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Show Band motto: 'Discipline' By JUDY JENSEN How do 186 teenagers get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on a summer morning to go to school and practice prac-tice for five hours a day, five days a week? The answer says Steve Richins, teacher of the Woods Cross High School Marching Band, is "Self-Discipline." "Self-Discipline." That self-discipline has lead to the band winning every prestigious award possible during the nine years Richins has served as the band leader at Woods Cross. During Dur-ing their recent performance at the Canadian Marching Band Competition, Com-petition, the band won five first place trophies. Out of the 15 to 20 competitive marching bands in the state. Woods Cross has placed first in Flags and Rifles for the past eight years, first in percussion for the past eight years and has been named one of the top three bands in the state for the past 8 years. The bands fiercest competitors according to Richins are Mountain Crest and Skyview both from Hyrum, Utah. "We have a number of others who nip at our heels but the first place prize rotates be tween Mountain Crest, Skyview and Woods Cross." Richins' love for music began at a very early age. He credits "A neat teacher in elementary school" with lighting the spark that would eventually lead the way to his becoming be-coming a professional musician. Richins soon learned that the income in-come of a professional musician would not support his growing family so he decided to combine his musical talents with a teaching certificate cer-tificate and 13 years ago he became "the leader of the band" at a Cali- Coptinued on page two PHOTOS JIM HASKETT DISPLAYING HUGE TROPHIES the Woods Cross High School Marching Band has won recently are left to right, Tina Burrows, Clark Loftus, Steven Richins, instructor; in-structor; Trent Thomas and Jennifer Twede. lil -a-- WOODS CROSS HIGH Marching Band, as it appears on the steps of the State Capitol Building, uses a lot of discipline, dedication and hard work to win more than its share of state, regional and national honors. band a success. Steve's wife Nancy, Nan-cy, along with the help of Earlene Blaser, put the first color guard together and have been instrumen- give him "new ideas" and "new directions" to help him remain "convincing" with the kids. When he finds time to relax, Marching band has discipline Continued from page one fornia school. He taught in the California school system for four years and in 1976 was named "Educator of the Year." Since moving to Woods Cross, Richins has taught over 3,000 teenagers in the music program. prog-ram. This year there are 369 teens enrolled in the classes he teaches. The concert band and the Jazz en-semble en-semble have also won many awards. At the state 4-A competition competi-tion festival, the Woods Cross High School Jazz band has won first place for the past seven years. Steve has been married to his wife Nancy for 16 years. They are the proud parents of five children ranging in age from three to fifteen years old. He said not all of his children are musically inclined "some of them play the piano and some play the radio," he laughed. His daughter Brenda, who is a sophomore at Woods Cross, is in the flag line with the band. Richins said they have not been "really directive when it comes to our kids going into music." He said music does teach a lot of self-discipline but that other programs like drama and sports can do that also. Richins credits the secret of his success to the "cooperative effort" of many people." "Without "With-out Bob Campbell at South Davis Jr. High and his feeder program, we wouldn't be as good as we are." He said Campbell has taught his band students well and they come to Woods Cross prepared to play. President of the Band Boosters Club, Dale Collicote has done an excellent job of raising money to susidize the school board funds. Richard Allen, Woods Cross High School Principal, has also been a great supporter of the band said Richins. "The cooperation of the parents has also been critical to our success" he said. Staff members in the marching band have expended "an immense amount of energy" in making the band instructor at Viewmont High School. Steve also plays clarinet and saxaphone in a Jazz group, the Bud Hutchings Orchestra. Jazz is his favorite music. He names "Flim and the B B's", "Steps Ahead" and "Huey Lewis and the News" as his favorite groups. "Another thing I try to find time for is getting the things done on my wife's never ending "TO DO" list," he joked. The marching band will be presented pre-sented with yet another award tonight when they perform a public concert at the high school. Woods Cross Mayor Ralph Argyle will present a plaque to the band for their "Outstanding Contribution" to the community. According to Mrs. Argyle, "Mr. Richins gives each of the children a beautiful feeling of self worth and everyone is so proud of them. They deserve a big "Thank You" from the whole community." Richins trades in his baton for a fishing pole. He said one of his favorite pastimes is fishing with his good friend Mike Murphy, the tal in its success. Recently, the efforts of Dawn Twede and Emily Collard have led to the continuation continua-tion of a first place winning color guard. Bob Smith who is in charge of percussion is responsible for all of the first place awards that group has won. "These people receive small amounts of money and have an intense drive to achieve excellence," excell-ence," said Richins. A constant challenge for Richins is to "come up with fresh ideas and fresh energy. ener-gy. He said these staff members |