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Kimberley Benson knew the emotions would hit hard as soon as Polk County’s Cadets struck the first note of their program at the mid-October Freedom Classic.

Not just because the Cadets flowed through their competition show in a nearly perfect manner. Not just because the band did so despite it being the first contest for many of its members. Not just because the award-winning performance represented another step in Benson’s quest to build the Cadets into one of the area’s top programs.

All that alone would have merited cheers and tears from Benson on a lovely fall afternoon. But to watch her students perform so well less than a month after Hurricane Helene disrupted so many of their lives – let’s just say it was a good day to wear sunglasses.

“We only did one competition last year,” said Benson, in her second year as Polk County’s band director. “So, for my entire band, this was either their first, second, or third competition ever. And they just nailed it. Every step of the way, they just nailed it.”

Indeed, the Cadets collected an impressive amount of hardware at the Freedom competition, as well as the 2024 Knight Tournament in late October. The awards included 1st place percussion, 2nd place drum major, 2nd place individual music, 3rd place ensemble music, 3rd overall in Class 2A, and 4th in 1A/2A at the Freedom Classic. At North Henderson, Cadets earned 1st place percussion, 1st place color guard, 1st place music, 1st place Class 3A.

The trophies rewarded the hours of hard work since summer – summer camps, band camp, hours and hours of practice during and after school. 

They did not, though, reflect all that band members endured once Helene rushed through the area and left a life-altering trail of destruction.

Benson, who lives in Mills River, began contacting students as cell signals allowed as soon as she realized the scope of the storm’s impact. Within the first 2-3 days, she had either heard directly from students or talked with students who had heard from others, accounting for all in the band.

It didn’t take long for questions to follow.

“They were like, we hope you’re OK, we’ve been worried about you, sorry to bother you about work right now, but what about competitions,” Benson said. “Because this is so important to them. And I figured we were going to be done.

“The thing with marching band is that you get to a point where you get so cold, you can’t do this in January. And there’s no way you can do it indoors. So either we do it now, or we’re just done and they miss out.”

Little had gone right for the band since the start of the season. A summer band camp the group planned to attend was canceled a week before the trip. Polk’s football team had just two home games in August and September, and one of those was played in the rain.

None of that, though, compared to Helene’s wrath and aftermath. Benson said one band member had to be rescued by helicopter. Several students had large trees fall through their homes, and another student’s home caught fire once power was restored.

Potentially losing competitions seemed to pale in comparison. But that never came to pass – Benson soon heard from officials at Freedom, who had decided to press forward with that long-running contest. And on the day students returned to school, Benson learned the North Henderson competition would still be held. So the opportunities to compete were there – whether students were mentally up for the challenge became Benson’s prime concern.

“I was like, look, here’s where we are. We have two competitions – it’s up to you guys,” Benson said. “I had kids that really, really, really went through it. So I was like, if we don’t want to do it, it’s fine. And they were all no, offended no, no of course.

“So we only took probably 15 to 20 minutes of that class to talk and just check in on each other, and they’re ready to go to work. So we pulled out instruments and we played, and they really hadn’t lost that much, and we were back outside practicing on the field by (the next day).”

As the band resumed working after two weeks away, with the Freedom competition quickly approaching, Benson wasn’t certain how hard she could push the group given all that had transpired. But band members quickly let Benson know that it was to be business as usual, attitudes that never changed through the pre-competition period.

“I think it helped them in a way to have something else to focus on,” she said. “I think for them to have something positive to pour their energy into has been a really good thing.

“Kids are resilient. I hate that they have to be, but they are. So just watching them rally around this. . . everybody wants trophies. Everybody wants to hear all the things over the loudspeaker. But, truly, if we had taken fifth place in everything, just the fact that we could get there and be together was a win for me.”

The Cadets have more than doubled in numbers since last year, with the band now numbering more than 40 students, including color guard members. Benson works closely with Polk County Middle School band director Christopher Wilson on both growing their programs and skills as well as the specifics of the competition show, and Benson thinks that the holistic approach of “one program” has helped fuel the growth of the band. An updated playlist has also helped. Those factors have helped generate excitement and buzz around the band program.

“They’re just a super tight-knit group,” she said. “I think that’s something that is a big part of our success, that we always have each other’s back. I think that would be one of the first things people would notice, how tight they are. But also super positive and hard-working.

“We’ve really tried to jazz up the music we play and make it a bit more audience-friendly. I know some of the marching band shows can get a little esoteric out there, so I’ve really tried to focus this year on playing songs that are relatable, but also are really well done and relate to the competition. You’ll have competition bands go out and play music that nobody’s ever heard before, and it’s kind of hard to connect with that versus, like, ‘oh my gosh, Paint It Black, I love this song.’

“We’ve got a lot of siblings that are down in the middle school of kids here. They see what’s happening up here, and it just is taking on a life of its own, and they’re getting excited about it.”

Which undoubtedly means there will be more emotional days to come for Benson.