As you can tell from the gallery of photos above, the 2010 Eagle Marching Band Section Leader retreat is now in the history books as it took place on June 24th and 25th in Estes Park. The student leaders started out by cleaning and painting the band room and took care of maintenance issues in the facility! The room has taken on a slightly new look along with that new paint smell!! Check out the GUARD ROOM unless you're allergic to GREEN! Each instrument locker was mopped out, removing both dust and old papers that accumulated over the past years. Instruments were repaired, wheels were replaced on some of the Pit instruments and, all in all, things were readied for the upcoming Marching Season. The trailer even got a new coat of silicone on the wheels. Shine, Baby, Shine!
After a nice PIZZA lunch, the group headed off to BEAR LAKE, inside Rocky Mountain National Park, for a reflective hike, each section leader looking for something that they thought no one else would notice. It was interesting how many things didn't escape our attention! After we hiked the lake, we reassembled for a group photo and headed off to Mr. Kreegers' In-Laws' cabin in Estes Park.
During our time at THE CABIN, the section leaders worked through many issues such as the name of the show which turned out to be "Lo-Ka-Motion" and Mike came up with a cool design for the "Show Shirt". We also selected the items for the Band Spirit Pack which is made up of various items that students can choose to order "above and beyond" the band fair share amount.
With that "business" out of the way, we proceeded to answer the questions: WHY do you want to be a leader in the Band and WHAT does good leadership look like. We had some time to reflect individually on those questions as well as just time to think ahead of what each leader wanted to be known for. (Their individual Legacy of Leadership!) The 7 page packet that Mr. Kreeger designed contained WAAAAAY more than just that but that's just a sampling of what each leader was thinking about during the retreat!
Each section got to SHOW OFF their cooking talents at some point, taking one meal each. You'll notice leaders in strange positions in some of the photos. Julie had the group entertained with a Fruit Roll Up "eat up" (literally) contest. Ask one of the leaders how THAT worked!!!
Hiking and self-reflection are important aspects of the retreat. Shopping before returning home is also a time for the kids to "hang out" together developing the bonds that they'll need to stick together through the easy and hard times to come!
I am very encouraged that the retreat has jump-started the Marching program to have our best season yet. Each student asked moving questions and shared concerns about how the whole "Leadership" thing works. It should be a GREAT YEAR!
