JONESBORO — Members of the Jonesboro High School Majestic Marching Cardinals Band got some thrilling news Friday when it was announced that the band is one of 10 selected to perform in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Wesley Whatley, creative producer for the parade, made the surprise announcement during a school assembly in the gymnasium. Band members, who were seated on the gym floor, erupted with cheers and applause when they heard the news.
Whatley, who grew up in Valdosta and was drum major of his high school band for three years, said he knows a thing or two about marching bands.
“I know what it takes to be excellent in marching band here in the state of Georgia,” he said. “It is a fantastic state for marching arts, and this program is one of the best programs in the state, and it is my belief that this program is one of the best marching bands in the United States of America.”
Whatley said the Majestic Marching Cardinals Band is one of 10 selected from among 100 applications from across the nation.
Whatley pointed out the band’s previous performances at parades in Washington, D.C., Chicago and New Orleans. “Those experiences are why today is happening,” he said … “the product that you put on the field, the entertainment value, the spirit, the community, this family — it shines through every performance.”
Whatley said the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will provide the band with an audience of 2.5 million live spectators and 30 to 40 million on television, “basically the largest audience today for a marching band in America.”
Director of Bands Lynel Goodwin “gladly and most humbly” accepted the Macy’s parade invitation.
“I am extremely proud to be the band director of this phenomenal group of students,” he said.
Goodwin thanked the community, Clayton…
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