By Lee Weyhrich
The Clay City Council on Monday approved a proclamation stating that Dec. 6 will be Clay-Chalkville Middle School Band Day in honor of the band’s upcoming performance at the Southeastern United States Concert Band Clinic.
The band has earned numerous “Superior” and “Superior with Distinction” ratings from the Alabama Bandmaster Association and has performed in Disney World and Washington D.C., the proclamation stated. The band includes 400 members, roughly 40 percent of the middle school.
Clay City Hall
file photo
“It is not just one person it is a group of people,” Band Director Chris Walker said. “It is a huge system and support structure. (Their success) is not because of me. It’s because of God and the structure.”
Walker included parents, band boosters, Jefferson County Director of Arts Education Dianne Johnson, Assistant Band Director Erin McLaughlin, the Jefferson County Board of Education, the city of Clay and its government representatives as part of that massive structure.
According to Walker, the band members work hard every day to make sure, when the time comes, everything is as easy as possible.
“We’re so happy to be a part of this community and represent this community,” Walker said. “I thank God for everything he does in our band room.”
