Navy vet honored to play in Lakewood Ranch concert

During Pam Jefferies' 10 years serving in the U.S. Navy, she never was more proud of being in the military than she was June 8, 1991 during the National Victory Celebration in Washington, D.C.

Jefferies, who was serving as the drum major, was leading the Navy Band Southeast (Orlando) in the Desert Storm Victory Parade, which included 8,000 Desert Storm troops and was attended by more than 200,000 people. The parade route went down Constitution Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue and crossed the Memorial Bridge.

Photo by Jay Heater

With her position in front of the band, Jefferies came to where President George H.W, Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush were sitting. She locked eyes with the first lady.

"Mrs. Bush gave me the biggest salute," said Jefferies, who now plays saxophone and clarinet for the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble. "She was all smiles."

That pride continues to run through Jefferies when she plays songs that honor soldiers and military veterans, as she will Nov. 10 when the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble plays a Veterans Day Concert at Peace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood Ranch.

"Just hearing the music makes me proud to have served, and makes me humble," she said. "So many people have sacrificed so much. I am proud to be recognized as part of that."

She said the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble's focus will be on "our amazing veterans."

"The music is the music that a military band would play," she said.

Under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Joe Martinez, along with founder and Director Emeritus Joe Miller, the band will be playing patriotic favorites (iconic American marches and tributes) along with a special performance of "Bugler's Holiday."

Presentations during the concert include a "Porgy and Bess" medley and "Elegy for a Young American."

Jefferies, who will play saxophone during the concert, said she would have played in the Navy band for 30 years if the military hadn't been downsized when she reached the 10-year mark. She thought it was important to be a part of band that played at military funerals, parades and honor functions.

She almost never played a note in the Navy.

After graduating from Ben Davis High in Indianapolis, Indiana, the 18-year-old Jefferies, who was born in Muncie, Indiana, enlisted in the Navy and headed to the Naval Training Center in Orlando.

"I went to boot camp when I was 18," she said. "I went into the Navy because I loved the water, and I just wanted to serve my country. I wanted to go into aviation (with the Navy)."

But while training, she found out there was a band on the base. She had grown up in a family that always embraced music, and she was skilled at both the saxophone and the clarinet. She also was the drum major for the marching band at Ben Davis High.

She thought she was fine about moving away from music in the Navy, until one day she went to the band room and asked the warrant officer there if she could join. He told her she needed to be able to play both the clarinet and the saxophone,

It was meant to be, so she switched to a military career performing in the band.

She found her work fulfilling.

"Absolutely, we were the support branch of the military," she said. "We would play at the funerals, and the families of the soldiers were so grateful."

Growing up in Indiana, Jefferies used to go to her grandfather Richard Watts' gigs. He played both the clarinet and the sax. Her mom, Sandra Benedict, also played the clarinet.

Jefferies didn't believe she wanted to follow in their footsteps, even though she loved music. She had her heart set on playing the drums.

Then, at the age of 9, she came home one day to find a clarinet sitting on the kitchen table with her name on it.

"I was forced into it," she said. "But my mother said both she and my grandfather could teach me to play (the clarinet). I wasn't happy, but I took to it. It was just ... me."

A year later, she picked up a saxophone, which took over as her favorite instrument.

"I play more sax now," she said. "I love the sound. It's the cherry on top top of my sundae."

Besides playing with the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble, she also plays with The Gravel Road band, which performs at many Sarasota venues.

She also volunteers to teach students music at several middle schools in Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice and Nokomis.

Unlike the start of her own musical career, in which she was pushed toward the clarinet, Jefferies said she enjoys helping students pick their instruments.

"There is so much that goes into it," she said.

She began volunteering to teach music in retirement because she wanted to give back.

"I love teaching the kids," she said. "They learn discipline and how to work with others. They learn life skills."

The reward for her is watching her students perform down the road.

"When I see them, I tear up," she said. "I feel I have made a difference."