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NHSDTC SPIRIT BANNER PAST RECIPIENTS "Welcome to the Wall of Fame for the Nationals Spirit Banner!"
2002 - Coventry High School - Air Force JROTC - Coventry, Rhode Island Making the trip to the Nationals from far away is always tough but Bethel, Alaska! WOW! Major Bailey spearheads this tiny Army Honor Unit in the middle of Alaska and has helped to give this program world-wide recognition. Bethel Regional High School is surrounded by high unemployment and other social issues that present extreme hurdles to success. This program does not allow these issues to stand in their way. With just a few miles of paved roads in the town and single digit hours of daylight and temperatures during many months of the year, this program continues to put forth the type of effort and results rarely seen at this level. They are a shining example of what can be accomplished through hard work and diligence, regardless of the obstacles facing any program. 2004 - Springfield High School - Army JROTC - Holland, Ohio The death of a valuable instructor is never easy and the 2003 passing of long-time drill legend Major John Gardiner left the entire community in an emotional wreck. Lesser programs would have folded up shop and simply decided to go through the motions and end the year quietly. Not Springfield H.S.! Despite multiple SAI's and numerous chages to the program, the past-National Champion Army unit worked extra hard in tribute to their fallen leader and competed with honor and distinction at the 2004 Nationals. Their efforts were an inspiration to the staff of SNI and to everyone who has ever known the irreplaceable Major Gardiner. 2005 - Marmion Academy - Army JROTC - Marmion, Illinois Sometimes, a program comes around that is just so inspirational and outstanding that you can't contain yourself. As a relative newcomer to the Nationals, Marmion Academy has embraced the event with a gusto rarely seen. Their positive comments and constant support of the NHSDTC event are so heartfelt and honest, they are a group that absolutely makes the event better simply by their attendance. Their success on and off the drill fllor is a tribute to the cadets of the program, as well as to their leader, SAI Major John Geisel. The future looks bright for this unit and a string of top finishes in the future would not surprise anyone who follows the Nationals. 2006 - Rahway High School - Marine Corps - Rahway, New Jersey Nestled in a blue-collar town just outside New York City, these hard-chargers continue to be a recruiting poster for all that is RIGHT with Junior ROTC. With a dynamic leadership duo in place and a clear vision of what they want to accomplish, Rahway annually puts forth a supreme effort in any task they choose to master. While MCJROTC instructors SgtMaj. Henry and MSgt. Mintz constantly deflect all the credit to the cadets, without question it is their love and committment to this youngsters that remains the driving factor why Rahway high school can never be counted out of the Championship chase. Self-effacing but fiercly competitive, this leadership style translates to the cadets long after their drill days are gone, as these girls and boys grow to become men and women. 2007 - Flour Bluff High School - Navy - Corpus Christi, Texas Likely one of the most misunderstood programs in the nation, Flour Bluff HS is widely recognized as the finest all-around drill program in the country. However, their drill excellence often overshadows the all-around excellence this program continues to produce off the drill deck. Producing fantastic all-around citizens after high school is the goal and drill is simply a tool to make that happen. Community service, academics and mentorship are all huge parts of the program that get very little publicity. This lack of hype often leaves unknowing outsiders to believe the program as one-dimensional, but this is hardly the case. CDR Armando Solis is an exacting but low-key leader that shuns boisterous promotion of the program or himself, and this trickles down to the self-effacing and amazingly approachable cadets her produces year in and year out. The Spirit Banner has no better home than in south Texas in the year 2007! 2008 - Winter Springs High School - Army - Winter Springs, Florida The saying goes that, "A team plays as a coach coaches" and this is never been more true than watching the businesslike approach that emminates from Florida drill icon Winter Springs HS in Winter Springs, Florida. This Army JROTC program has DOMINATED Florida Army drill since the doors of the school opened roughly a decade ago. But excellence has followed SAI LTC John Bennett as he founded the Winter Springs program, bringing the many championships he earned at nearby Lyman HS throughout the early 1990's. A rigorous, multi-faceted program in a very competitive school district, LTC Bennett and Sgt. Victor Frasqueri work tirelessly to help their student athletes in all facets of their lives. This work has forged a bond between the program and the community that speaks volumes about the amazing nature of this program. 2009 - James Madison High School - Army - San Antonio, Texas While many schools were considered for the award in 2009, the actual decision was very easy due to the overwhelmingly positive manner in which this program conducts business, the historically solid drill finishes during the past decade, the top-quality cadets that have moved into top colleges, and especially due to the unparalleled positive example and mentorship that the instructors have provided their cadets in and out of the classroom. Competing in the pressure-cooker drill mecca of San Antonio, Texas, this program holds their own and excels. The JMHS instructors led by SAI LTC Amador Cano and the long time drill guru MSG Xavier Sandoval both do their job and live their lives in a way that exemplifies sacrifice, commitment and excellence in all they do. 2010 - Grant High School - Army - Dry Prong, Louisana From incredibly humble surroundings, the Maroon & Gold Drill Team from Grant High School has made a name for themselves nationally for the past five years. Taking the nation by storm by capturing the Western Region Army Championships title a few years back, the fine program has continued its path to excellence. But their drill team is only the most recognizable aspect - it does not define the program. Along with one of the finest overall drill & ceremony programs in the nation, the program consistantly graduates cadets with higher GPA than the overall student body, as well as sending many youngsters to college through their work in the program (despite their limited resources). What is so striking about this small program (only 700 cadets in the entire school) remains the business-like way they approach everything they do. This is a direct reflection of the no-nonsense methods emoplyed by the two NCO's running the program (1Sg (Ret) Jim Tadayeski & 1Sg (Ret) Douglas Smithand). They demand respect by giving the same. The program brings class to any event they attend and their parents are super-supportive and understand the values this amazing program gives their children now and long-after they have left high school. |
