The band members, parents and instructors of the Mighty Wolverine Sound are getting ready for another pride-filled marching season at Wellington High School, but each year gets a little harder on their pride.
The students spent the past two weeks of their summer working hard, learning marching maneuvers outdoors and practicing their music inside the school each afternoon.
But as their marching and musical talents get better with time, the uniforms they will perform in this year are wearing apart.
The Wolverines’ uniforms were purchased in 1998, the same year that most of the sophomores were born, and with a larger band this year, the pickings are even more slim. Each year many band parent volunteers spend hours sewing and making alterations just to make do, and so the students will each have the honor of wearing the Wellington uniform with Wolverine pride.
This year, as 52 freshmen take the field with the 90 returning students, there is even more work that needs to be done.
“The tattered and worn uniforms really do not match the level of the Village of Wellington’s acknowledgement of our community priorities concerning the importance and standards of our students,” said Lois Spatz, band photographer and chair of the Wolverine Band Booster Board Public Relations Committee. “Our students perform in the chamber’s Holiday Parade every year, and last year they were the only band to show up to play for the Veterans Day Parade in West Palm Beach. The band also gives much of their time to several local charity organizations’ fundraising events each year. I think now it is time for our community to reach out and put our arms around them to show them we care.”
The Mighty Wolverine Sound budget is mostly funded through heavy fundraising throughout the year, but budget restrictions leave very little money left over after yearly expenses are met.
“The band is in dire need of help and would certainly appreciate any and all donations from our private-sector and business community,” Spatz said. “We are also in the process of asking [Wellington] Mayor Bob Margolis to allow the band to be considered for the Wellington Community Grant and perhaps see if there is any other avenue for funding.”
The cost for the new uniforms for the 142 band members and 22 majorettes will be approximately $71,000, and the new uniforms should last another 15 years.
Call Cathy Flora at (561) 906-5153 or e-mail cmflora@bellsouth.net if you would like to make a donation. All donations are tax-deductible.
For more information, visit www.whsband.com.
Above: Band parent Liz Newsome shows sophomore clarinet player Valerie Emery how to adjust the delicate uniform accessories.
