Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

12/18/06

NEWS RELEASE
Two Auburn High School Singers to Sing
with Oak Ridge Boys in Rose Parade

Auburn High School singers Thaddeus Wilson and Bailey Goranson will be singing the National Anthem alongside the Oak Ridge Boys at the Rose Parade.

Thaddeus and Bailey will represent the State of Washington on the first float of the Rose Parade, and two students from every other state have also been selected.

The National Association for Music Education (MENC) has started an effort to re-teach Americans “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The campaign launch in March 2005 followed on the heels of a Harris Poll that revealed two out of three Americans don’t know the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The MENC is sponsoring the first float in the Rose Parade, just one of the initiatives in the campaign.

Thaddeus and Bailey will travel to LA for six days and five nights. During that time, they will meet and rehearse with the 100-member student choir, a guest clinician and representatives of MENC. They will help decorate the float, record a track for the float, visit Knott’s Berry Farm, perform at Disneyland and participate in the Rose Parade festivities.

Thaddeus and Bailey are fundraising to pay for travel expenses. Kiwanis Club of the Valley donated $500 to Thaddeus and Bailey during their December 13 morning meeting.

For more information contact Amy Spence, public information officer, at (253) 931-4713.