LOOKING BACK SSHS band selected to march in Rose Parade

50 Years Ago

From the Herald and Democrat in 1970

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25 Years Ago

From the Herald-Leader in 1995

Grady Lamb, co-owner of IGA SuperCenter made a $3,500 pacesetter donation to the Arkansas Special Olympics Endowment Fund. The money was raised through participation in and sponsorship of the tournament. This was the second year of the endowment fund. Lamb made the pacesetter donation both years. The goal of the endowment fund was to raise $250,000 each year for eight years. The first year of the endowment fund had just met its $250,000 goal. Presenting a plaque of appreciation to Lamb was Bobby Doyle and Treva Chouinard with Special Olympics.

10 Years Ago

From the Herald-Leader in 2010

For just a minute, the entire Siloam Springs high school marching band thought band director Keith Rutledge was retiring from his post after 24 years.

Gathered together in the high school's band room, Rutledge presented a slide show with various memories of Siloam Springs.

My reaction - I just didn't know what we would do without him," said junior drum major Colleen Kretzer.

Kretzer and the rest of the band wouldn't have to figure it out as Rutledge instead broke the news that the band was selected to march in the 123rd Rose Parade at Pasadena, Calif., in 2012.

"He tried to play it off that he was leaving or something," junior saxophone player Michael Allard said. "Then he just sprung it on everybody and the whole place just erupted."

Of the 22 marching band slots in the parade, four of those were reserved for repeaters who perform each year and two of them were reserved for the two schools that were playing in the game, according to the Tournament of Roses public relations department. That left 16 slots to fill from a pool of approximately 100 applicants.

The crew from Siloam Springs would be the third Arkansas high school band to march in this parade in recent history as only two others had the opportunity since the 1960s. Jonesboro high school participated in 1983 and Fayetteville high school in 2006.

Bands are selected based on musicianship, marching ability, uniqueness and entertainment value according to the application.