JROTC, Pride of the South Band receive city grants

“Every year as we do our budget we look to those organizations that reflect very favorably on our city and bring great pride to us as a city,” said Mayor Claudia Wigglesworth. Then, she announced that two city grants, each for $3,000, would be given to the Daleville High School band program and to the JROTC program.

Assistant Band Director Stephanie Robertson thanked the mayor and council for the money meant to help offset some expenses in the band program.

Band Director Mark Nichols said, “We are thrilled to accept the monetary grant from the city to help support our student musicians from the sixth grade all the way to the 12th grade. Right now, we have over 250 students involved in our music program. Three thousand dollars will go a long way to help us continue the tradition that is the Pride of the South.”

“Another source of tremendous pride for us is the JROTC. They travel. They represent our city well. We are very proud as a city council to present some funding for them also to offset some expenses,” said the mayor. She presented a $3,000 allocation to a group of JROTC members.

“The City of Daleville has been generous supporters of the Daleville

High School JROTC program each year. Recently, the city council approved an

increase from $1,500 to $3,000. This much needed donation helps to

augment Wiregrass Community Resident donations and corporate grants to help

fund our approximately $18,000 non-MPA budget,” said retired LTC Chris Miller, senior army instructor with The Warhawk Battalion. 

Miller explained further, “We use donations such as this to cover team travel costs (usually rifle team), match and sanctioning fees, awards, and costs associated with hosting events such as the Above the Best Junior State Air Rifle Championships, Military Ball, and the Wiregrass JROTC 5K.” He also said that without help from outside sources like the city government, the program would not be able to attend higher level matches such as the JROTC and Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) National Championships.

Occasionally, Miller said, the program will pay camp fees for individual cadets who demonstrate financial need. Such cases are considerdered on a case by case basis.

“We receive a great deal of morale and administrative support from the

school, but they have many programs and, as you can imagine, a limited

amount of funds to give out,” said Miller. “The school does what they can, but not all costs can be covered with the amount they have to provide.”

Currently, the JROTC boasts 111 cadets, a slight higher