Band Boosters Keep Blue Devils Marching

It’s a crisp fall Friday night, and just as on many such evenings around the country, high school football is the order of the day.

On this particular night, the , 5-0 thus far this season, are facing the rival North Gwinnett Bulldogs, who come in at 4-1. The teams are ready. The cheerleaders are pumped. And the fans are excited, due in no small part to the raucous Norcross Marching Band providing the atmosphere that separates high school football from any other event.

But just as with the teams themselves, this moment does not come without many hours of preparation, participation, and perspiration on the part of the band members, director, and boosters. Outfitting and preparing the band is an expensive proposition, and the money necessary far outstrips the budget that the school may allot.

Enter the Norcross Band Boosters. Members of this club know that being a band parent, much less an active booster, is a lifestyle choice. Members are involved extensively in a number of fund-raising efforts on behalf of the band, to the delight of .

On home game nights, the fund-raising efforts are centered around concessions on the visitors’ side of the field. Arriving by 5:30 for setup and working until 10:30 after cleanup is only a fraction of the effort involved in the concessions.  

Concessions co-chairs Tamela Richardson and Carol Johnson, both seasoned veterans of this effort, are responsible for understanding how much food and beverage is needed, ordering, staffing, ensuring deliveries, personally making purchases, and overseeing a smooth running system throughout the evening. At a game as well attended as this one is, their work is cut out for them.

Tamela, whose son Rashaud is a senior and saxophone section leader in the band, understands that her involvement, just as with others in the booster club, is part and parcel of being a band parent.

“Although we were not new to the Norcross area, my son was new to Gwinnett public schools, as he had been attending school in Fulton County where I teach.  Joining the marching band was an opportunity for him to meet students and continue playing music which he loves.”

To Band Boosters like Tamela, the benefits derived far exceed their efforts.

The competition inherent between the rival schools’ band is overshadowed by their mutual love for music and band, each band watching cheering the other as they enter and leave the field at halftime.

This camaraderie infects the fans of the game, as well, as all fans on both sides of the field (those who have not made a mad dash to the concessions at halftime, anyway) enjoy and applaud both bands’ performances.

North Gwinnett ended up winning the game over Norcross in a thrilling 29-22 come-from-behind victory. As jubilant and heartbroken fans alike leave the stadium, the tireless Band Boosters begin the cleanup from the festivities. There was a good crowd for this game, and concessions went well. Win or lose, it’s all in a day's work for the Band Boosters.