The Band
The band program at Smiths Station is approximately 40 years old.  While the band was founded as a result of interest in providing halftime entertainment for what was at that time a very small K-12 school, it has evolved into one of the larger and more prestigious band programs in the State of Alabama

The Smiths Station Band Program currently serves approximately 400 students in grades 6-12.  There are three full time directors and one part time director. 

The band was founded in the early 1960’s, with parents paying a monthly fee to provide the director with a salary, as no funds were available through the county.  There were several directors who stayed for short periods of times (many times less than a year), until Mr. Rick Teel arrived in the spring of 1972 to complete his internship at nearby Auburn University.  He was hired to return as band director the following year and remained in that capacity for 28 years.  He still serves the students of Smiths Station on a part time basis teaching beginning band at Smiths Station Intermediate School, as well as serving as golf coach for SSHS.

Upon Mr. Teel’s arrival, there were approximately 30 students in grades 6-12 that comprised the SSHS Marching Band.  We expect an enrollment of approximately 200 students for the 2006-07 school year, a six fold increase in just over 30 years.  Slowly and methodically, he recruited students to become part of the program and along the way developed a marching band that was not only competitive with comparable sized groups, but often did well against bands much larger in size.  The band also has had many all-district and all-state players over the years, along with several students who are music majors or have completed degrees and are currently teaching.

After Mr. Teel had been here nearly 20 years, an additional band director to serve as an assistant was finally hired.  Mr. Terry Binion arrived in 1990, serving one year as assistant director.  Mr. Roger Redden, a SSHS and Columbus State University graduate, was hired to replace Mr. Binion and remained for three years until he accepted the head director’s position at nearby Beulah High School.  Mr. Rusty Courson, current Director of Bands, was hired as associate director in 1994 and became director in 2000 upon the retirement of Mr. Teel.  Ms. Crystal Parker was hired in 2001 and remained until July 2003.  Mr. Jed Smart, a 1996 graduate of SSHS and a 2001 graduate of the University of Alabama and 2005 graduate of TROY University, arrived in August 2003 and teaches classes at SSIS and SSHS, in addition to his responsibilities with the “Panther Spirit “ marching band.  Our newest full time addition is Ms. Georgia Mallory, who teaches classes at Wacoochee Jr. High School along with assisting with the marching, concert, and symphonic bands. 

The marching band is very active and has participated in various competitive events throughout the Southeast over the last several years.  The band has received nothing but Superior Ratings in over 20 years and received numerous Best In Class awards, several Grand Champion awards, among other accolades. 

For the past several years, the marching band has rebranded itself as a unique group that performs from a repertoire that includes popular music from the 1960’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, but does it while executing difficult constant drill movements that are often associated with the activity known as drum corp, or DCI.  This move has proved popular among audiences and judges alike, and more often than not, a performance of the Smiths Station High School “Panther Spirit” band is associated by large raucous crowds giving standing ovations to show their approval of the band’s unique musical and marching style.

The band has made several regional trips over the years to locales such as Orlando, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Mobile, and the Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast.  They had accepted an invitation to participate in the London New Year’s Day Parade on January 1, 2002, but had to decline the invitation due to the tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  In November 2005, they traveled to New York and Philadelphia, where they were one of eleven bands selected from throughout the United States to participate in the Boscov’s Thanksgiving Parade before a regional television audience.  The Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade is the oldest Holiday Parade in the country and was originally known as the Gimble’s Thanksgiving Parade.

The band also strives to support community efforts not only within Smiths Station and Lee County, but surrounding areas as well.  In recent years, the band has performed for many events representing the Smiths Station community, such as parades in Opelika, Columbus, and Phenix City, and has also performed at the request of Delta Airlines and the insurance icon known throughout the world for its talking Duck, AFLAC.  The worldwide headquarters of AFLAC are located in nearby Columbus, Georgia and the band has performed for their annual Employee Appreciation Week closing ceremonies at the Columbus Civic Center many times over the past several years.

Smiths Station is also known for their quality concert program.  There are two high school performing groups for this venue.  The Symphonic band is seated through audition and has received nothing but Superior Ratings since it’s inception.  The Concert Band was formed in 2000 as a result of the growth of the band and has also received nothing but Superior Ratings since being formed.  The Symphonic Band was one of four selected high school bands (of 24 that had applied) that performed at the 30^th annual Southeastern United States Concert Band Clinic on February 1, 2003.

