Story By Mary Bailey

The Pride of Douglas Eagle Band is back home after a once in a lifetime trip performing at The Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Hawaii.

Over 4,000 miles separated 63 members of the band from their hometown, but the memories they made will last far beyond the seven-day trip. 

“We have 89 students in our marching band and 63 of those attended the trip. Some of the ones not able to attend were first year rookies that were responsible for the full $2,800 to attend. However, EVERY veteran member of the band that wanted to attend, did. We did not leave any veteran band members behind that wanted to go,” Douglas Band Director Jesse Tiner said. “These are the moments we live for, the opportunities that all directors strive to give their students. Sand Mountain is BLESSED with amazing directors that work hard to give these opportunities to their students, and we are fortunate to be among them in giving this to OUR students at Douglas. If this is the pinnacle of my career, I am content with that. If it’s not, I have no idea what the top will even look like. I’ve seen these students grow and develop throughout this entire experience, and SO many lifetime memories made in Hawaii.”

Tiner said the adventure began late last year.

“We, along with bands across the country, received an ‘invitation to apply’ back in October 2024. I took a day or two to put together an application and sent it in with zero expectation, but just a little hope, that it would happen. I knew if there was a group of students, I ever had that needed an experience like this, it was these,” he said. “I found out about being accepted in late October while we were getting ready for the last contest of the season at Hayden. I couldn’t keep it fully to myself, so I included a few parents and the excitement grew. We had lots of conversations with admin over the next few weeks and finally got to tell the students at our Christmas concert. I invited Tony Simmons to come dressed at Santa Claus and deliver our invitation at the end of the concert. Reading that letter was a highlight for me and I believe for Tony as well. Students were in awe and of course full of questions that none of us knew the answer to at the time.”

After the shock and excitement, it was then time to get to work and make this trip happen for the students.

“The ability to do that came from the $90,000 raised from sponsors! I believe we fully funded 5-6 students that were veterans but not in a financial situation to pay. All in all, we had about $240,000 come through our donors, sponsors and band student families to pay for the 63 students and 21 other traveling guests,” Tiner continued. “I, without a doubt, could NOT have done this without my wife Katie and the incredible parents of the Douglas Band. EVERY parent stepped up in one way or another to provide rides for students to and from Nashville, transport instruments to and from Nashville, assist with packing/loading, help with airport check in and security, chaperone groups while in Hawaii at the hotel, at the beaches, take them shopping, provide first aid, pick up and deliver meals, etc.”

The Eagle Band started their week-long venture in the early morning Thursday, Dec. 4 boarding planes in Nashville, Tenn. In total, it took two planes. They had 34 members on American Airlines and 50 on Delta.

From the moment they were all together again stepping foot on Hawaiian soil, the sights and experiences were unbelievable.

“This trip was a perfect combination of history, culture, performance, entertainment, and leisure activities. I think every student I’ve asked has a different favorite moment. The reason the trip happened was because of The Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade that took place on Sunday December 7, the 84th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Preceding the parade, 17 bands, 2 from Alabama, joined together with the Marine Pacific Band to perform our national anthem and God Bless America. A bagpipe group performed Amazing Grace, choirs sang, veterans made emotional speeches. As the ceremony concluded, a full rainbow spread across Honolulu and Waikiki in a way that can only be described as straight out of a Hollywood movie. We were able to get a picture with the group at that moment and then also took a picture with the Springville band and their director Greg Gammon,” he said. “The parade itself was nothing short of spectacular. I think the only complaint our kids had was how much they sweat on a Sunday evening parade in December! Marching through downtown Waikiki was surreal with all of the beautiful floats and tributes to our vets, along with the beautiful lights on the buildings and palm trees.” 

Tiner said on Monday, Dec. 8 they followed up with a trip to Pearl Harbor itself.

“Our students got to ride out to the Arizona memorial and stand over the grave of those that lost their lives in the attack. We then we’re transported to Ford Island where they were able to tour the USS Missouri and perform on the dock. We used this performance to play our halftime show music that celebrated the culture and music of Hawaii, paid tribute to our armed forces and our country, had some fun performing their favorite stand tunes, and concluded with our Douglas high School Alma Mater and Fight song,” he continued. “These moments were only the beginning of the memories of this adventure. We had students that experienced their first plane ride, amazing beach and swimming trips, a few even tried surfing, cultural and food experiences at the Polynesian Cultural center and other scenic stops around the island, climbing Diamond Head Crater, the climate and geography itself, and the list goes on and on.”

The Eagle Band and its crew left Hawaii on Tuesday, Dec. 9 to head home and arrived back safe in Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday.  

Tiner said the community and the people in it made this happen and he could not be more thankful of everyone’s contributions.

“In general, thank you! Thank you to those that helped provide media coverage and spread the word about what these students pulled off. Thank you, Sand Mountain, and beyond for supporting our fundraising efforts to provide this opportunity for our students of The Pride of Douglas Eagle Band,” Tiner said. “Historic Productions also did an amazing job helping coordinate this trip, along with our personal guide throughout the week, Cousin Rock!” 

The Pride of Douglas Eagle Band would like to thank the following sponsors:

AlaTrade

Bonnie Glassco

Gavina Metal Power

Marshall County Legislative Funds

Kennamer Bros. Trucking

MACK 

Transportation

Paragon

Sand Mountain Toyota

TS Tech

The Night Owl

Wilks Tire and Auto

Ellie B’s Lemonade

Farm Fresh Foods

First Bank of Boaz

First Southern Bank

Food Valu

Hardee’s Boaz 

Kappler

MDEC

People’s Independent Bank

Rooks Trucking

The Sand Mountain Reporter, Southern Torch

Steve and Malanta Knowles

American Cruisers

Afford-A-Fence

Albertville Aviation

Albertville Family Medicine

Carolyn Garrett

Citizens Albertville

Clements and Sons Plumbing

Colormasters

Corbitt Power and Light LLC

Eyes on Albertville

FS Group INC

Howard Bently

Local Joe’s

Mueller

Paul Manning

Publix

Wayne-Sanderson Farms

Weathers- Bobby Weathers

Alabama Pool Association of North Alabama (APA)

Amos Construction

Brown’s Hardware

Bunch Pharmacy

Chorba Contracting

Clarence Brown

David Goble Construction

Davis Construction

Dr. Byron T Smith Orthodontist

Eagle Custom Gate and Fence

Gullahorn and Hare PC- Kim Smallwood

Global Fire Protection

Henderson Living Trust

John & Vick Dodd

Majestic Venue

Omer and Malinda Holcomb