Iola High’s Marching Mustangs will find it more convenient to store their instruments in between performances thanks to a gift from Iola’s Rotary Club.
The club invested $5,000 to purchase and prep a highway transport trailer to hold instruments and uniforms. That will permit the band to play during half-time of a football game, quickly store its gear, and then have it taken to practices during the week. The trailer also will come in handy for road trips.
Director Matt Kleopfer told Rotarians Thursday that when he took the band’s reins four years ago, he transferred equipment from Friday night presentations in his car. “Sometimes it was 2 a.m. before I was finished,” with an hour’s trip home to Fredonia afterward. More recently students and parents have helped with transfers, but still it has been a nagging chore.
The trailer arrived in Iola, with the assistance of Dennis Ringwald of RVB Trucking.
Kleopfer tutors 230 students in instrumental music between the middle and high schools, a whopping 31 percent of the two schools’ enrollments. The bands continually receive rave notices, in festivals and parades, as well as competitions. Last spring the IHS band won the Kansas class 4A title, and came within 5 points of having a perfect score.
Band participation is more than learning to play an instrument, Kleopfer said. He approaches daily classes as refinement of what students are doing, in life as well as school. “The world is constantly changing,” and students must learn to adjust, he said.
Kleopfer has adopted six rules for success from Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie star and former California governor. He uses them to inspire his students.
— Trust yourself.
— Break some of the rules — think outside the box.
— Don’t be afraid to fail.
— Don’t listen to naysayers.
— Work your butt off — no pain, no gain.
— Give back.
“These rules have changed my life, and I follow them every day,” Kleopfer said. “Think about what you want to do, and do it,” is his advice to students. “If you follow others, just go through the motions, you will march into a pot of mediocrity.”
Teamwork also is a watchword, Kleopfer said. “Band is the biggest sport we have. We don’t have a bench, everyone plays.”
Iola Rotary gives a hand to IHS band
