William Cayer has been on a journey for more than a year and a half.
With less than two months left, Cayer, 24, the Amanda Elzy High School band director, has been trying to raise at least $60,000 so his 75-member band can perform at the 2012 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., on Jan. 2.
The band has already raised $54,000, and on Tuesday the Greenwood City Council verbally agreed to supply $2,000 for the trip, citing as justification the national exposure of the event and the band’s opportunity to serve as ambassadors for the city.
Earlier, Cayer got a pledge of $1,000 from the Leflore County Board of Supervisors.
For Cayer, the adventure began with a call in April 2010.
“It’s a little bit of a mystery to me where the initial invitation originated from,” he said. “I received a phone call from the Gator Bowl Association, and they asked us to participate in their halftime show and the parade before the game.”
They said they were impressed by the band, Cayer said.
“When I got the call, it wasn’t like, ‘We’re considering you.’ It was, ‘We’ve chosen you.’ It was pretty cool,” he said.
Cayer sent back a resumé on the band as well as a video of it performing.
He said the rough estimate of $60,000 includes the cost of transportation, food and lodging for the band and its chaperones. The trip requires two charter coaches and an equipment truck, he said.
To that end, the Leflore County School District has supplied Cayer with $40,600 specifically for lodging, meals and transportation costs. Those payments will be made directly to the vendors.
The Amanda Elzy Band Boosters have also chipped in.
“The band boosters have been doing fundraisers since we got word that we were going to go,” Cayer said. “We just completed Krispy Kreme doughnut sales. We sold 450 dozen. The senior class at Elzy sold 500 dozen.”
In addition, the boosters have sold T-shirts and patches and held car washes.
The band has its own website, www.amandaelzymarchingband.com, and Cayer said many donations have come from out of state. Closing the remaining gap is possible before the end of December, he said.
Cayer said his students are psyched for the trip.
“Some of the kids in the band have never left the state before. It’s going to be a very eye-opening experience, taking them to a big venue,” he said.
Eight high school bands from around the country will form a “mass band” and perform in the halftime show. The Elzy band will march behind its own banner in a parade scheduled prior to game day.
Cayer said that after receiving the music, they would “prepare the drill moves and get the kids up to par and ready to go.”
Cayer, a native of Southington, Conn., and a former Teach for America teacher, came to Elzy after graduating from the University of Connecticut in 2009 with a major in philosophy and minor in music. He was hired as choir director and the assistant band director under Russell Baxter. When Baxter retired in 2010, Cayer became the band director.
Teach for America is only a two-year commitment, so since the beginning of the year, Cayer has worked as a regular teacher at the school.
Cayer said more than half the band members are newcomers.
“We’re a very, very young band. I have seventh-graders, eighth-graders and ninth-graders that are in their first year of playing,” he said. “That’s a huge challenge.”
Still, Cayer has strong feelings about students and motivation and encourages them regularly.
“I’m a strong believer that if want to do it, I think any student can excel in music if they set their heart to it,” he said.
Gator Bowl fever is contagious, he said.
The students are “after school for as long as I’ll let them be,” he said. “They are coming to me before school, before home room, to practice. They are to class on time without being asked, and they are trying to stay after the bell rings. They’re into it.”
Some of that enthusiasm comes from Cayer letting them perform “modern music” in addition to traditional band numbers.
Jean Hall, Leflore County superintendent of education, said the Gator Bowl trip means a lot.
“We’re real proud of the band students, the parents, Mr. Cayer, and his assistant, Sarah Jackson. They have worked extremely hard this year. We are proud of their performances,” she said.
“We know that they will represent Amanda Elzy, Leflore County and Greenwood well when they go to the Gator Bowl,” Hall said.
She said the district will likely vote to approve another $2,000 soon.
The Gator Bowl promises great things, Cayer said.
“It’s a rare chance for some of these kids to see something really special and to do something that they might not have the chance to do otherwise,” he said. “I’ve seen a sense of pride.”
