If you have not noticed, the web site is shiny and new. It may not look a lot different, but underneath it has been completely rewritten. Many hours have been spent to make this the best band site around. One of the biggest changes to our site this year is the Email Notification System. We have put in place a new package that will hopefully prove to be much more dependable. If you are a band parent or student, it is very important that you subscribe to the new email system. Even if you were on the list last year, you must subscribe again, you can unsubscribe at anytime. Take some time and look around the site and send feedback if you have it.

Medical Release forms are due August 4th. You have to complete a new form each year. Don’t forget, it must be notarized. Download Adobe Reader and you can complete the form by typing in your info before you print.

Dennis Cox is the Director of Bands for the Desoto Central Schools. Raised in Columbus, Mississippi, he is the son of a career high school band director. From the time he was five years old, he began following his father around to band competitions and halftime performances. From these experiences, a lifelong love of music and education was naturally born. After graduating from Columbus High School, he attended Delta State University before completing his music education degree at Mississippi State University. While at MSU he marched and played trumpet in the Famous Maroon Band. He also spent one grueling summer as a member of the Memphis Blues Drum and Bugle Corp competitive marching band. He comes to Desoto Central after directing several championship band programs in the Mississippi high school system. Mr. Cox also serves as a consultant to marching band programs at the collegiate level. He lives in Hernando, MS and has two children, Gowen and Molly.

Heath Hopper is in his 3rd year with the staff at DCHS, and shares some common history with one other staff member. As a student at South Panola high school, he played baritone under the leadership of a young band director by the name of Dennis Cox. Heath’s own experience as a high school band member led him to pursue a career in music. After receiving his bachelors degree in Music Education from the University of Mississippi, Heath moved on to Florida State University where he earned a masters degree in Instrumental Music Education. Not satisfied with mere class work during this time, he also spent four summers performing in the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps (’93 -’96). His love of marching has led to a part-time career as instructor for several DCI bands around the country including Magic of Orlando, Phantom Regiment, Corpsvets and The Bluecoats. Before coming to Desoto Central, he first taught band at Olive Branch Middle School, then moved to Cobb county Georgia to instruct at Campbell High School and South Cobb High School. He and his wife Varina live in Hernando with a Jack Russell terrier named Bruce and their daughter, Samara.

Mike Doss is a graduate of Memphis State University (BA ’88 MBA ’92) where he participated as a snare drummer in the Mighty Sound of the South marching band. He also worked as a marching percussion technician from ’91 to ’93 with the marching drum line and competitive PASIC indoor drum line. He has been a percussion instructor and arranger for a multitude of superior rated high school and college drum lines including the University of Memphis, Delta State University, South Panola High School, and Southaven High School and has served as an adjudicator and consultant for numerous other marching band programs. Mike most recently worked as a consultant and recruiter for the Memphis Sound Drum and Bugle Corps, and Director of the DC Accent competitive indoor Drum Line and Winter Guard program of Desoto County.

Ms. Hopper began her long association with flag handlers in east Tennessee as a member of the Daniel Boone High School color guard. She spent three marching seasons and four winter guard seasons performing at the high school level before graduating to pursue a career in the fashion industry as a student at East Tennessee State University. During her time at ETSU, she performed with the independent winter guard group Nuendo out of Chattanooga, TN. Since graduating high school, Varina has instructed various other school programs in Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from ETSU, she met and married Heath Hopper. Currently, she is enjoying spending time with her daughter, Samara.

Boston Butts will be for sale for pick up on July 3rd at the school. The order and payment deadline is June 30th. Watch this space for forms and more information.

Have you ever wondered why it is called Boston Butt?

Boston Butt is a cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the shoulder from the front leg and may contain the blade bone. Smoked or barbecued Boston butt is found in the southern U.S.

It is said that in pre-revolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or “high on the hog,” like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as “butts”) for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as “Boston butt”. The name “Boston butt” is not used in Boston but is used in other parts of the U.S.