Untitled Normal Page

Drum Major

Drum Major Laura Lynch is the daughter of Denise and Steve Lynch and is a senior at CHS. She is a member of the cross country team, tennis team, and drama team, and she is a member of Beta Club.
Laura is first chair clarinet at CHS, and this past December, she was selected as a member of the Winterfest Honors Band at Armstrong Atlantic State College.
As Drum Major, Laura earned two superior ratings and one excellent rating at the marching band festivals. She is a member of Claxton First United Methodist Church and is active in the United Methodist Youth Fellowship.

Front, from left: Nicole Horton, Abbey Mayfield. Second Row: Traci Burns, Megan Tabor, Sherena Fields Third Row: Maria Collins, Nina Benjamin

Flute Section

While the flutes and piccolos are not the biggest instruments, nor are they the loudest, they provide the "bite" to the total band sound. Thanks to competent leadership from section leader Maria Collins, the flute section has been outstanding this year, according to director Steve Simmons. Maria is the daughter of Iris and Wayne Collins and is a junior at CHS. She is a member of the cross country and drama teams and she is a member of Beta Club. She has taken dance for several years and is an accomplished lyrical, tap, and ballet dancer. She is a member of Claxton First Baptist Church, where she has performed on her flute on a number of occasions. Megan Tabor, tenth grade daughter of Zelda Tabor and Lynn Tabor, also runs on the cross-country team. She is a member of Beta Club, and she is a very active member of 4-H. Sherena Fields, also a tenth grader, is the daughter of Melissa Fields. She is on the CHS basketball team.
The band's only ninth grader is Nicole Horton, an honor roll student who represented her class on the homecoming court this year. She is the daughter of Tamara and Danny Horton. The three remaining members of the flute squad are eighth graders. Traci Burns is the daughter of Teena Burns and Steve Burns. Abbey Mayfield is the daughter of Donna and Randy Mayfield, and Nina Benjamin is the daughter of Deanna and Anthony Benjamin.

Clarinet Section

The Clarinet squad has the largest number of rookies of all the sections in the band. Squad leaders are Laura Driggers, a junior, daughter of Jimmy and Donna Driggers, and Angelina Fields, also a junior and the daughter of Melissa Fields. Now that marching band season has wound down, Angelina is focusing on basketball. Other members of the squad include Kandyce Cooley, daughter of James and Glenda Cooley. Kandyce is Vice-President of the Senior Class and plays on the softball and basketball teams. Nikki Keeby is Senior Class Reporter, Senior Representative for homecoming, and in addition to band she also plays basketball, runs track, and works at McDonald's. She is the daughter of Mary Keeby and Oria Keeby. Other junior members are Kimmey Boozer, a junior, daughter of Karen Boozer, and Jessica Jones, the daughter of Michael and Della Jones. Jessica is also active in other school activities. She is President of the Junior Class and was Homecoming Representative. D.J. Davis, son of Cynthia Davis and Donnell Davis, is the only ninth grader. Eighth graders are Casey Seiber, daughter of Ken and Ann Seiber, Nicole Bland, daughter of Tony and Crystal Hollingsworth, Melissa Lynch, daughter of Steve and Denise Lynch, Danielle McCray, daughter of Deborah McCray and the late Lloyd McCray, and Candace Sapp, daughter of Thomas and Brenda Sapp.

Saxophone Section
Members include LaQuinta Morgan, daughter of Marilyn Morgan. LaQuinta has played Alto Sax since the 5th grade, and is a senior this year. This year she was selected as section leader for the saxophones. Erik Roberts, a 10th grader, was selected to be a member of the 2001 Georgia Lions All-State Band last summer, and he holds First Chair saxophone in the Tiger Band. Erik is the son of Phil and Linda Roberts. Heather Gregg is the daughter of Doris and Ray Mercer. In addition to attending band practice, Heather spends some of her after school time with the cross country team. She is a junior this year. Whitney Shuman is the daughter of Greg and Angel Shuman. She also runs on the Claxton High School cross country team. Whitney is in the 10th grade. David Kennedy is the son of Donna Kennedy and Bill Lucier. David is in the 9th grade this year, and is a promising saxophone player. Tina Sikes, an 8th grader, is a first year member of the Tiger Band, and is the daughter of Gilbert Sikes.

Kneeling: Robert Mathis Standing, from L: Mark Keeby, Michael Diemert, Jeremy Threatte, and John Hamner
Back, from L: Heidi DeLoach, Zack Clarkson, Jonathan Simmons, and Kelly Stivender

Trumpet and French Horn Section

The trumpet section, one of the strongest sections of the band, is composed of three seniors, two sophomores, and three eighth graders. Members include Band Captain Jonathan Simmons, who was selected for the Lions All-State Band (which performed in Indianapolis this past summer) and was an alternate in the Georgia Governors Honors program. He is a senior and the son of Steve and Thyra Simmons. Heidi Deloach, the trumpet section leader, is a member of the "Mariachi" ensemble in the band's half-time show. Also a senior, she is the daughter of John and Cindy Deloach. Zack Clarkson, the son of Harry and Linda Clarkson, is actively involved in 4-H and runs on the cross-country team.
A promising upcoming player is sophomore Robert Mathis, son of Jim and Laverne Mathis. Robert is also very actively involved in the 4-H club. Sophomore Mark Keeby is the son of Mary Keeby and Oria Keeby.
Other members of the squad are eighth graders Jeremy Threatte, son of Greg Threatte and Sue Garcia, John Hamner son of Billy and Laura Hamner, and Michael Diemert, son of Jim and Etta Diemert.
French Horn player Kelly Stivender, a freshman, is featured soloist in the half-time show. She is the daughter of Jon Ann Love and Arthur Stivender.

