On Monday, October 26, the Pride of Paoli marching band wrapped up their season with their annual band awards followed by a trophy auction. Just like their season, this year’s band awards were a bit different. Usually after their season they’d have a band banquet in the cafeteria, but for safety reasons they didn’t have a banquet and held their awards ceremony in the auditorium. 

The program started with their annual trophy auction. This is when the trophies they won from their previous season get auctioned off. Some trophies auction for a few dollars while others can be sold for as much as $40-$50. The money earned by the trophy auction goes into the Band Booster Account, which helps pay for the Chow Wagon expenses, the props for the show, and the uniforms for the band.

“This gives everyone in the program an opportunity to make a small donation to the band program, as well as have a personal memory of his/her time in the band. The trophy auction has become quite popular over the years, especially if there are any particular trophies available (such as Outstanding Field Commander for the Drum Major). Some of the 1st Place or Grand Champion trophies are quite large and very sought after by students,” said Former Band Director Bill Laughlin.

The program closed with band awards.There were many different awards given out to the band this year. The Rookie of the Year Award was given to seventh graders Brooklyn Weber and Gabriele Brown. The Most Improved Award was given to sophomore Chloe Shalkowski and eighth grader Christian Longest. The Best Field Commander Award was given to junior Angie Ceja. The Best Soloists Award was given to junior Michael Hannon and sophomores AJ Lopez, Brody Wilcox and Gavin King. The Best Marchers Award was given to sophomore Micaela MacDonald, junior Marissa Fleenor, and seniors Tessa Cranfield and Shawna Phegly. The Best Musicians Award was given to sophomore Adin Monroe, junior Michael Hannon, and seniors Chloe Thacker and Trey Cranfield. There were also section awards given. The Outstanding Clarinet Award was given to freshman Olivia McSpadden and senior Margaret Naumoff. The Outstanding Mid-Voice Award was given to seventh grader Connor Bowman and freshman Mark Drzewiecki. The Outstanding Percussionist Award was given to seventh grader Lydon Poe. The Outstanding Guard Member Award was given to seventh graders Jazmen Mitchell and Neveah King and freshmen Braxton Clarkson and Caitlyn Taylor. The Keeper of The Beat Award was given to sixth grader propling Marcus Longest. The Low Brass Section was awarded with the Outstanding Section Award. Low Brass members include seventh grader Tyler Drzewiecki, freshmen Daniel Adams and Braeden Campbell, junior Elijah MacDonald and senior Trey Cranfield. Grade awards were given out to outstanding band members from each grade. The seventh grade award was given to Tabitha and Tyler Drzewiecki. The eighth grade award was given to Rylee McKenna, Isaiah Holiday and Kelly Royer. The freshman award was given to Nena Goana and Cameron Apple. The sophomore award was given to AJ Lopez, Adin Monroe and Brody Wilcox. The junior award was given to Michael Hannon, Kylee Charles and Haley Cox. The senior award was given to Chloe Thacker, Trey Cranfield, Dan Breedlove and Christian Ruth.