On Saturday Sept. 26, the Whitesboro High School Band hosted the Fifth Annual Chris Lovejoy Marching Invitational (CLMI), a marching band competition hosted in Whitesboro honoring the life and legacy of Chris Lovejoy, a prominent voice in the Whitesboro and band directing community.
A total of 14 bands from the North Texas area attended the contest, with some traveling over 100 miles to compete. Whitesboro performed in exhibition at the end of the contest.
Competitors included:
Collinsville High School
Honey Grove High School
Whitewright High School
Callisburg High School
S & S High School
Gunter High School
Palmer High School
Valley View High School
Pottsboro High School
Quitman High School
Howe High School
Gainesville High School
Bonham High School
Farmersville High School
Bands often come back every year for the CLMI because of its location, great stadium venue, quality adjudicators and two guaranteed performances.
In finals competition, Farmersville High School took the top honors followed by Howe High School in 2nd and Quitman High School in 3rd.
“We are incredibly fortunate to be able to host the Chris Lovejoy Marching Invitational for our local bands,” said WISD Director of Bands Austin Nestler. “Our contest is run extremely efficiently thanks to all the preparation our boosters, parents, volunteers, and students do for us. The band directors love to hear from the quality judges and get immediate feedback for their programs.”
Whitesboro loves offering an opportunity for the surrounding bands to showcase their hard work to the band-loving Whitesboro community while giving them the hometown favorites at the very end.
Now in its fifth year, the marching invitational was named in honor of Chris Lovejoy, former member of the Whitesboro band and renowned band director in the area who passed away in 2018. Members of the Lovejoy family are typically in attendance to watch some of the event and to present an award to the winning band. While the band is honored to have the family members there, the honor is really that of the Lovejoy family.
One of the event’s judges was Pat Autry, once a WHS band director and the brother-in-law of Chris Lovejoy. He took to Facebook over the weekend after the event had ended and wrote, “It was my privilege to be one of the judges at the Chris Lovejoy Marching Invitational in Whitesboro yesterday. Thanks to the Whitesboro band staff and boosters for the invite, for running a great contest, and for honoring the memory of my brother-in-law in this way.”