel bad about not being able to represent the state, but it is good that we won't have to concentrate on the V-J Day trip in band camp," Ryan Johnson said. "We will have time to practice our marching show."
Crystal Sexton, another band member, said the students saw it as an opportunity for sight-seeing as well as marching in a parade and participating in other events. They had planned to stop in St. Louis.
Sexton said some band members were sad at first.
"We had our hopes up that we were going," she said. "Yeah, there was some disappointment.
"But when they told us that we would have to be on the road 14 hours a day and not have any sight-seeing so we could do it with the money we had raised, everybody said they had rather not go."
There is one consolation for band members.
They will probably get new uniforms and ponchos. Their uniforms are 6 years old, but they normally would have to wait another four or five years to get new ones.
Marie Johnson said the boosters will offer to return any contributions that were made for the trip. But they doubt that many will take back the money, and they expect to have enough to pay part of the cost of new uniforms and rain jackets.
Two years ago, the band traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the Southeastern United States Band Festival. Boosters raised funds during the entire year for that trip. The band also participated in a festival in Williamsburg last year.
by CNB