Dr. Duane Bierman
UNK director of bands, 308.865.8607
Kearney High School Band took the Sweepstakes trophy in the 2011 Band Day Parade Competition in Kearney on Saturday.
The band took first place in Class AA, and earned the Outstanding Drum Line and Best Color Guard trophies. Placing second in Class AA competition was the North Platte High School band.
In all, 22 high school and middle school bands participated in the competition. The bands marched in what was billed as “Nebraska’s Largest Homecoming Parade.” This was the first year that Band Day, Family Day and Homecoming all took place on the same weekend at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Winning first, second and third place awards, listed by category, were: Class B – Holdrege High School, first, and Valentine High School, second. Class C – Kearney Catholic High School, first;Grand Island Central Catholic, second; Kenesaw High School, third. Class D – Axtell High School, first; Wilcox-Hildreth High School, second; and Wallace High School, third. Middle School Division – Ogallala Middle School, first; Kearney Eighth Grade, second; and Palmer Junior High, third.
Band Day was hosted with assistance from the Kearney Visitors Bureau, Andrea McClintock, Kearney Jaycees, UNK Athletics, UNK Parking Services, KGFW Radio and Dave Jenner, Kearney Police Department and Yanda’s Music and Pro Audio. Trophies were donated by the “Kearney Hub” and were presented by Mike Konz, managing editor; Dr. Duane Bierman, UNK director of bands; and Dr. Michael Beard, assistant director of bands. The winning bands received their awards during half-time ceremonies at the UNK football game. Judges for the competition were Brian Alber, a doctoral candidate at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, and Dr. Neal Schnoor, dean of the School of Education and Counseling at Wayne State College.
The bands marched down Central Avenue and from 27th Street to the UNK campus. Bands from the following communities, listed in alphabetical order, took part in the competition: Amherst, Arapahoe, Axtell, Big Springs (South Platte), Elm Creek, Gibbon (Public), Grand Island (Central Catholic), Holdrege, Kearney (Eighth Grade), Kearney (Catholic), Kearney (Senior High), Kenesaw, Lincoln (Parkview Christian), North Platte, Ogallala (Middle), Overton, Palmer (Junior High), Ravenna, SEM (Sumner-Eddyville-Miller), Valentine, Wallace and Wilcox – Hildreth.
