2011 Season Information

Tentative Rehearsal Schedule
Tuesday and Thursdays @ LMS Choir Room
2:45-4:30 (HS will start at 3:00)

Fridays @ LMS Gym
MS --> 6:00-8:00 (Middle school will start Fridays in January)
HS --> 6:00-11:00

Tentative Competition Schedule
Sat 1/29/11 @ Reeths-Puffer HS
Sat 2/19/11 @ West Bloomfield HS
Sat 3/12/11 @ Lowell High School :)
Sun 3/13/11 @ Reeths-Puffer HS
Sat 3/26/11 @ Troy Athens HS
Sat 4/02/11 MCGC Championships @SVSU

Dues for 2011
Almost Home $125.00 + $50 in Ad Sales for Home Show Program
Exit 52 $250.00 + $100 in Ad Sales for Home Show Program

Time to Celebrate! Final Cut!

The new and final date for our celebration will be Saturday, April 24 from 1:00 pm to 4:00ish pm. All information found in the original Celebration statement is correct so please make sure you read through that posting and RSVP ASAP. I understand that this date isn't going to work for everyone and my apologies for this in advance, next season we will set the date in the beginning so that we can avoid any conflicts and have all members present to celebrate your hard work and efforts. Thanks for a great season everyone!

End of the Season Celebration has been postponed! Please continue to check the site for more information.

End of the season celebration!

Exit 52 and Almost Home end of the year celebration will be held this Sunday, April 18 at Lowell Lanes. The celebration will begin at 1:00 and last until approximately 4:00 pm. Bowling will be from 1:00 to 3:00 with pizza, coaches gifts and festivities immediately following in the dining area.

The guard will cover the cost for each of the 17 members and one parent per family. Additional family members are more than welcome for $10 each. This cost covers 2 hours of bowling, shoes, unlimited soft drinks and pizza dinner following our bowling time. This payment can be made at the bowling alley, but I will need to know the number of additional family members ASAP so that Lowell Lanes knows how many people to expect and how much pizza to have.

As mentioned at dinner technology is available so that we may view any videos, cd's etc. If memory serves me Amanda volunteered to put together any pictures others were willing to send her so that we may view the fabulous memories of the season. Please get your photo's to Amanda.

Coaches donations. I have collected funds from a few families while we were in Saginaw, I know there is a time crunch and not having practice makes it a little difficult to collect prior to our event but.....If each family could give their money to Brianna at school this week or drop off your $20 contribution to the Middle School that would be very helpful.

RSVP is a MUST: Please email me (Diane Heikkila) at either dheikkila@lowellschools.com or dmheikki@aol.com with the number of family members that will be attending on Sunday. Please list the subject as "guard" so that I will recognize your response.

Any comments, questions and/or suggestions are welcome. Thank you all for your time and efforts this season!

Signed, GMGW 1 & 2
Guard moms gone wild! Stacey and Diane

Almost Home Brings Home the Gold!

Saginaw, MI
March 27, 2010

2010 Almost Home --> Be OK From Left to Right: Back Row: Robert Becker, Keith Burns, Sharon MacDermaid, Sarah Mundwiler Front Row: Emily Mundwiler, Rachael Yomtoob, Mackenzie Bush, Ciera Bowden, Riley Breimayer.

2010 Exit 52 --> Fireflies
From Left to Right:
Back Row: Lindsey Schuller, Keith Burns, Sharon MacDermaid
3rd Row: Karen Mae Wesolek, Kayla Blough, Amanda Wilson, Sarah Mundwiler.
2nd Row: Rachel Phelps, Alison Huffman, Nicole Bagin, Danielle Bagin, Bree Heikkila
Front Row: Kayleigh Davies, Robert Becker, Jodi Carvill


The Michigan Color Guard Circuit held its 35rd annual championship competition at Saginaw Valley State University on Saturday, March 27, 2008. Two local guards were on hand to compete for top honors.

