40 Years and Counting
40 years...It's a long time.
Think of the changes in your life over the last 40 years. I know that for many of you reading this that is an impossible task as you don't yet have 40 years to look back on. For others, it is just a portion of your adult lives. Either way, it is a truly significant amount of time to share life, love and friendships.
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Download our 40 for 40 Campaign Donation Form for the hard copy form and also for information on how to donate online.
It is also a significant number for many of us because this year is the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Florida State University Band Alumni Association. Forty years ago, a group of dedicated former Marching Chiefs got together and decided that their love for the program shouldn't have to end when they left school. They decided there needed to be a way for them to stay involved with an organization that had given them so much. There needed to be a way to give back, while still sharing in the friendship, fellowship, and emotional connection to the University that had become so much a part of their lives. The fact that this association is still around 40 years later is a testament to the impact the bands of Florida State have had on so many lives.
We have chosen to celebrate this milestone in a significant way, as well. We would like to mark the 40 years of the FSUBAA by putting 400 alumni on the field at homecoming, which will be on October 31st this year. We are hoping to honor one of the most beloved directors of the Marching Chiefs, Bentley Shellahamer, who turned over his baton 20 years ago, by having as many of his students as possible there to commemorate the joy that his leadership provided for them. Dr. Shellahamer will be conducting the Tallahassee Winds as our Friday night concert. Finally, we are creating a strategic planning committee to take a look at where we are and where we are going as an organization, and we are looking for any interested members to volunteer. We want to find new ways of serving both the current band members and alumni, so that this organization will be around for another 40 years and beyond. Please contact Beth Bachman, Chairman of the FSUBAA Board of Directors, if you are interested in being a member of this committee, at bethabachman@bellsouth.net.
The FSUBAA needs your help if we are going to continue to provide all that we have in the past, let alone grow and provide new opportunities. The current economic situation that has affected all of us as individuals is impacting our organization as well. We are being asked to do more to help the bands who face cuts as education budgets dwindle. So here is another way we are asking you to help us honor the 40 years of the FSUBAA. Please consider making a donation of $40 or more to the FSUBAA ($400 or $4000 would work, as well). Your donation can be designated for any of our three current funds (Operating, Endowed Scholarship, or Gateway). Everyone who donates a minimum of $40 will receive a Band Alumni patch like the one pictured at the top of the donation form. When making your designation please consider the following:
Operating Fund
This fund pays for the activities of the FSUBAA. When fees for Homecoming fail to meet expenses, as in last year, this is where the money comes from. It also pays for the Chiefs 2 year and 4 year awards, Marchover BBQ, helps to offset CD recording costs, and has even been called upon in the past to help cover some travel costs to allow ensembles to make important trips. This is the fund that will be used to do more for the current students and the alumni in the future.
Endowed Scholarship Fund
Donations to this fund go directly into the principle for our scholarship fund. The proceeds generated by the investment of this principle are what can be used to fund our scholarships. The returns on those investments have diminished considerably in this economic climate. We currently have six designated scholarships with a potential total payout of $12,500 per year. If we hope to provide more scholarships, or increase the value of the ones we have, this fund will need to grow. Proceeds from this fund may only be used for scholarships.
Gateway Fund
This fund was created to enable the construction of a permanent gateway, similar to the gate at Westcott, as an entry to Chiefs Field to honor all the Marching Chiefs - past, present and future. Costs to build the gateway have likely dropped in the last couple of years, but we still need all the money in hand before we can start. Construction of this gateway will go a long way to helping secure Chiefs Field as the permanent home for the Chiefs. Land is tight on campus, and the field is constantly seen by many as valuable open space for their next building (including the proposed indoor football practice facility). Having this physical structure will help to persuade potential developments to look elsewhere.
Please take a few moments to look at your own life. What have the bands of FSU given you? I know that for many it is family and friendships that have lasted several times more than the time actually spent there. It is careers, and husbands, and wives, and brothers and sisters. It is those friends who are the first to arrive and the last to leave, both in good times and in bad. What is that worth to you? More importantly, what is it worth to you to make sure that others have that same opportunity to share in all the amazing experiences that come from being associated with one of the finest musical organizations in the world?
MCATDT!
Steven Kittendorf
FSUBAA Board of Directors
'90 Bari Sax
» Download our 40 for 40 Campaign Donation Form for the hard copy form and also for information on how to donate online.
