Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wilson To Represent GHS At Four States Bandmasters

Andrew Wilson, a senior at Gurdon High School, has been selected to represent Gurdon at the annual Four States Bandmasters Association convention in Texas.

Nominations are based on character, musicianship, leadership and past accomplishments. Once nominated by school band directors, members of the Bandmasters Association select participants from information provided for each nominee.

Last year Wilson was also privileged to have been able to perform at Four States with 265 students from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

In Region III, Wilson has placed in the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association all-region honor band, playing various percussion instruments and the all-region jazz band, playing drumset.

Wilson has been in the Gurdon band program for six years and just finished his final season playing snare drum in the award winning Go-Devils marching band.

As a member of the GHS band, Wilson has played music at the Governor's Mansion for the kick-off of the 'Play It Again Arkansas' program, performed in parades, at basketball games, football games, Rotary Club, the nursing home, elementary school, Thomason's Big Star and Wal-Mart grand openings and competed with bands from all over Arkansas and Texas, with the band winning many first division and best in class trophies.

This year the Go-Devil marching band was honored to be in the Governor's Trophy competition and delighted to bring home five first division trophies and five best in class trophies, along with the prestigious Governor's Trophy for Class A presented by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Three years ago the band made GHS history by earning a first division rating at Region III competition and has maintained that level of excellence each year. Being a part of this band has shown how individual practice, section teamwork and group teamwork combine to make extremely difficult tasks attainable and bring satisfaction for a job well done.

Wilson has experienced other ways to learn more about life through five years of attending Arkansas Education for the Gifted in Summer programs.

Students are selected for participation in these state provided programs for applications they send in to the various program directors and staff. Competition for selection is stiff, since only 24 to 32 are accepted in any program.

The only non-resident program was Forecasting a Better Future Through Technology.

At Mission Mars, students learned about space and visited the space center in Alabama.

Civil War in the Ozarks was spent learning about a soldier's life in the 1860's, complete with a river for water, sun for light and tents for shelter. The highlight was a battle re-enactment where the students called the moves and Civil War Re-inactors followed their commands.

During project Caves, the importance of caves and cave safety were taught before spelunking in commercial and wild caves. Students were allowed to go into a wild cave and perform a rescue operation.

Project Go was a geological study of 2,000 miles in Arkansas.

While at GHS, Wilson has been on the Gurdon FFA and 4-H meat judging teams for two years. Both years the teams placed first in region and third in state. At Northeastern Oklahoma Aggie Day, Wilson placed fourth in individual judging.

As former president and treasurer of Future Business Leaders of America, Wilson is also an active member, competing yearly. He has placed well enough at region to continue to state in computer concepts, impromptu speaking and business law.

Wilson has been a member of the Beta Club for three years and he is a three-year member of the National Honor Society, where he has served as reporter and he is the treasurer.

He is a six-year member of the gifted and talented program. As a member of the Odessy of the Mind team, Wilson was able to celebrate when their team earned a Ranatra Fusca creativity award and their spontaneous team placed second at state.

He is a former CHAMPS instructor, where he worked with elementary students and he is a former member of High School Heroes, an American Lung Association program, where he taught middle school students about the hazards of smoking.

Wilson attended Arkansas Boys State, where he was elected party vice chairman and school board member and was appointed to the department of education.

Henderson State University accepted him as a Henderson 100-member, where as a junior, he spent a weekend learning about life on a college campus.

As a delegate to the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., Wilson learned about the defense system of our country.

This summer he was selected to attend Arkansas's Governor's School, but had already made a commitment with Delta Brigade, Arkansas' Drum and Bugle Corps, for the summer. With Delta Brigade, members had the opportunity to meet and compete with musicians from around the world in Drum Corps Midwest and Drum Corps International.

While competing in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, these musicians learned a lot about music and life and made friendships for a lifetime.

This fall, Andrew tried out and was accepted into the newly formed South Arkansas youth wind ensemble, a group of talented musicians who practice twice a month for public performances.

He has received the International Paper Leadership Award, the First State Bank Musicianship Award, an Academic Excellence Award from GHS and was named a National Merit Scholar commended student.

He is also on the tennis team and the yearbook staff, volunteers time to VFW Post 4689 and is a member of Beech Street Baptist Church.

Wilson is the son of Roy Elizabeth Wilson and the grandson of Darlene Hendricks.