Exit 52, consisting of 12 members from Lowell High School and Almost Home, consisting of 5 members from Lowell Middle School. Both came to SVSU for the MCGC championships event with high hopes of winning big. Exit 52 is in its 4th year of competition in the MCGC and performed their 2010 program Fireflies set to the music of Owl City. The show opened with a flag solo by Robert Becker and a full guard dance section followed by the entire guard on flag. Exit 52 featured their rifle line in the middle section of the show and included a partner feature with the flag line and the rifle line. The last section of the show featured the entire guard on impressive gold flags. Six of the flags contained hidden gold and neon green confetti which was thrown out of the flags during the final flag feature which represented fireflies. As the confetti fell to the floor, the show concluded with a flag solo by Sarah Mundwiler who ended the show holding a jar of light up fireflies. The guard received an excellent crowd response and had a great ending to their 2010 competition season.

Almost Home is in their 3rd year of competition and performed to the song, Be OK by Ingrid Michaelson. Almost Home had a strong regular season and had their best performance of the year on Saturday. The show featured soloists Rachael Yomtoob and Emily Mundwiler and was a crowd favorite all season. Almost Home was the 2008 Flag Line Class Champion. They went into the Championships event in 2nd place putting them in medal contention again this year. At the awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon Exit 52 placed 4th in AA Class competing against 12 guards. It was a very close finish with just over 2 points between 1st and 4th place. Almost Home returned the title of Flag Line Class Champions to Lowell by once again placing 1st at the MCGC Championships.

All of the students involved in Exit 52 and Almost home have worked for countless hours on these programs and deserve kudos for all of their hard work and dedication.

Exit 52 and Almost Home are under the Direction of Sharon MacDermaid. The Staff of Exit 52 also includes, Karen Mae Wesolek, Lindsey Schueller, Keith Burns and Brian Liwak. The Staff of Almost Home also includes Keith Burns and Junior Staff Members Robert Becker and Sarah Mundwiler.


Thanks you all for your support during our 2010 competition season.

Full Scores from the MCGC Championships are available for download from the MCGC Guard Scores Link

Championships Update

The MCGC CHampionship Schedule is now available for download on the MCGC site.
Follow this link (MCGC Guard Championships Schedule) for details.

The game plan at this point is to meeting in the Hotel Lobby at 8:45am on Saturday so we can get to unit check in around 9:00am. Almost Home will need to be ready to perform with their uniforms on and their make up done. Exit 52 will need to be presentable but not in uniform or show makeup.
Almost Home performs at 10:21. Their awards are at 3:17. :)

Exit 52 will need to head back to the hotel to get ready and should be ready in uniform and full makeup at the 1st awards ceremony at 3:17. We will meet in the turf room at 4:15 to begin our warm up. All Exit 52 members should bring a beach towel with them to sit on in case it is nice enough to stretch outside.
Exit 52 performs at 5:25 and their awards are at 8:45. :)

Mae performs with Interplay World at 8:35 pm.

Diane Heikkila is getting the goodie bags together for the kids and is organizing the group dinner on Friday night. More info on that soon.

It's hard to believe this season is coming to an end. I am very proud of both of our guards and I am looking forward to a wonderful weekend at SVSU.

Grand Blanc Contest Results

This past weekend Exit 52 & Almost Home traveled to Grand Blanc for their final regular season contest of the 2010 competition season. Both groups had outstanding performances and I could not be more proud of a group of kids than I am of all of them right now.

Exit 52 placed 2nd again this week which has then ranked 2nd in the state in their class going into Championships this weekend. Almost Home placed 3rd but it was sure a close one with only 0.5 points between 2nd and 3rd. Almost Home is now ranked 3rd heading into Championships.

Scores from Our Classes. . .

