Happy New Year Alumni Band!
I hope you enjoyed the holidays and that your 2023 is off to a healthy, good start. I’m excited to share with you highlights of Alumni Band happenings over the past few months.
Homecoming
What a fantastic Alumni Band reunion weekend in October 2022, where we celebrated 50 years of women in HMB and paid tribute to Dave Woodley. The weekend kicked off with a reception at the Voxman Music Building with lots of time to reconnect, good food, a slide show commemorating women in HMB, prepared by Board President Emeritus Kirk Phillips and Laurie Canady, and so many heartwarming photos and letters remembering Dave Woodley. Our roving reporter, Craig Brown, overcame some unexpected, last minute social media challenges to provide coverage throughout the weekend.
Friday brought the homecoming parade through downtown Iowa City, with beautiful, late fall Iowa weather and the “Fossil Bed” trailer to help make the parade accessible to more alumni of all ages. Parade check-in was moved to the Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center, a nice improvement as there is access to restrooms and a warm, dry location in case of rain. The post-parade picnic was also held at the Recreation Center, coordinated by Laura Sievert with help from many other awesome alumni. Tim Clay and Steve Jepson coordinated post-parade bands to entertain fans in downtown Iowa City and at Iowa River Landing.
On Saturday, over 200 Alumni Band members “took back the field” with the pregame performance, “Super Hawks” with HMB, and singing Alma Mater Iowa in the tunnel with HMB. Our fearless Alumni Band Director, Jeff Sebille, took “Roll Along” a bit too literally as we entered the tunnel and gave us all a scare. Thankfully, he got immediate care from Alumni Band members and Kinnick medical staff, and the Alumni Band Drum Majors and others seamlessly stepped in, thanks to Jeff’s organization and quick thinking to handoff necessary information. Alumni Band paid tribute to Dave Woodley during pregame by making the block Iowa formation from when he directed HMB and Alumni Band and HMB played one of his most memorable and exciting arrangements, Pinball Wizard after the game – hearing the incredible sound and musical lines are something I’ll never forget and it brought back special memories of playing this tune over the years, as well as a few tears. It was very special to have Dave’s son, Darin, there to see how much his father meant to so many of us.
Many people spent countless hours preparing for and making sure all went well during the weekend. Rather than try to thank folks individually and risk inadvertently overlooking someone, I want to thank the entire Alumni Band Leadership Board for all your hard work. On behalf the Board, THANK YOU to everyone who helped in any way. You are truly appreciated!
SAVE THE DATE for Homecoming 2023 – October 5 – 7, 2023 – when we will celebrate 50 years of Alumni Band!! Planning is underway to make this an extra special reunion so please say “yes” if you are approached to help. Also, it is very important that you please keep your contact information current at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement to ensure you receive notifications about homecoming, alumni pep band, and other Alumni Band communications.
Alumni Pep Band
Approximately 50 alumni came back to play for Bluder's Bunch on December 29, 2022 under the leadership of Tim Clay. They had a blast playing and did a great job with the tunes, using a mix of paper music and the FlipFolder App. It’s fantastic to watch alumni from different eras interact with each other and is always great to see multiple generations of HMB families come back to play together! (Family Stickney, King, LeBeau, and Canfield/Jepson were there, to name a few.) The Alumni Pep Band also paid tribute to Dave Woodley by playing Pinball Wizard.
Other Alumni Band Happenings
Networking: In November 2022, several successful women from different career fields and eras in the HMB shared their experience and expertise with current HMB members through a virtual panel. These networking events help build valuable connections between HMB and alumni.
Scholarship: The Alumni Band Leadership Board awarded a scholarship to Drumline Captain, Jenna Springer, who was selected from several deserving candidates. Congratulations, Jenna!
Down and Off: John Brown and Tim Clay continue to produce interesting and entertaining podcasts. Check it out:
Ways to get involved: If you would like to participate in a future networking panel, help with a Homecoming Committee or event, or help wherever it may be needed, please send an email to iowaalumniband@gmail.com.
Go Hawks!
Arlene Houk