BY BETH ANN SCIALABBA
Correspondent
JACKSON — On Jan. 20, the Jackson Memorial High School band will make a special trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the inauguration parade that will mark the official beginning of President George W. Bush’s second term in office.
All 180 students from the Jaguar Band will be marching in the 2-mile parade, which will start at the Pentagon and end at the White House, according to band director Bud McCormack.
McCormack said the organizers of the inauguration day festivities received applications from 350 bands, which were seeking the honor of marching. These included bands from high schools, colleges, universities and the military.
Only one band from each of the 50 states was chosen to march in the inauguration parade and McCormack said Jackson will proudly represent New Jersey.
In addition to a letter of congratulations from the Presidential Inaugural Committee was a proclamation from acting Gov. Richard Codey.
To honor the band’s achievement, the high school will host “Operation Inau-gural Send-Off” at 7 p.m. Jan. 18. Among those expected to pay tribute to and congratulate the band will be state Sen. Robert Singer, state Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, Mayor Michael Broderick and local veterans. The send-off will be open to the public.
McCormack noted that this is the latest in a long line of accomplishments the band has enjoyed. The Jaguar Band has appeared on NBC-TV’s “Today,” on a Conan O’Brien anniversary special, and at NFL and World Series games.
The 50 bands chosen to participate will march in alphabetical order of the state they are representing. The Jackson band will be in between New Hampshire and New Mexico. The Jaguars will perform “America the Beautiful.”