On Friday, May 15, the Kingwood Mighty Mustang Military Marching Band met on Zoom to celebrate a year that strayed far from the norm. Though the 2019-2020 school year did not end as expected, the band ventured to mimic the scene of an in-person banquet through Zoom for some type of closure. 

Students met all dressed up formally, with band-themed virtual backgrounds distributed through Instagram, email, and Google Classroom. They met before the banquet officially began to converse with their respective sections in a more intimate setting at section social dinners. From there, they hopped over to a full band Zoom call for the big celebration!

The gathering commenced with a game of band trivia featuring questions about directors, marching techs, and marching band in general.  

Following trivia, four seniors, drum majors Sean Jeansonne and Rachelle Wilshire, president Danica Flood, and hype man/drumline captain Michael Hanson, gave speeches on the year.  

After the senior speeches, a video created by Danica Flood that consisted of senior then and now photos was presented.  

The band directors then awarded achievement awards, including a most improved award to Jack Gilligan and most talented freshman to Jack Kruse. 

Jazz band director Hugh Poland said a few words about their successful year and presented the Louis Armstrong Award to Dyron Powell. Following this, several KM4B members were recognized for their service on the leadership team. Flagline coordinator Krystle Kendrick then spoke about their season and recognized flag seniors. The baritones were recognized as Section of the Season!  

Next came superlatives, determined by peer voting. Superlatives included Drama Queen(Shelby Smith), Most Likely to Become President (Michael Hanson), and Cutest Couple That Never Was (Carla Lopez and Griffin Tingle). 

A big tradition within several sections of the band is the passing down of items that have run in the section for years. One item given this year was the clarinets’ Mortimer, an animal with signatures dating back to 2003, presented to junior Jane Moore by senior Rachelle Wilshire.  

After the section item pass-down, Denise Ometzberger, Vice President of the 2019-2020 Kingwood Band Boosters, announced senior scholarship winners David Stepaneko, Rachelle Wilshire, Caitlin Ometzberger, Sean Jeansonne, Boting Lu, and Danica Flood.

Former KM4B member Grant Doyle (Class of 2019) sent in a video to present the Mustang Sally Award, a prestigious distinction given to a graduating “model band student”, to Rachelle Wilshire. Doyle received the award for the 2018-2019 school year and continued the tradition of the last recipient presenting to the newest. 

The banquet wrapped up with an end-of-the-year video also put together by Danica Flood. The directors talked about the year and gave some closing remarks as well. In perhaps the most exciting part of the night, director Kameron Landes (vocals) and his wife Alli Landes (guitar) performed a parody of We Are Young by Fun.  

Overall, the 2019-2020 Band Banquet, though out of the ordinary, played out well considering the circumstances! 

Also featured: Check out the banquet recording!