Flag Line
1 Reeths-Puffer Cadets Green 89.00
2 Reeths-Puffer Cadets White 87.80
3 Almost Home 87.30
4 Marysville Junior Flagline 74.50

AA
1 Lake Shore Aria 73.40
2 Exit 52 71.50
3 Inspiration 70.90
4 Maumee Winter Guard 68.80
5 Reeths-Puffer JV Winterguard 68.20
6 Troy High Winter Guard 67.50
7 Troy Athens Alias Winterguard 65.30
8 Godwin Heights Color Guard 64.30
9 Mount Pleasant High School Winter Guard 64.20
10 LHS Mystique 58.60

Both groups will be traveling to Saginaw on Friday to compete on Saturday at Saginaw Valley State University and are both in medal contention being ranked 2nd and 3rd.

Advance discount tickets for MCGC Championships

This weekend is the last weekend to purchase advance discount tickets for MCGC Championships.

Advanced Ticket Prices are as follows:
Individual ticket prices are $10.00
Family packet of (4) for $35.00.

Tickets are available at the MCGC Merchandise booth at both the Grand Blanc and Milford shows.

Reeths-Puffer Contest Results

Once again, congratulations are in order for both Exit 52 and Almost Home after a strong showing at the Reeths-Puffer contest on Saturday, March 13, 2010.

Almost Home has their best performance of the season and brought home well deserved 1st place honors.
Flag Line Class Results
1^st Almost Home 73.20
2^nd Reeths-Puffer Cadets Green 67.90
3^rd Reeths-Puffer Cadets White 66.70
4^th Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders 66.30
Exit 52 had a strong showing and got great crowd response with our added fireflies and "sparkles."
AA Class Results
1^st Reeths-Puffer JV Winterguard 65.60
2^nd Exit 52 63.60
3^rd Mount Pleasant High School Winter Guard 60.90
4^th Portage Northern 59.00
5^th Zephyros 57.10Great job to Team Lowell. Two more weeks to get out there and give it your all.

Pre-Order Your MCGC Championship Videos Today!

The MCGC has contracted a new video company, Alliance Media, to produce our Championships Videos this year. You have the opportunity to purchase MCGC Championship DVD's for significantly lower cost if you order them now compared to the price they will the day of the event.
Please take a moment to follow the link below and consider ordering your videos early. It will be one less thing to worry about the day of the even and you'll save yourself some money at the same time. :)

http://www.alliancemedia1.com/product_pages/2010mcgc.php
--> Link to pre-order MCGC Championship Videos








http://alliancemedianetwork.com/
---> Alliance Media Home Page. Get Online Access to MCGC Events and events from all over the country.

Grand Blanc Contest - Saturday 3/20

Here's the plan for the weekend of the Interplay Contest @ Grand Blanc. . .

Fri 03/19 Rehearsal at LMS for Exit 52 and Almost Home 7:00-9:30
Dress Runs @ 9:00 Invite your friends and family to come watch.

Saturday 03/20 - Contest @ Grand Blanc

---> I (Mrs. Mac) need to be at the contest when it starts at 11:00 so I will be leaving early Saturday morning. Those wishing to carpool should meet at LMS same as always so you can travel together. There is no rest stop built into this trip since it is less than 2 hours. Please eat before you leave or bring a bag lunch to eat on the way, or plan on eat at the concession stand once you arrive. :)

• Depart LMS @ 11:45
• Arrive Grand Blanc @ 1:30
• Almost Home Performs @ 3:00
• Exit 52 Performs @ 6:14
• Awards 8:52
  
  

Reeths-Puffer Contest - Saturday 3/13

Here's the plan for this weekend. . .

Fri 03/12 Rehearsal at LMS for Exit 52 and Almost Home 7:00-9:30
Dress Runs @ 9:00 Invite your friends and family to come watch.

