VALDOSTA – The Lowndes High School Georgia Bridgemen Band celebrated its 45th Anniversary early Friday morning with a cake cutting ceremony and hearing speeches from pivotal figures within the band’s history.

The 2023 Georgia Bridgemen is composed of about 380 instrumentalists with the Lowndes County School System. Director of Bands Jon Bowman currently leads the players with the assistance of Chandler Sumner and Dr. Jefferson Grant, the associate directors of bands.

Formerly known as the Marching Vikings, the Georgia Bridgemen was established in 1978.The 2023 Band Booster President Chris Buescher spearheaded a ceremony in the LHS band room to honor the band, its originators and supporters.

“The entire Lowndes County School System is celebrating the Georgia Bridgemen today. Every single teacher and faculty member at Lowndes County High School is wearing a pink Bridgemen shirt today,” Buescher said to the ceremony attendees.

He explained that the pink shirts were selected to raise awareness for Breast Cancer while also honoring the band.

“The motto of the Bridgemen that has stuck around for all its years of its establishment is HUSTLE. For H- Honor, U- Unity, S- Superior, T- Teamwork, L- Leadership, and E- Excellence. Not only do you show out on the field on Friday night’s, but you show out in the classroom,” Buescher said.

The ceremony continued honoring several supporters of the band such as the Lowndes County Interim Superintendent Sandra Wilcher, the Board of Education, Mrs. Wanda Todd, the wife of the late former director Charles E. Todd II, Alan Drew, Mike Godwin in honor of his late father and former director Bobby Godwin.

After speeches sharing accolades from Wilcher, LHS Principal LeAnne McCall and Former Director Woody Lenoard, Bowman took the forefront sharing how he entered the band.

The ceremony concluded with Todd cutting the cake.

The band is excited to enter the Martin Stadium field for the first time of the 2023 Viking Football season with their show, “Bridgemen on my Mind.” Bowman said the show’s inspiration came from him viewing a documentary about a recording studio located in Macon, Ga. The show consists of seven songs all written or performed by artists from Georgia.

The students have been practicing this year’s show since mid-summer break, but have not yet performed due to scheduling and weather difficulties.

“They haven’t been able to reap the rewards of all their work. We’ve been practicing since July 17th and we haven’t been able to perform yet,’ he said in an interview following the ceremony.

“This is such a special organization. It’s been established for so long and the directors that have come through here. Once you get here, you don’t leave. It’s that special of a place. The way our school system supports these kids and our organization is second to none.”

He spoke highly of the instrumentalist’s work ethic and wants the local community to know of their hard work.

“I just want people to know how hard these kids work. They put in 10 hours per week of practice afterschool, and spend countless weekends traveling. These kids are as committed as young people as you’ll find anywhere,” Bowman said.