4 minute read
Because it was Paris
FIVE COUPLES GET ENGAGED DURING MARCHING SOUTHERNERS SUMMER TRIP TO FRANCE
By Brett Buckner
For the past 30 years, on the first day of band camp, Dr. Ken Bodiford has playfully warned members of the Marching Southerners of potential future romantic entanglements. "Everybody look around," he would say, "Realize that, more than likely, you're going to be spending the rest of your life with one of these people. One of these people in this band will one day be your partner." Bodiford's words proved exponentially prophetic during a summer trip to France where the Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners performed in Normandy to honor the 80th anniversary of D-Day. While in Paris, five couples got engaged.
But this wasn't a grand, romantic gesture. "I think that five couples getting engaged was actually a complete coincidence," said Abigail Roper a 21-year-old senior early education major in the color guard. "I know that we didn't coordinate with any of the other couples in Southerners to get engaged in France. None of the engagements were at the same time either." Roper and her fiancé, JT Hanson, a 21-year-old senior majoring in history, got engaged on June 6 at Mont Saint Michel in Normandy. Mont Saint Michel is an ancient castle set on a flood plain in the English Channel. "When Abbie and I were planning to go on the trip, I had already planned to be engaged and knew that this was exactly where I wanted to do it," said Hanson, who marched trombone when he was with the Southerners. "Abbie also suspected I would propose on the trip, but I was able to still surprise her with the timing and location." The couple have not set a marriage date.
Mattilen Nelson, a 21-year old senior nursing major on the Marching Southerners Uniform Crew, and Kevin Geeter, a Marching Southerner alumnus and current band director of the Donoho School in Anniston got engaged on June 9. Geeter proposed on the Pont de BirHakeim bridge with the glowing Eiffel Tower in the background. "For Kevin and me, France was the most memorable place we could have ever gotten engaged," said Nelson, who marched flute and piccolo. "Kevin seized the opportunity. I've dreamed of going to Paris since I was a little girl. Kevin knew how much this trip meant to me." Nelson and Geeter plan to get married in December of 2025.
Matt McKerrocher, a 21-yearold nursing major, who plays trumpet, proposed to Kaelyn Scott, a 21-year-old nursing major and Marching Ballerina, at 9 p.m. on June 9 on the Seine River overlooking the Eiffel Tower with the rings from the Paris Summer Olympics in the background. "Being able to honor the ones who have fallen for us and to be able to do it with people you love, doing what you love is so special," McKerrocher said. "I am forever grateful for this organization giving us such a great opportunity." Despite her surroundings, Scott didn't expect to leave France engaged. "I had no idea, and I was honestly shocked, but in the best way possible," she said. "Matt had convinced me that we were going to get engaged after 2025, so he had me completely fooled." McKerrocher and Scott have their wedding date set for Sept. 13, 2025.
Erin Day, a 22-year-old senior accounting major who marched the piccolo for four years, and Stephen Greenwood, 29, got engaged on June 8. It was their first night in Paris. "I believe we were the first ones to get engaged," Day said. "I think everyone else got engaged the day after on the 9th spread throughout the day." The couple went to see the Eiffel Tower with her parents, two sisters, and best friend, Raul, also a Marching Southerner, along with two of Greenwood's siblings. "We got engaged right in front of the Eiffel Tower while it was sparkling," she said. "It was perfect." The couple has set a date for Oct. 4, 2025.
Gracie Collins and Austin Ezell were also among the couples who got engaged in Paris over the summer. Looking back, Dr. Bodiford isn't all that surprised at all the engagements. "It's all because it was Paris," he said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a proposal. It's definitely something they will never forget."
