Betsy Band member has committed to be all she can be.
Courtney Bowers, a senior at Elizabethton High School, was officially selected as a 2018 U.S. All-American Marching Band member Friday morning during a ceremony hosted at Citizens Bank Stadium.
With the achievement, Bowers will join 125 senior marching musicians and color guard members from across country to participate at halftime during the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, presented by American Family Insurance, on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 12:00 p.m. CST at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The event will be televised live on NBC.
Bowers, a member of the Betsy Band Color Guard, is the first student in the school’s history to participate in the event and will be one of 24 U.S. All-American Color Guard performers.
During Friday’s ceremony, Bowers thanked a variety of individuals, including her family, friends, Color Guard instructors, Betsy Band sponsors and Band Director Perry Elliott.
“I will cherish these lessons for the rest of my life,” Bowers said, which was met with a round of applause from attendees.
Bowers also thanked her family for support. Ellen Hutchins, Courtney’s mother, received the American Family Insurance Dream Champion award from Lee Rosenburg, event coordinator with All-American Games.
“Charlie (Hutchins) and I are so proud that we’ve been able to watch Courtney set lofty goals and attain them,” Ellen said. “Becoming a U.S. Army All-American Band Color Guard member is one of those goals, and we know this is just the beginning of the many achievements she will reach in her lifetime.”
According to information provided by All-American Games, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has severed as the nation’s “premier” high school all-star event and football game and has served as a launching pad for various NFL and collegiate stars, including Andrew Luck, Tim Tebow and Eric Berry. The All-American Bowl consistently draws an annual crowd upwards of 40,000 to the Alamodome and is the most-watched high school sporting event of each year, with 5.1-million viewers tuning in to last year’s broadcast.
Rosenburg said the event has also served as the perfect launching pad for marching band members, with several going on to participate in national-winning groups.
Students are selected by exhibiting a variety of traits, Rosenburg added, including “exhibit exceptional citizenship, marching achievement, character, and leadership.”
Those qualities, Elliott said, are easily showcased by his senior band member.
“We can look at Courtney as an example of something that we can do with our lives,” said Elliott, who received the Band Director Award from Sgt. 1st Class Charles Ganci. “Courtney has made a personal commitment to do something, to reach a little bit higher than every person has done.”
For more information on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and its related events visit usarmyallamericanbowl.com, goarmy.com/events/aab, and allamericangames.com.