Saturday 03/13 - Contest @ Reeths-Puffer

• Depart LMS @ 1:30
• Arrive Reeths-Puffer 2:40
• Almost Home Performs @ 4:10
• Exit 52 Performs @ 6:05
• Awards 6:37

West Bloom field Show Results

The Lowell Winter Guards performed their 2010 Programs Fireflies (Exit 52) and BE OK (Almost Home) at West Bloomfield with two strong finishes. Congratulations to all the performers. :)

Exit 52 placed 1st out of 6 guards with another strong performance with a score of 65.10

AA

1	Exit 52	65.10
2	Reeths-Puffer JV Winterguard	64.00
3	Godwin Heights Color Guard	63.40
4	Troy High Winter Guard	62.70
5	Troy Athens Alias Winterguard	60.70
6	Storm	54.40

Almost Home placed 2nd out of 6 guards and also had an impressive 2nd place finish with a score of 57.80

Flag Line
1 Reeths-Puffer Cadets Green 64.00 2 Almost Home 57.80 3 Reeths-Puffer Cadets White 54.00 4 Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders 52.20 5 Impact 47.50 6 Marysville Junior Flagline 46.00

A complete list of scores is available at the MCGC website at the link below:
West Bloomfield Show Scores

Championships Program Ad Information

For anyone interested in purchasing ad space for a booster ad in the MCGC Championships program here some information and a link to the ad sales form.

Attention All Guard and Drum Line Units!
The Michigan Color Guard Circuit Championship Competition is fast approaching and this year will be held on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, 2010.
We would like to give your unit opportunity to show your pride and hard work to all the people who come and enjoy the music, dancing, marching, and competition with a Unit ad in the MCGC
Championship program.
The Heritage High School Music Boosters is creating and selling the 2010 MCGC Championship
programs. We would like to offer your unit space in the program. Each participating unit will have their standard information listed in the Unit Information Pages. This is about a 1/4 of a page at no charge. The optional ad purchase would allow your unit to create and say anything you would like about your unit, show, season, parents, instructors, etc. The unit ads are half the price of the business ads!

Unit Program Advertising Pricing
Description Size Price
One Quarter Page Portrait, B/W or Grayscale 5”H x 3¾”W $25.00
One Half Page Landscape, B/W or Grayscale 5”h x 7½”W $50.00
Inside Full Page Portrait, B/W or Grayscale 10”H x 7½”W $75.00

West Bloomfield Show

Show Highlights. . .
4:26 PM Almost Home
6:49 PM Exit 52
7:12 PM Interplay A ---> Including Exit 52 Alumni Dakota Bunn
7:58 PM Interplay World ---> Including our very own Mae!
8:08 PM End/Awards

All guard members are responsible for arranging transportation to and from the contest site. Members should bring money for concessions for dinner. Parent drivers may choose to stop to eat on the way home but should make sure that all members riding with them are aware of the stop ahead of time so they will have money to get something to eat. :)

Unless you have a staff badge, for being a chairperson of a committee, all drivers and spectators will be responsible for paying their own admission to the contest. Admission prices are usually around $7-$8 per person.

We will be leaving Lowell Middle School at 12:00 noon. Provided that there is no bad weather we should be able to make a lunch stop in Howell at M-59 (it's tradition now right?) and still make it to the school with plenty of time to get Almost Home settled in an into warm up. :)

So. . . here's the plan:
12:00 Depart LMS
---> 750 Foreman St, Lowell, MI 49331 - (616) 987-2800
1:30 Arrive Howell McDonalds (Exit 133)
--->1360 N Burkhart Rd, Howell, MI 48855 - (517) 548-5348
2:00 Depart McDonald's
3:00 Arrive West Bloomfield High School
--->(4925 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI 48323 - (248) 865-6720)

Link to Map

MCGC Scholarship Application

Any guard member interested in applying for an MCGC scholarship should download the application asap. Applications are due March 1st. If you have any questions about the application please let me know.

Link to scholarship application

Congratulations!

The Lowell Winter Guards debuted their 2010 Programs Fireflies (Exit 52) and BE OK (Almost Home) with two 1st place finishes. Congratulations to all the performers and many thanks to all the parents, family members and friends who came out to help work the event on Saturday. It was a huge success and we couldn't have done it without all of you.

