I first want to extend a HUGE thank you to our FOCB board who have done so much to make this program what it is today!
A special thank you to our “graduating” members:
Josh Piper (communications, sponsorship & general tech guru) – every turn you have filled in when we needed someone. Thank you for your willingness and availability to take on some big things, especially growing our sponsorship base and providing the tech support for Play-a-thon!
Kristy Oliver (volunteer coordinator) – one the most important positions for me! Volunteers make my job quite a bit easier, and I thank you for staying on top of all of the events and encouraging volunteerism in our broader band community.
Congratulations to all of our seniors for the leadership and work ethic that you provided this year. You have helped take the Cleveland Band program to heights it has never before attained. Many of you were outstanding role models for our upcoming leaders and your legacy will continue because of that. Be sure to come back and visit, it is always great to see you again, and hear how things are going!
I would like to thank all of the families in our Cleveland Band Family! Your efforts to encourage your young musician at home and to volunteer where you can have been integral in the success of our program as a whole. I would also like to thank all of you that contributed to my gift that was presented to me in our June FOCB board meeting. I am always stunned and humbled by the heartwarming comments and the financial gift. It is a pleasure to serve this community and I am so thankful that I landed here in 2015 to witness a transformation of a program in so many ways (community, musicianship, confidence, leadership and more) from that day to now.
Our new student leadership team has an amazing vision and awesome plans for next year that I believe will continue to strengthen and build the community that we already have. Reaching out to our incoming 8th graders over the summer, continuing to build a bridge to our young band communities in Hosford and Sellwood and sharing our musical talents around the broader community. The challenges of COVID continue to affect our numbers and our instrumentation, but we are now seeing a wave of students from the post-pandemic era this fall with over 50 freshmen coming into the program. With the leadership we have in place, I believe that the bar that has been set in this program will continue to be attainable.
I wish you all a fantastic summer. Hopefully we have plenty of students taking advantage of the many music camp opportunities and also getting some much deserved rest. I look forward to another fantastic school year next fall. Until then….
Musically Yours,
Gary Riler