Front Row, from left: Jim Boles, Brandon Barrentine, Cagney Hearn, Ramon Davis. Second Row: CeJay Lee, Chace Mayner, Roger Butler, Maurice Jones, Jennifer Collins, Patrick Thigpen. Third Row: Johnathon Desamito, Charlie Sikes, Harley Quinn, Alex Daniel.

Low Brass & Woodwinds Section

One of the largest sections of the Tiger Band is the low brass section, which also contains most of the younger players in the band. Low brass instruments are the larger instruments which provide the "bottom" sound for the band, and include tubas, baritones, trombones, and tenor and baritone saxophones. While saxophones are not considered members of the brass family, tenor and baritone saxophones provide the same type of sound as low brass instruments. Cagney Hearn, the section leader, is a sophomore at CHS, and plays baritone saxophone. He is the son of Leslie Morris and Mitch Hearn.
Tenor Saxophone players include Ramon Davis, grandson of Gracie Davis and nephew of Lavond James. Ramon, a junior, is also a member of the annual staff. Brandon Barrentine, an eighth grader, is the son of Margie Hester and the grandson of Diane Mitchell.
Playing baritone is tenth grader Jim Boles, son of James and Robin Boles.
Seven players make up the trombone line, and include tenth graders Roger Butler, son of Linda Butler, and Maurice Jones, son of John and Angela Jones. Ninth graders include CeJay Lee, son of Jay and Denise Lee, and Jennifer Collins, daughter of Harry Collins. The three eighth graders are Chace Mayner, son of Tracy Holland, Alex Daniel, son of Bob and Lisa Daniel, and Patrick Thigpen, son of John and Cindy Thigpen.
The three remaining low brass players are tuba players Charlie Sikes, ninth grade son of Greg and Arlene Haire, Johnathon Desamito, ninth grade son of Teresa Grumbar, and Harley Quinn, eighth grade daughter of Justine Lavine.

Front, from left: Isaac McNeal, Jess Gale, Marshall Thompson, Markall Battle. Second row: Tyler Camper, Travis Anderson, Derek Caraway, Casey Yarbrough. Third row: Heidi Hammack, D. J. Rabich, Anthony Dumond, Darryl McNeal, Monique Hendrix.

Percussion Section

One of the hardest sections of the Claxton Tiger Marching Band to ignore is the percussion section, commonly referred to as "the drummers." While the percussion section does include snare, bass, and tenor drums, also included are cymbals and melodic keyboard instruments like bells and xylophone. It is an indispensable section of the marching band, and can also be the most exciting to watch, especially when they perform a special feature, such as this year's "The Peanut Vendor."
The leadership of the percussion section is handled by seniors Casey Yarbrough, son of Julie Flanders and Glenn Yarbrough, and Derek Caraway, son of Andy and Pama Caraway. Casey, the percussion captain, plays snare drum this year, is a senior class officer, is a member of Beta Club, FCA and the drama team, and plays drums in a praise band for his church. Derek, the percussion section leader, plays snare drum this year and is a member of Beta Club and the cross country and drama teams.
The two junior members of the section both play keyboard percussion. Heidi Hammack, the daughter of Neal and Dee Ann Hammack, also plays flute, is a class officer, and is a member of numerous school organizations. As a member of 4-H, she recently participated in a national 4-H conference. Monique Hendrix is the daughter of Sandra Hendrix.
Sophomore members of the squad include snare drummer Travis Anderson, grandson of Charles and Lois Anderson, quad tom player Tyler Camper, son of Kenneth and Becky Camper, and Isaac McNeal, son of Archie and Agnes McNeal.
Freshmen are Markall Battle, son of Franklin and Nettie Smith, Jess Gale, son of Michael and Jill Brown, and Marshall Thompson, son of Larry and Debra Thompson.
The three eighth graders are Anthony Dumond, son of John Dumond and Melissa Milligan, Darryl McNeal, son of Archie and Agnes McNeal, and D. J. Rabich, son of Danny and Tracy Rabich.

Front, from left: Teresa Godfrey, Nechelle Boozer, Kim Porter, Kavonda Byrd. Second Row: Elayna Brown, Jessica Anderson, Mindy Boles, Star Freeman, Sharee Byrd, Chaunte Kettles.

Color Guard

The Tiger Band's half-time shows are exciting to watch, especially due to the contribution of the ten-member color guard, also known as the flag corps. This group adds the final touch of color to the marching production, and is under the capable supervision of color guard instructor, Lamar Stewart. The captain of the color guard is senior member Teresa Godfrey, daughter of Gail Wriston. She has been a member of the guard since the seventh grade. She is in the DCT program and currently works at Claxton Bank. Other seniors include Nechelle Boozer, daughter of Karen Boozer. Nechelle also participates in CHS athletics, having played softball and basketball. Senior member Kavonda Byrd, daughter of Sharon Scott, is president of the senior class. Kim Porter, the other senior guard member, is the daughter of Sylvia Beasley. She is on the basketball cheerleading squad, and this year she was selected as a member of the homecoming court.
Juniors are Jessica Anderson, daughter of Regina and Ray Cathcart, Mindy Boles, daughter of Robin and James Boles, Sharee Byrd, daughter of Vivian and Anthony Byrd, and Star Freeman, daughter of Saleena Moore.
The other two members of the corps are Elayna Brown, tenth grade daughter of Vondell Jackson, and Chaunte' Kettles, ninth grade daughter of Nettie and Franklin Smith.