While there are only 3.5 directors “officially” working with the marching band, our band association provides supplemental salaries for several other tech instructors to cover important aspects such as percussion, color guard, majorettes, as well as a drill writer and an arranger.  Since their humble beginnings in 1963, our parents (along with many others in the community) still make sure that we have all that we need to provide a successful band program at Smiths Station High School through the Smiths Station Band Association.

The School
There has been a public school associated with Smiths Station for well over a century.  In the beginning, these institutions were little more than a small one room facility with a single teacher on hand responsible for every level of teaching.  Of course, this mirrors much of rural America at the time. 

In the late 1920’s, Mr. J.B. Page was hired as principal of Smiths Station.  Mr. Page would remain as principal for nearly 50 years, supervising the growth of the school from a small frame construction K-12 facility to separate modern facilities for elementary, jr. high, and high school students.  As recent as the late 1960’s, Smiths Station had graduated to a brick building, but was still a small K-12 school housing approximately 400 students. 

There are now five schools serving the Smiths Station community:  Smiths Station High School (grades 9-12/enrollment 1,750), Wacoochee Jr. High School (grades 7-8/enrollment 1000), Smiths Station Intermediate School (grades 4-6/enrollment 1,450), Smiths Station Elementary School (grades 2-3/enrollment 1,100), and Smiths Station Primary School (grades K-1/enrollment 900). 

All Smiths Station schools come under the supervision of the Lee County Board of Education, which is located in the County Seat of Opelika.  In addition to the Smiths Station attendance area, there are three others located within the county:  Beulah, in northeast portion of the county; Beauregard, located in the southern portion of the county; and Lochapoka, located in the western portion of the county.

In addition to the Lee County Schools, the cities of Opelika and Auburn have their own school boards and facilities.  The same is true for nearby Phenix City, located partially in Russell and Lee Counties.  Across the Chattahoochee River, all schools in Columbus come under the jurisdiction of the Muscogee County (GA) Board of Education.  While Smiths Station is located in what is still often considered a largely rural area between two large MSA’s, SSHS is the largest high school in the area with the growth that has occurred over the past 10-15 years.

The Community
Smiths Station is one of Alabama’s newest cities, incorporated on June 22, 2001.  The 2000 U.S. Census states that there are approximately 25,000 people living in what is considered the Smiths Station community.  The initial incorporation took in a small area around the center of town and is continuing to grow as others are requesting to be annexed into the city limits as additional services are offered.  The center of town is approximately 10 minutes from the downtown business district of Columbus, Georgia, and 15-20 minutes from the Auburn-Opelika, Alabama area.

While the city is relatively new, the community has been in existence for many years.  There are churches and homes in Smiths Station that were established in the mid to late 1800’s when the area was exclusively rural and it was a day trip by horse and buggy to Columbus or to take care of business in the County Seat of Opelika.  Although there were settlers in the area long before the advent of rail travel, that phenomenon gave us our name, as the railroad established “Smith’s Station” on the line between Columbus and Opelika (a distance of about 30 miles) and named the stop in honor of an area resident.

The community remained largely rural for most of its existence but saw a major population growth that began in the late 1980’s and has continued to the present day.  This growth is directly related to a new interstate grade highway through the northern areas of Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama, enabling commuters to travel from the Smiths Station area in half the time it had taken previously.  Of the 16 public high schools within the two metropolitan areas (Columbus/Phenix City/Ft. Benning, GA/AL) and (Auburn/Opelika, AL), Smiths Station High School is the largest, with it’s enrollment approaching 1,800 students.  From 1990 to 2000, the population of the community more than doubled (from 9,600 to 25,000) and school enrollments have mirrored that increase as well.

Smiths Station is truly a bedroom community, with residents traveling to nearby Columbus, Phenix City, Auburn, or Opelika to work.  One of the top military installations in the country, Ft. Benning, GA, is also nearby, which has also contributed to population increases as Benning continues to grow as additional troops are being moved to the sprawling base while other bases are downsized or closed.