Welcome to The Loft Link-Up. Today our topic is ‘School Memories’.

This is an easy topic for me right now because I am in the throes of planning a high school reunion. This reunion is not a class reunion, but rather a reunion of all the people who played/marched in the high school band under specific band directors.

In 1972 (several years before I was old enough to join) the band at Union County High School consisted of about 30 kids. School administration hired Larry and Marcie Culpepper to be the band directors. The Culpeppers moved to Blairsville and immediately began to transform the band. By the time they moved on to other jobs in 1980, the band had 150 members and was a force to be reckoned with in high school band competitions. Under the Culpeppers, the band was not just a group of kids, but rather a family with a single purpose.

I played the xylophone and bells in the marching band. Those years of high school were some of the best in my life. I was part of something bigger than me. The Culpeppers were strict, but caring. They taught us a work ethic, unity, camaraderie, and so much more. One night each week, this young couple with two small children hosted a Bible study in their home. Kids of every stripe showed up…band members, cheerleaders, football players, kids who were not involved in any extra-curricular school activity. The Bible study was open to any kid who wanted to come. THIS is where my love of Bible study began.

So, on September 12th approximately 100 people will join together to reminisce and celebrate our band days. The Culpeppers have been very involved in the planning of the reunion, and they keep saying that they don’t want the reunion to be about them. What they don’t realize is that the reunion IS about them, and the amazing contributions they made to scores of young lives.

I will be forever grateful to Larry and Marcie Culpepper for allowing me to be part of the best band that Union County ever had.

#TheLoft

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This Week’s Topic: School Memories ~ (share a memory of your days in school. perhaps you are still in school, or you have been out for 50 years. tell us about your favorite teacher, something funny that happened in school, something or someone from school that left a life-long impression. anything associated with your school days.)

Next Week’s (September 2) Topic: Bucket List ~ (what is on your bucket list. what are some things you want to do and see before Jesus calls you home. )

I hope you will plan to join us each week at The Loft Link-Up.

Now, it is time to link-up!!

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