Band, Pioneerettes together again
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“We’re thrilled and excited to be a part of the program once again and we hope everyone enjoys the show,” said Pioneerette director Susan Grandey.
“We’re excited and scared at the same time, but we’re so happy to be back,” added varsity Pioneerette co-coach Penny Shockley. “We got our start with the band and everybody expects us with them. It’s tradition.”
The Pioneerettes and the band parted ways at the end of the 2000-2001 school year. The mutual decision, approved by school leadership, was made, it was said at the time, to strengthen both programs by allowing them to focus solely on their individual competitions.
When both organizations acquired new leadership last school year, however, talks to reunite the programs began. The Pioneerettes performed on the sidelines during the halftime show last season and the two programs marched in several parades together last year.
“Everybody saw the continuity start to form again and we realized we all work well together, and that’s what the community loves, the band and the Pioneerettes together,” said Shockley.
Band director Duane Farnham is enthusiastic about the return of the Pioneerettes.
“They will enhance our show a great deal,” he said. “Their presence adds an element no one else in this area has.”
Shockley said it has been a challenge to familiarize the Pioneerettes with the mechanics of marching in a band show, as none of the squad’s current members has done so before. All of the squad’s coaches have experience in marching shows, however, and the girls have been quick studies, she said.
News of the Pioneerette-band reunion has been well received by the community, said Shockley.
“Response has been very positive,” she said. “We just hope to provide good entertainment for the community. That’s what we’re here for.”
This year’s halftime show will have a pirate theme and will feature music from the hit movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” and other sources.