Sam Cordell to be honored with reception

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

CORDELL

Longtime Silver and Gold Band director Sam Cordell will be honored with a reception Sunday for his years of dedication to McMinnville and Warren County.

“This is an open invitation to the community,” new director Mike Chilcutt said, hoping for a good turnout. “The band has been going along for so many years and he has been a mainstay in the community. We’re trying to get the word out and give him as much recognition as possible.”

Cordell, who is in his 80s, was the director of the band for almost 40 years after taking the position in 1964 and joining the band as a trumpet player in the 1950s. He passed the baton to Chilcutt, a former high school band director, on Jan. 13.

The band, considered one of the longest-running bands in state history, traditionally plays at community events and does not charge for providing entertainment.

The reception will be help at First Presbyterian Church from 2 to 4 p.m., and all friends, former and present band members, as well as the public, are invited.