Marching Band Finished Fourth In Voting, Now Awaiting Final Confirmation From Pepsi

After three months of voting fans and supporters of the Heuvelton Central School Marching Band have finally secured victory in their quest to obtain a $25,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project.

And while their fourth place finish last month earned them the grant, the band has not yet officially been awarded the money, pending a final review from those in charge of the Pepsi Refresh Project.

Pepsi spokesperson Melisa M. Tezanos said that while the award is not yet official, the band really doesn't have anything to worry about. "We do need to make sure they are who they say they are. Basically we have to do our due diligence," she said.

Heuvelton Central School Band Director Megan Wattie said that she attempted to go to bed last night, but as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight she couldn't fall asleep. "I actually tried to go to bed last night at around 11, but I couldn't get to sleep so I got up and stayed up until midnight."

Mrs. Wattie then said that she checked the Web site again Thursday morning "to make sure nothing changed."

"I was so excited. We worked so hard for this for so many months. I'm glad to see that the hard work paid off and that the kids finally got their uniforms," she said.

While this year's marching band season is complete, Mrs. Wattie said, assuming their final paperwork gets approved, they will have the new uniforms for the 2011 season.

"We did have a sample uniform made up. I haven't seen it, but I should be receiving it soon," she said, adding, "We tried to make it a cross between traditional and contemporary."

Mr. Wattie, who is entering her fourth year in the district said that she's not lost on the tradition that her band brings to the streets every time they march. "I know people really enjoy the traditional Heuvelton uniforms, so we wanted to keep some of that, but with a contemporary flair."

According to their grant proposal, each new uniform will cost a total of $292, with $17,520 of the grant being used to purchase 60 new uniforms.

The grant will also be used to purchase T-shirts for band members, a set of marching bells, a 28-inch bass drum, a snare drum, three portable CD players and other miscellaneous equipment and supplies.

Terry Young, president of the Heuvelton Band Boosters said through a statement e-mailed to The Journal that she was "elated" when she heard the news. "I am absolutely elated for the kids! Everyone has worked so hard the past three months to make this dream a reality."

Superintendent Susan E. Todd said that the grant is an example of what can be achieved through hard work and never giving up.

"I know parents, students, faculty, support staff and HCS alumni, as well as friends and relatives of our Heuvelton community were voting daily. Without their commitment this could not have happened. Kudos to Mrs. Megan Wattie for her unwavering optimism that this dream would become a reality. This whole experience has proven to out students that by making a commitment to a goal and working hard on the follow through that anything is possible.

"It's been a great lesson on not giving up, staying positive and working as a team. I'm so proud of them."

Both the boosters and Mrs. Wattie said that they would like to thank their supporters for all of the help over the past three months. "We cannot thank out local communities enough for the support they have given us. We would also like to especially thank Benny Fairchild, the Ogdensburg Journal, Yes-FM Radio and Mix 96.1 for helping us get the word out. This proves that small communities with a big heart and a lot of school pride can do anything when they come together."

Mrs. Wattie also echoed those sentiments, saying there were far too many people to thank each one individually. "It's everybody who voted. People who don't know us or the school have been voting," she said, adding, "I've heard from so many people saying they have been voting for us or that they posted it on Facebook and all of their friends were voting too."

Pepsi-Cola Ogdensburg Bottlers Route Supervisor Scott M. Wright said that while he was initially skeptical of the program, he's glad to see some of the money coming home to St. Lawrence County. "When they first announced the program, we were a little wary because we figured that it would all go to bigger areas, but it turns out that Heuvelton and their supporters proved us wrong."

Mr. Wright also explained a little bit of the history behind the program.

"They (Pepsi) backed out of Super Bowl advertising and decided they wanted to do something a little different. It's a good program and it's obvious that the people who came up with it knew what they were doing," he said, adding, "On a business side, we got a lot of good advertising out of it, while also helping many good causes."

When asked if the program is going to continue again next year, Mr. Wright said that he hasn't heard anything yet. "We thought it was ending in August, but I saw another round of voting was released for September."

To check out other organizations seeking funding through the project visit www.refresheverything.com.