Hezekiah Bezy, Matthew Galbreath, Mara Flood, Emma Keykens
Marching Into the Future Growing Band Program at Lehman High School BY SUSIE BERGMAN
Embarking on a new career often brings challenges, but Kaitie Welch never imagined doing so on the cusp of a global pandemic. Hired June 2020 by Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney, she began her job as band director with a marching band of only 12 active members and a concert band of only eight. “When I first started, there was so much uncertainty for the students that we just spent a lot of time getting to know each other,” said Welch. She graduated from Miamisburg High School, worked in Cincinnati Public Schools, and now resides in Middletown. Her fiancé, the band director for La Salle High School in Cincinnati, helped her decide to move.
“When the ensemble shrank in size, they stopped participating in competitions. But now the group has doubled in size and we brought back the color guard, so I really wanted to introduce this to the Welch students,” said Welch.
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The pride displays for her school, students and the ever-evolving music program is magnetic.
“When I took the position at Lehman, I was still living in Cincinnati and making the long drive,” Welch said. “Fall is a crazy time of year for marching band, so if we wanted to have dinner together through the week, there had to be a compromise.” 2 0 | THE CATHOLIC TE LEG RAPH
While she admits the drive is still long, Welch enjoys the time it provides to plan and prepare for the day. This includes preparing students for competitions, which restored the school’s participation that ended in 2016.
Under her leadership, the students practice twice a week, perform at Friday evening home football games and attend Saturday competitions. They invested in new uniforms, made by the Daytonlocal company Fred J. Miller Inc., that give them a new sense of pride, in part, because they raised the nearly $15,000 needed by themselves through a fundraiser. Welch attributed its success to the students’ determination and community’s amazing response. To honor the community, the alumni and 50-year music
