House Concurrent Resolution 129

(As Adopted by House and Senate)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING ERNEST "SONNY" CADDEN, FORMER BAND DIRECTOR AT AMORY HIGH SCHOOL IN AMORY, MISSISSIPPI, AND CONGRATULATING HIM UPON HIS RETIREMENT.

WHEREAS, through the years, many outstanding teachers and administrators have led the Amory city schools to a level of prominence within the educational community that is second to none, and community support in Amory for school programs is both generous and unwavering, and excellence in academics, the fine arts and athletics is not only expected but has become the norm; and

WHEREAS, only 13 students were all that enrolled in the band program in the eighth grade in the Fall of 1970 and only 54 registered for the high school band when city school superintendent, Mr. Ed Hayman, contacted Leland High School Band Director Ernest "Sonny" Cadden, an Amory native, to turn the band program around; and

WHEREAS, a 1952 Amory High School graduate, Mr. Cadden compiled an impressive record over the 14 years he served as band and choral director for the Leland schools, and his bands consistently rated superior in all categories of competition at the State Band Festival, and in 1969, Cadden was selected as one of the top ten band directors in the United States and Canada by School Musician magazine; and

WHEREAS, after interviewing with Mr. Hayman, Mr. Cadden accepted the position with the Amory schools with one condition: "I want to have my finger on everything musical in the schools," and Mr. Hayman agreed; and

WHEREAS, during his first year in Amory, Mr. Cadden taught the sixth, seventh and eighth grade bands at Amory Middle School in addition to band and chorus at Amory High School, beginning seven years of hard work and dedication, and the results were indeed spectacular when, by 1974, Amory's State Band Festival competition scores had increased dramatically, from the threes and fours received in 1971, to all ones in 1974, and by 1977, the AHS band membership had increased to 132 students, and even more impressive, the 1973 and 1977 Amory High School Bands received Most Outstanding in Class Awards at the Tri-State Band Festival in Enid, Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, when you talk to Mr. Cadden's former students, they seldom mention the awards and accolades their bands received, but instead, they speak of what Mr. Cadden meant to them, and one former band member recently reminisced, "Mr. Cadden was tough, demanding and a perfectionist, but he believed in us and made us believe in ourselves. He commanded our respect, and in return, he respected us all."; and

WHEREAS, in 1977, Ernest Cadden left Amory High School and retired from the active ranks of band directors to pursue opportunities within the business community, and with his wife, Margaret, and their three children, Lee, Carl and Dollie, he began a successful career in the private sector, relocating to Selmer, Tennessee, then to Forest, Mississippi, in 1989, before returning to Amory in 2002; and

WHEREAS, four-time Concert Director of the Mississippi Lions All-State Band and a member of the Mississippi Bandmaster's Hall of Fame, Mr. Cadden left an indelible imprint upon the field of music education in Mississippi, and perhaps no greater tribute can be paid him than to say that Ernest "Sonny" Cadden embodies and exemplifies the best qualities and characteristics for which the word "teacher" stands; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend those impressive individuals, such as Ernest Cadden, who have given great devotion to teaching the youth of the State of Mississippi, who are its future:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Ernest "Sonny" Cadden, former Band Director at Amory High School in Amory, Mississippi, and congratulate him upon his retirement, and extend sincere wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Ernest Cadden and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.