2009 Fall Cornerstone Proof -- News Allen Profile

STRIKE UP

THE

BAND

Allen Excited About Opportunity to Build LWC Band Program Few people know more than what it takes to form an outstanding marching band than Tim Allen. That’s why he was the perfect choice to create Lindsey Wilson College’s marching band program. Allen is the architect of Adair County High School’s nationally awardwinning marching band. During his 19 years as director of the school’s marching band, it won 18 state titles – the most in Kentucky – and two national titles. The band was invited to march in the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Allen will be leading its march through Manhattan Island. “It is definitely a dream that I thought probably would never happen,” Allen said of the opportunity to lead a marching band in what is arguably the world’s most famous parade. “To realize it is very special indeed.” When Allen arrived at Adair County in 1981, the high school’s band had 42 members. When he retired at the end of the 2008-09 school year, the band’s roster had 89 students. Although Adair County is now regarded as having one of the best high school bands in the country, the success didn’t come overnight. And although success on the collegiate level is defined differently, it will also take time to build a band program at LWC. “It’s going to take awhile,” Allen said. “It’s not going to happen all at once. We’re starting this from the ground up and it’s going to be very nice, but it’s going to take time.” And Allen knows a thing or two about what is required to assemble an outstanding collegiate band program.

“We’re starting this from the ground up and it’s going to be very nice, but it’s going to take time.” – Tim Allen

Allen was an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of that school’s legendary marching band. “A marching band makes a college event’s atmosphere so special,” he said. “You can take any event and take music away from it, and it’s not nearly as enjoyable. Music creates a special feeling for events.” Allen hopes to have about 25 students in his first Lindsey Wilson band. With football less than a year away, the 2009-10 school year will be an opportunity for the inaugural ensemble to perform as a sit-down band, including as a pep band at home basketball games.

Allen hopes to double the number of students in band for the 2010-11 school year; he hopes the band will have 80100 members by the five-year mark. The addition of a bachelor of arts degree in fine arts administration has buttressed Allen’s efforts to recruit students for LWC’s nascent band program. He hopes the college can eventually add a full-fledged music program “It’s going to be slow-going at first,” he said. “But certainly my experience at the University of Tennessee with my band experience there has helped me. … I want to make it a serious event for the students, but I also want it to be a lot of fun for them as well.”

Help LWC Win the Battle of the Bumpers Now is the time for LWC alumni and friends in Kentucky to purchase a special LWC license plate from their Kentucky County Clerks offices. The license plate increases awareness of LWC and raises funds for student scholarships; $10 from the sale of each plate goes to the Lindsey Wilson Fund to support student scholarships. Kentucky’s 20 private colleges and universities hold a friendly competition among the institutions – “Battle of the Bumpers” – to see which campus can sell the most plates annually. Visit the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Licensing System Web site: mvl.ky.gov/MVLWeb/.