Surprised and elated, Band of Blue officers celebrate a big win at the USBands Southern States Championships in Chattanooga Saturday. The band walked away with top honors in their class and overall competition.
Chattanooga, TN – What a great weekend to be a Raider! Just hours after the Habersham Central High School football team posted its first win in two years, the HCHS Band of Blue claimed an impressive victory of its own.
The Band of Blue competed Saturday in the USBands Southern States Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They went up against 17 other bands from across the region and walked away 5A Champions. HCHS Band Director Ryan Dukes says the Band of Blue won all of the categories in its division – Music, Visual (Marching), Effect, Guard and Percussion.
But the honors didn’t stop there.
The Band of Blue also won the Cadets Award of Excellence which recognizes the top band in the areas of creativity, performance, and overall effect. Dukes says the Cadets Award is an overall competition award and is the most prestigious honor a band can receive at the USBands competition.
“I am very proud of these young men and women,” Dukes says. “They work hard at their craft and many of them balance work and AP classes as well.” He says it appeared most of the Band of Blue members were “very surprised” when they won the Cadets Award of Excellence but, obviously, they were elated. Facebook and other social media outlets lit up Saturday as news of the band’s win spread throughout Habersham. More than 5,000 readers saw the post to Now Habersham’s Facebook page Saturday and more than 350 have “liked” it. In this day of modern technology, that says a lot.
Because of the win Saturday, the Band of Blue is now eligible to compete at Nationals in the future if they so choose. However, Dukes say the Band of Blue won’t be competing at Nationals this year.
The Band of Blue last won the USBands Southern States 5A Championship back in 2010.
