By Jere Hough Meteorologist / Feature Reporter
Published: Mon, February 05, 2007 - 6:02 am
Jere Hough
Band Practice...getting ready for Mardi Gras parades...happening at schools all over the area...except this isn't a school! The Mighty Marching Tigers is a Community Band...with over a hundred middle and high school students who meet twice a week, year around.
They rehearse at the James Seals Community Center, but they come from all over Mobile. They give concerts and march in a lot of parades...17 or 18 for Mardi Gras alone. You might have seen them in the Conde Cavaliers Parade.
David Sank is not only the director...he started it all. "This is my fifth year here...the first two years, I volunteered."
Volunteering also meant collecting instruments and uniforms...cast off from schools and colleges or purchased with donations. But his idea has worked so well that it's now his job with Mobile Parks and Recreation.
Sank went to Alabama State University...whose marching band puts on a real show. And so, the Mighty Marching Tigers have a dance team...and a flag team. Even the band members carrying instruments have some extra moves.
The students are clearly having a good time. But they take it very seriously because Sank takes it very seriously.
He says, "We also try to instill in them to be good citizens...be respectful and honest about things that they engage in within the community and in school."
Members have to maintain a certain grade average, and there are special homework help sessions available before each practice.
Jere Hough can not really be heard as the band starts a mew song. "This is probably the noisiest room I've ever been in in my life. (Here's what I'm trying to say) But that's okay. This is the home of the Mighty Marching Tigers, and they want to be sure you'll hear them marching by. On County Road 5 at the James Seals Community Center in Mobile, I'm Jere Hough, News 5."
(TAG) DIRECTOR SANK HAS ADDED TWO JAZZ BANDS AND A SECOND COMMUNITY BAND AT ANOTHER RECREATION CENTER.
THE PROGRAM CAN USE YOUR HELP. THEY WELCOME CASH DONATIONS, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, AND UNIFORMS. CALL (251) 208-1652 OR (251) 208-1655. THOSE ARE ALSO THE NUMBERS TO CALL IF YOU WOULD LIKE SEE ABOUT HAVING THE TIGERS MARCH IN YOUR PARADE.
News Map
Email to a Friend 
Printer Friendly 
Recently Commented On