Exit 52 placed 1st out of 5 guards with a strong opening season score of 56.50

AA
1	Exit 52	56.50
2	Reeths-Puffer JV Winterguard	54.50
3	Mount Pleasant High School Winter Guard	52.50
4	Zephyros	49.20
5	Portage Northern	47.20

Almost Home placed 1st out of 4 guards and also had an impressive opening season score with a 69.80

Flag Line
1	Almost Home	69.80
2	Reeths-Puffer Cadets Green	66.00
3	Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders	64.20
4	Reeths-Puffer Cadets White	62.00

A complete list of scores is available at the MCGC website at the link below:
Exit 52 Home Show Scores

Exit 52 Schedule

Tentative Rehearsal Schedule
(Monday & Thursday Rehearsals are from 5:30-9:00 at Unity HS. Fridays are at LMS as noted.)
Fri 01/29 7:00-9:30 @ LHS(w/ Almost Home)
Sat 01/30 Home Show @ Lowell High School(Members report to LHS at 11:00am for set up and rehearsal)

Mon 02/01 Thur 02/04
Mon 02/08 Thur 02/11* No Rehearsal --> (Pre-Festival Concert)
Mon 02/15* Thur 02/18


Fri 02/19 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ AH)
Sat 02/20 Contest @ West Bloomfield

Mon 02/22 Thur 02/25

Mon 03/01 Thur 03/04
Mon 03/08 Thur 03/11


Fri 03/12 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ AH)
Sat 03/13 Contest @ Reeths Puffer


Mon 03/15 Thur 03/18


Fri 03/19 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ AH)
Sat 03/20 Contest @ Grand Blanc

Mon 03/22 Thur 03/25
Sat 03/27 Championships @ SVSU

For the most current information please check the website ( http://www.exit52.blogspot.com/ )
*Please note the changes. Because of the Pre-Festival Concert causing me to cancel rehearsal on Thursday 2/11 we WILL be holding rehearsal on Monday 2/15 instead. Please make the change in your calendars

Almost Home Schedule

Tentative Rehearsal Schedule
(Tue & Thurs Rehearsals are from 2:45-4:15 in the LHS Band Room. Fridays are at LMS as noted.)

Fri 01/29 7:00-9:30 @ LHS (w/ Exit 52)
Sat 01/30 Home Show @ Lowell High School
(Members report to LHS at 11:00am for set up and rehearsal)

Tue 02/02 Thur 02/04
Tue 02/09 Thur 02/11
Tue 02/16 No Rehearsal Thur 02/18

Fri 02/19 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ Exit 52)
Sat 02/20 Contest @ West Bloomfield

Tue 02/23 Thur 02/25
Tue 03/02 Thur 03/04
Tue 03/09 Thur 03/11

Fri 03/12 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ Exit 52)
Sat 03/13 Contest @ Reeths Puffer

Tue 03/16 Thur 03/18

Fri 03/19 7:00-9:30 @ LMS (w/ Exit 52)
Sat 03/20 Contest @ Grand Blanc

Tue 03/23 Thur 03/25

Sat 03/27 Championships @ SVSU

Home Show Update

Friday - 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Both Guards - Set up and rehearsal at LHS

Saturday - 11:00am
Both Guards - Report to LHS for More Set up and rehearsal.

At this point, Sunday Jan 24 we are still in desperate need of volunteers, especially guides for the guards and drum lines. Any person with a basic understanding of the layout of LHS who can commit to being at the HS for a 3-4 hour block of time can be a guide. There are still many other volunteer positions that need to be filled as well. Please get on the wiki (http://exit52.pbworks.com/Home%20Show%20Volunteer%20Sign%20Up%20-%20%28All%20Times%20Are%20Tentative%29) and get signed up asap.
If the positions are not filled by by Tuesday I will be reassigning the current volunteers so that there may be only one person per location. Without more help I really have no other choice.

-Mac

Home Show Schedule Posted

To see the Home Show Schedule please follow this link ---> MCGC Show Schedule

Highlights of the Schedule are. . .
3:15 Start Time
5:42 Percussion Awards
6:42 Almost Home Performs
9:06 Exit 52 Performs
10:30 Guard Awards