Warhorse band earns Division I rating for 4th straight year

Click here for photos of the Warhorse Band at the Region 11 Marching Contest!

Saturday was another amazing success for the Mighty Warhorse Band as Devine received straight ONES for an overall First Division at the UIL Region 11 Marching Contest hosted in Hondo for the last four consecutive year!
Devine has earned five First Divisions, four consecutive First Divisions with two consecutive trips to the Area level since Jeff Miller took the Head Band Director position nine years ago with the help of Assistant Tom Settles and started rebuilding the band program. Tom Settles is in his 12th year in Devine, James Quintero joined the team 3 years ago. Sharie Miller has been working with the color guard during marching season all nine years.
Today there are 310 students in the overall program today, compared to just over 200 nine years ago when Miller took the reins.
Marching Bands can only advance to the Area & State levels once every two years – and this is one of those years. So the Warhorse Band will now advance to the UIL Area E Marching Contest on Saturday October 27th at Calallen High School in Corpus Christi with hopes of advancing to STATE.
The contest will host 4A Bands from a very large area of South Texas extending all the way through the Rio Grande Valley who will compete for a chance to advance to the UIL State Marching Contest in November at the Alamodome.
This year’s seniors have worked hard and accomplished a First Division rating all four of their high school years! They and their underclassmen are making history with their accomplishments. The Devine Band program is on a roll and the community is excited, growing from just over 200 band members to a whopping 310. They have been winning trophy after trophy individually and collectively as a team.
“Please congratulate all of these 124 band members for an outstanding performance and help us to encourage all of them as we move toward reaching new heights for our success!! As I reminded everyone Monday morning, our success is a result of a very large TEAM effort! It took support from our school administration, our teachers, fellow students, parents, boosters, and our community to achieve every goal we have reached”, said Jeff Miller, Director of Bands, Devine ISD. ” Speaking on behalf of our Devine ISD Band staff – I want to say a big THANK YOU to all who continue to support our Warhorse Band!! A huge ‘shout out’ to our incredible varsity cheerleaders and Mrs. Debbie Petty for coming to Hondo on Saturday and showing such awesome support for our performance! WOW!! They came and greeted the band upon our arrival, cheered in the stands, and came to congratulate us afterward. This is a great example of who we are – and always should be – we are ONE WARHORSE NATION!! Our success is everyone’s success – and likewise for every athletic team, academic UIL team, robotics team, Agriculture team, and all other groups – WE ALL Represent this GREAT community and school! Another big ‘shout out’ to our Devine Fire/Rescue, EMS & Police Departments who provided a full parade escort through town when we returned and all the supporters who lined the streets honking horns and cheering on the students!! Totally Awesome! Take it all the way to State Warhorse Band!!!”
310 students, 3 band directors, what a ratio, what an amazing feat and accomplishments!
By K.K. Calame
Publisher