KIMBALL – Okay so, it’s time to head to he Kimball basketball game. Grab your favorite Longhorn apparel, you’re hat and coat and don’t forget your instrument. Wait, what? Why would you need your instrument if your headed to the basketball game? Well, the answer to that question can be found in the pep band.

Go ahead, take a look at the Kimball pep band. Yes, you see all the members of the band playing away to the direction of Kristi Hile-Smith and yes you see adults playing along with them. No don’t rub your eyes, it’s true. That is indeed adults in the  stands playing with the students.

Truth of the matter is, without them Kimball might not have a pep band at all.“We have a lot of students who play basketball as well and without the community help we might not have a band,” said Hile-Smith.

The involvement of the community began  under the direction of Sharon Klein. Klein was approached by members of the community who expressed an interest in playing in the band. Eventually when Klein faced a lack of players, she called in the reinforcements, so to speak. When Klein left, the tradition was dropped.

According to current pep band member Terry Bourlier, the pep band was dropped more because of  directors frequently changing than because anyone was adamantly opposed to it. When Hile-Smith came to Kimball High four and a half years ago, she was approached by former members to begin it again. Seeing it as a unique opportunity, she decided to go for it. “I was asked what I thought about having community members in the pep band, and I thought it was a great idea!” exclaimed Hile-Smith.

Smith, like her predecessor Klein, saw that she would be facing a shortage of players once sports began.

And so the tradition, if that’s what it can be called, began again. Former band members brushed the dust off their horns and headed back to the game.

Bourlier, a student of the somewhat famous and highly respected former band instructor Harry McNees, said he loves the opportunity to play.

“I love to play,” he said, “and I enjoy being around the students.”

Bourlier said that when he was in school they had a large band. They didn’t face the shortage that today’s band does.

There may have been a shortage in the larger instrument section but with a large band you could just play through, he said.

Bourlier, whose son played basketball, said that it was fun to be there both as a fan and as a member of the band during the games.

For Jennifer Provance, also a former student of McNees, it is a lot of fun to be up their playing. It is also a family experience for her.

Provance had the pleasure of playing with her niece, Emily Heidemann, and also with her daughter Jenna Provance.

“It is a lot of fun to be able to play with my daughter and niece,” she said.

With sub-district play underway and the prospect of one, if not both, of the Kimball teams going to state, the question remains, will the pep band go to state?

For Provance it is a no brainer, her daughter plays on the team and she will, of course, be there. For Bourlier, the case is a little different. The tournament is in Lincoln and with the current state of the economy it forces him to reconsider. But at this point who knows, the teams have to make it first.

Either way, the fact remains that Kimball, a town of less than 3,000 people has one of the more unique bands in the area.