Livingston Band Fundraising For New Uniforms

The Livingston Academy Band in the process of raising $37,000 for new, modern uniforms.

With the help of students, parents and administration, Band Director Greg Dingwall has picked the design of the future. The band has already raised close to $4,000 of the $37,000 goal.

“Our uniforms that we are still currently using are over 20 years old now,” Dingwall said. “We got them 20 years ago this last spring. And so band uniforms lifetime are around 10, 12, to 15 years max and we’ve stretched it a little long.”

The uniform includes black hat, pants and top with swooping horizontal lines across the chest and hat that are blue to white gradient. The uniform includes hints of gold as a tribute to Rickman and the former high school.

Due to the variations in band member shape and size, Dingwall said he plans on ordering double the amount of uniforms as members in the band at approximately $480 per unit.

“Because you don’t know the sizes of all the kids that you’re going to get in,” Dingwall said. “And so you have to have a representative sample sizes that you can adjust to fit everybody that comes into the program. So, having 70 uniforms gives us the flexibility.”

To raise the money, Dingwall said he has looked high and low for potential donors. He has talked with clubs and civic organizations across Overton County to drum up interest in donating to the new uniforms. Dingwall is also using nostalgia and the band members of past to help fund the new uniforms. He is selling the uniforms the band used when he first arrived in 1992 for $200.

“And so we’re actually able to sell those because we raised the money for those too,” Dingwall said. “And so we’re able to sell those that are still in good shape to those former members or anybody who would want one of them.”