Remarks and Speeches
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Band Building Dedication
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November 5, 2011
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! We are having so many building dedications and groundbreakings lately that one could say they run the risk of growing routine, but if so, what a great routine! Each of these dedications is a sign that UMass Amherst is truly on the rise; each new structure is the opening of a path that will facilitate a journey into our best future and fullest potential.
Each of these ceremonies does not honor just the structure itself, but all of the individual efforts it took to make the building possible: from vision through gifts through LEED Gold level architecture and contracting.
So today we especially pleased to dedicate the George N. Parks Minuteman Marching Band Building, new home of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band, the power and class of New England since they began as a fife-and-drum corps in 1878. This building will be their permanent home. And they have been without a home since 1997, when they had to move out of the Old Chapel.
Although their primary goal is to rally pride for others, our marching band is in itself a source of great pride for the campus community: it is the largest collegiate band in New England and has been decorated by the Sousa Foundation with its coveted Sudler Trophy.
After more than a decade of nomadic wandering on the campus they finally have a building that is worthy of them. Just as they are an exemplar for other bands around the country, their new home is an exemplar for other buildings and will be used as a tool to teach sustainable design. It embodies the best values of UMass Amherst: fully accessible, locally designed, and locally built. It is authentically part of our landscape, and available to everybody. And its visibility, location, and sheer presence make it a strong and worthy testament to the band’s legacy, the gifts and memory of the 33-year career of former band director George Parks, and to the glorious future that the band will experience under newly-appointed band director Timothy Anderson.
George Parks, for whom this building is appropriately named, was beloved by students for the “starred thoughts” he would employ when instructing, so to honor him and his legacy, here is one that is particularly appropriate: **A band is not proud because it performs well, it performs well because it is proud.** And here’s another: **You learn about four times faster in an atmosphere of joy and relaxation.** Our band makes us so proud; here is a building we can all be proud of, and that will be conducive for great achievement in the years ahead. The energy that George Parks bequeathed to the marching band belongs to the individual participants. They, however, are the sonic vehicle for our spirit as a campus. They fly the flags of the flagship in Amherst.
I must say that the one time I ever experienced George to be speechless was when I called him to tell him I would recommend this building be named in his honor! I knew how much he appreciated it. That his name stands on this building can only betoken how much we appreciate him and what he did for our campus. You may know that he was the one who named our band “The Power and Class of New England.” Every time we say our band’s name, we quote him. It’s a great echo of a tremendous life. George Parks shaped and inspired the lives of thousands of students. He was a true teacher, and a true leader.
With power and class, then, we dedicate today this building for past and future members of the Minuteman Marching Band.
