Florida’s Gubernatorial Inauguration Parade, January 1999, by Elisabeth Shoop

From MemoryArchive

Who: Oak Park Middle School Band
What: Jeb Bush's Inaugural Parade
When: January 1999
Where: Tallahassee, Florida

When I was in 7th grade, our school band was selected to play in Jeb Bush’s inaugural parade. This was a very big honor, apparently, and we were going to spend the night in a hotel in Tallahassee and everything. I cannot stress it enough, this was a big deal. Having been raised in Leesburg, a rather conservative small town in Lake County, Florida, finally having a Republican governor was a blessing to the people, most of whom had voted for him. All the parents were proud of their kids who were going to be marching in his parade. George Bush, Sr. was going to be there. We practiced and practiced to get the routine and music right.

I played the xylophone on the band, and since we did not have a marching xylophone, I carried the school's banner along with another auxiliary percussionist. Therefore, my rehearsal consisted of walking up and down the street for a few hours. But, the inauguration was nearing and everyone was getting excited. The local news crew even came out to interview us. I was one of the few who spoke on camera, since I wasn’t really needed to practice. I told the reporter all about how proud I was to be in such a good band and represent the school. At the end of my interview, I mentioned that we were going to the mall in Tallahassee. So of course, on the actual news segment (enshrined for eternity because my mom has it on a video) all they showed of my interview was the clip, “We get to go to the mall.” That’s journalism for you.

The inauguration came. It was really neat to stay in the hotel, even though the chaperones taped our doors shut. We marched in the parade. It was bitterly cold that January, but we didn’t care too much. Then we went to the mall; it wasn’t very interesting. Then we went home. A few weeks later the band director received a framed photograph of our band. To the best of my knowledge, it is still hanging in the Band Room of Oak Park Middle School in Leesburg, Florida.