Letter to the Editor: Band parents: Generosity isn’t earned, but given
Logan Brakke, Isaac Spahr, Bradley Walden and Ryley McKeown were flown from Watertown to the Cities by Todd Dathe.
Submitted photos
It’s great to be a Lynx! These musician-athletes caught a pretty sweet ride from their cross country meet to a marching band competition this weekend.
You might remember two years ago when a few of our musician-athletes faced a choice: run the cross country conference meet or march in the biggest marching band competition of the year. This year, senior Logan Brakke, junior Ryley McKeown, and sophomores Isaac Spahr and Bradley Walden faced the same choice. Once again, the community came together to help them do both.
Pilot Todd Dathe – parent of BV grad/musician-athlete Jackson Dathe – volunteered to once again fly runners from the Eastern South Dakota Conference Cross Country meet to the downtown St. Paul airport. They were driven from the St. Paul airport to U.S. Bank Stadium by band parent and family friend, Tiffany Peterson, who also has a musician-athlete in her family.
The Boys’ Varsity took third at ESD, and the band took fourth at Youth in Music Marching Band Championships – but this experience won them much more. It taught them that sometimes the generosity of others isn’t earned, it’s freely given. It taught them that hard work does indeed pay off – and that others appreciate and recognize your dedication. It taught them the value of being part of a community like Brandon Valley, where – rather than forcing students to choose one activity over another – coaches, band directors, school administrators, and community members encourage them to explore as many activities as they can manage and learn the skills that come with them. Like their band/teammates, these young men have learned teamwork, collaboration, leadership, time management, and perseverance from activities like band and cross country – and those are gifts that will last them a lifetime.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible, and thank you to the Brandon Valley community for being amazing.
Brandy and Nick Brakke, parents of Logan Brakke
Amy and Joe Spahr, parents of Isaac Spahr
Jennifer and Blake Walden, parents of Bradley Walden
Jen and Chris McKeown, parents of Ryley McKeown
