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Marching Vikes raising funds for uniforms

Mayor Steve Updike (seated) signs a proclamation declaring June 25-July 1 as Marching Vikes Week in the city of Huntington.
Mayor Steve Updike (seated) signs a proclamation declaring June 25-July 1 as Marching Vikes Week in the city of Huntington. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Members of the Huntington North High School Marching Vikes will soon be able to dispense with the last-minute repairs, safety pins and duct tape that are holding their uniforms together.

They'll be decked out in brand new duds, proudly wearing the school colors of black and red as they perform at sporting events and parades.

But with the new uniforms comes a price - almost $40,000. The Band Parents organization has come up with about $11,000 through a series of fund-raisers, and the Huntington County Community School Corporation has given the band a $29,000 loan so it can get the uniforms ordered. The band, however, must repay that $29,000 to the school corporation.

To do that, band members and their supporters will be canvassing the city of Huntington on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 28 and 29, from 6 to 9 p.m., seeking donations for the uniforms.

Band members will also be contacting households throughout Huntington County, either by phone or in person, June 25 through July 1.

Contributions may be also mailed to Kathy Vachon, treasurer of the Band Parents organization at 3901E-850N, Roanoke, IN 46783.

Huntington Mayor Steve Updike has signed a proclamation declaring June 25 through July 1 as Marching Vikes Week in the city of Huntington. The Huntington County Commissioners have issued a proclamation declaring the week as Marching Vikes Week in Huntington County.

Both proclamations note the Marching Vikes' contributions to the community and ask that residents provide "moral and financial support."

The 115 new uniforms, Marching Vikes Director Chris Whitacre says, will replace uniforms purchased in 1995-96. Those uniforms are so worn out, he adds, that band members wear full-coverage black undergarments underneath the uniforms so that when splits and tears occur during performances, they're not so noticeable.

Complete caption: Mayor Steve Updike (seated) signs a proclamation declaring June 25-July 1 as Marching Vikes Week in the city of Huntington. With him are (from left) Chris Whitacre, director of the Huntington North High School Marching Vikes; band member Chandler Lewis; Band Parents Co-Vice President Mark Johnston; and Scott Lewis, also a Band Parents member. The Huntington County Commissioners also signed a proclamation designating the special week throughout Huntington County. During that week, the band and its supporters will be seeking donations to help pay for new uniforms.