By Allison Canter

This three-part series honors the Ashe County High School Band for all their awards and the pride they bring

to their director, school and community. This is the final installment of this series.

The Ashe County Husky Marching Band, Symphonic Band and Steel Drum Band perform at competitions, events and more. They also perform in the community at various functions and welcome the opportunity to do so.

Band Director Scott Turnmyre said that the bands "perform for our community whenever possible. Our community is directly responsible for the opportunity to have our bands." He welcomes groups to call when the band can be of assistance.

"We have performed numerous concerts with the Symphonic Band and Steel Drum Band for various occa-sions to include concerts at the high school," said Turnmyre. "We have a Brass Choir that performs at the Annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Ashelawn Memorial Gardens. The Steel Drum Band performs annually at the Mountain Music Jamboree in Glendale Springs and at the Ashe County Farmer's Market.

"We have also performed for several civic group sponsored activities and the Annual Christmas in July cele-bration in West Jefferson," Turnmyre continued. "I welcome requests from our community for perform-ances. We always attempt to accommodate our community whenever possible."

The band tries to include interactions with the middle school and elementary school students and try to per-form at a couple of the elementary schools each spring.

"I would really enjoy taking the band to Ashe County Middle School in the near future," said Turnmyre. "I would love to share the performance of our groups with all the students in all of our schools.

"Band music is an amazing performance medium that all students can enjoy," Turnmyre continued. For the spring band concert this year, the band is looking at having a joint concert with the Ashe County Middle School Band and the high school bands in the ACHS auditorium.

Another benefit the band has is tremendous support from parents, band boosters, the school system and the community. The band booster organizations provide many services to the students. Many parents obtain necessary bus driver credentials and drive activity buses for the band. Some parents pull the equipment trailers and help get equipment to the locations where it's needed.

"The parents completely put on our annual band contest, a huge undertaking," said Turnmyre. "They chap-erone trips and they always provide an enthusiastic audience at performances. I cannot adequately express the deep appreciation that I have for the support of the band parents at Ashe County High School. We owe a great deal of our success to these parents."

Turnmyre has been teaching band music in the North Carolina Public Schools for 27 years, with 25 of those years in Ashe County. He attended Lenoir Rhyne College and Appalachian State University and holds a bachelor's degree in music education. He is married to Lisa, a teacher at Mountain View Elementary School. They have two daughters, Meagan and Lauren.

"Teaching here has been a great blessing in my life," said Turnmyre. "I could have chosen to take a band di-rector's job in other systems often in my career, but the opportunity to have my family live in this commu-nity has always made leaving not an option."

Turnmyre said, "We have a great deal to be thankful for in the Ashe County School System. The support for our program has always been there, and as a result, has provided many opportunities for Ashe County stu-dents."

According to Turnmyre, music is a great part of the Ashe County heritage and should be preserved for the students to enjoy. He said that music education is proven to raise scores on standardized tests.

Music education provides students with the opportunity to learn many leadership and personal skills, said Turnmyre. It also teaches citizenship and provides students the opportunity to express themselves in a posi-tive way. "Music education is essential," said Turnmyre.

"I would like to thank all of my students, both past and present, who have given me the opportunity to share music with them," said Turnmyre. "I thank our school leaders who continue to have us offer band classes, and give us the chance to perform in many venues."

Turnmyre expressed deep appreciation for all the band parents who continue to give of their time and tal-ents to provide more for all the students.

"I give a great deal of thanks to the collective whole of the community in Ashe County," he said. "The citi-zens of Ashe County have provided experiences for our band students that many only dream of. My greatest thanks is to my wife, Lisa. Her support for me is beyond anything that I could ever ask for."

Anyone interested in having the band perform for their group or organization may reach Turnmyre at Ashe County High School at (336) 846-2400.