Riverview High Kilties kickstart fundraiser

The Sarasota County School Board chamber was filled with maroon at Tuesday night’s meeting, as Riverview High School Kilties Band supporters appeared in numbers to announce the band’s fundraiser.

The high school has partnered up with the Education Foundation of Sarasota County to raise $165,000 to purchase a band shell for the Riverview Performing Arts Center. This shell is a structural feature which helps improve acoustics.

Vince A. Vance, the chair of the band shell fundraising committee, a part of the Kiltie Band Booster, explained the project to the board members while dressed in full Kiltie regalia.

Vance is a Kiltie band alumni. He and the band are proposing to name the shell, if ultimately purchased, after the late Andrew J. Crew, a band director who taught at Riverview from 1968 to 1983. Crew received a “Legion of Honor” award as one of the 10 best band directors in the county in 1990, and in 1994 he was installed in the Florida Bandmasters Hall of Fame.

Frank Kovach, the board chair, is also a Kiltie alumni and participated in band under the direction of Crew. Kovach related a fond memory from his school days: Crew owned a Volkswagen Beetle, and one day Kovach and some friends managed to move the car up to the school’s second-floor balcony. Kovach said he could still remember the look on his old teacher’s face when he walked out of practice to see his car on the balcony. Kovach also remembered Crew’s dedication to his students.

“I wish everyone was able to experience the value of music in their lives,” Kovach said.

Vance told the board that the band already has $30,000 in seed money. The school district had committed to $85,000 to install the rigging needed for the shell. The Education Foundation is the fiscal and administrative agent for the project; all contributions should be delivered to it. 

“The shell will make the performance center comparable to a professional venue,” he said.

If the rest of the funding goal can be achieved, Vance hopes the shell will be completed before school starts again in August.