Independence Day Parade 2009

Trip Update - November 2008: The Bronco Band Boosters are beginning to do several fund raisers that will help the overall cost of the trip. We just completed a coke sale and a sausage po-boy sale. There is a raffle for a $500.00 Wal-Mart gift card currently underway (drawing is around the 22nd of November). After all of the scheduled booster fundraisers are complete, the money will be turned over to the school account, which will help everyone's individual cost go down. Please participate in whatever way you can with these fund raisers. Below is a breakdown of the different payments and the month in which they are due. The total cost per person is $886.00. If you can't afford an entire payment in a particular month, please send whatever you can afford (even if it is just $5.00).

September:       $100.00       Balance = $786.00
October:           $88.60         Balance = $697.40
November:       $132.90        Balance = $564.50
December:       No payments scheduled / Make-up month
January:           No payments scheduled / Make-up month
February:         $177.20         Balance = $387.30
March:             No payments scheduled / Make-up month
April:               $221.50         Balance = $165.80
May:               $165.80          Paid in Full

October 27th Notice: A letter was sent home with students regarding chaperones for the trip. If you did not get a copy of the letter, please ask your son or daughter for it. If they do not have it, please e-mail mwmusselman@bellsouth.net and I will send you a copy of it. We need a reply by the end of next week (November 8th). Thanks! Mike Musselman - Band Booster Secretary

October 14th Notes:

$7,100.00 has been paid to date for the Washington, D.C. trip. A purchase order for $6,100.00 has been completed which will bring the total amount paid so far to $13,200.00. We are currently about $4,000.00 behind schedule, but Mr. Venable is in regular contact with Parade officials and they are working with us due to the financial issues brought on by the hurricane.

The Bronco Belles have now been invited to participate in the parade as well. We should have a total number of students going by the end of this week (October 17^th). There are currently 105 people signed up for the trip. 122 slots are currently reserved (current pricing). If we get up to at least 128 people, the total cost per person may go down around $50.00. If an additional 15 people make the trip (143 in all), an additional $40.00 savings may be realized. This includes students and parents. A question has been posed about younger children and/or other high school children attending along with parents. Mr. Venable doubts younger children will be allowed based on previous conversations with Mr. Lemoine, the school principal. He advised he would check back with Mr. Lemoine about any children that attend school at the high school. A letter will be sent home next week to parents, seeking information on who wants to be a chaperone and who just wants to go (and not be a chaperone).

Some scholarship money is expected to be available for those students who need it. Anyone wanting to donate money to help send a needy student to Washington D.C. is asked to contact Mr. Venable.

The packet of information regarding the itinerary has been received and is currently being processed. A press release was requested and has been sent to Mayor Henry Martinez, who has forwarded the information to Senator Landrieu’s office, Congressman Cazayoux’s office, and Vice-President Dick Cheney’s office. The Zachary Post, The Plainsman, and The Advocate have also been given a copy of the press release. Television stations will be contacted in conjunction with the fund raisers. Some of the local magazines will also be contacted.

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September 9th Notes:
We will leave on July1st, arriving on July 2^nd with sight seeing in the afternoon, followed by checking into the hotel that evening. July 3^rd,more sight seeing, all day. July 4^th: march in parade in the morning, return to hotel to clean up, then go to the Capitol 4^th celebration on the capitol lawn that evening. July 5^th: depart Washington D.C. If the Atlanta, Georgia option is accepted, spend the night in Atlanta. Visit six Flags over Georgia on July 6^th, leaving when the park closes (or when everyone is ready to leave). We should arrive home around 11 a.m. July 7^th. With the current number of participants, the price of the trip per student is $742.00 without the Atlanta option. With Atlanta option, the price is $886.00. The extra money includes dinner and hotel on July 5^th, and breakfast, entrance into Six Flags, and extended motor coach (transportation) time.

Meal prices were discussed. For fast food, it was suggested by Mr. Venable to possibly double the amount paid compared to here. At least one “good” meal per day is planned, but to help keep costs down, fast food is likely at least once each day. Meal locations (on our own) will hopefully be coordinated by the tour guide. Breakfast meals from and back to Zachary are on us. The remaining breakfasts are provided. Four lunches and one supper are on our own (our choice of location & costs). Some vegetarian options should be available, but specific information is not yet available. The amount of spending money to be sent is up to the parents. Cash, cards, or travelers checks can be sent with students. The charter buses are the key to the overall cost; more people or fewer buses may make the cost go down. Sixty-two people have put down their deposits so far. The chaperone ratio is approximately ten students per chaperone. Official chaperone costs are covered as they are working during the whole trip, up to and possibly including night watch duty. School personnel, medical personnel, and law enforcement personnel are included as some of the chaperones. Travel time from Atlanta to Zachary (including breakfast) is estimated to be 10 to 10 ½ hours.

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August 12th Notes:

Washington D.C. Trip: The ZHS Band has been accepted to perform at the 2009 Independence Day Parade. The deposit has been paid. The contract has not yet been signed, due to a possible change in the itinerary. For now, the plan is to leave on July 1st and arrive in Washington D.C. on July 2nd (via tour bus). A lot of sight seeing is planned, but the exact plans are still being formulated. Some of the possible tour sites and other events were discussed. July 5^th is the departure date from Washington D.C. We will be stopping at Arlington National Cemetery and placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – A very special event Arlington National Cemetery:: Funeral Information. A request has been made to extend the trip by 1 day, with everyone spending the night in the Atlanta, Georgia area, followed by a trip to Six Flags Over Georgia . Cost is the big factor. If it is deemed too expensive, we will return straight home. An e-mail will be sent when a final price for the trip has been determined.

Projected live attendance at the parade is expected to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000 spectators. There are no turns in the parade. “Drills” during the parade are an option but not required. Up to three different songs are to be played during the event, including at least one patriotic song.

We need to know by September 1 if the students are planning on going on the trip.. The pricing (for now – without the Georgia option) is $638.00 - $742.00 per person. This includes: All parade arrangements, round trip transportation, hotel accommodations, one box lunch, daily breakfasts and dinners, all educational excursions, all admissions & gratuities, full time tour manager, Official Wreath for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one group photo for the band, souvenir t-shirt, and souvenir video. The only gratuities not covered are for the long term coach drivers. Meals enroute to and returning from also are not covered. The next payment is due by Sept. 15. October 15, 10% of the program cost is due. November 15, 15% is due; 20% is due in February; 25% is due in April; and the remaining balance due in May.

When traveling, during daylight hours students can sit on the buses co-ed. At night, girls sit with the girls and boys with the boys. A chaperone will be awake at all times and monitoring the students. No students of the opposite sex are allowed in their hotel room, no exceptions.

Lots of people have expressed interest in being chaperones. A mixture of people is desired, including at least one school official, who will help assist with decision making regarding school system rules and policies, and trained medical personnel. The chaperones for trips are full time. They must remain with the band throughout the whole trip including on the bus.
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March 10, 2008