Marching Mizzou headed to the 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

COLUMBIA, MO -- What seemed as a typical annual banquet for Marching Mizzou, quickly turned into much more than what students expected. After the awards portion of their recent banquet, students and staff were greeted by Westley Whatley who is the creative manager of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade where he announced and congratulated Marching Mizzou for being selected to perform during the parade on November 24th, 2022. This is the first time in school history for the band to be selected to perform during the parade. From roughly 100 submitted applications, Marching Mizzou is one of three universities to have been selected to perform.. Bringing a more local perspective to this story, Phillip Brucks and Greyson Spencer are students of Marching Mizzou and are graduates of Macon R-1 High School. We reached out to Brucks and Spencer regarding their experience with the recent announcement.

Playing the sousaphone for Marching Mizzou, Phillip Brucks is a sophomore at the University of Missouri where he is majoring in mechanical engineering. He is the son of Dennis and Barbara Brucks of Macon. When asked about how Marching Mizzou got selected to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Brucks stated, "From what I understand, bands have to submit an application over a year in advance which includes footage of a field show. Macy’s has a Band Selection Committee that reviews all of the submissions." Expanding upon their experience at the banquet when their selection was announced, Brucks added that Westley Whatley presented a $10,000 check to Marching Mizzou to help cover their expenses for the trip. "This is an awesome opportunity that I never imagined I would get. I’ve watched this parade every year on TV with my family since I was a kid, and it’s really neat that I’ll get to perform in it my senior year of college. It’ll be a very unique way to experience New York City for the first time," stated Brucks when asked what this opportunity means to him.

Playing the clarinet for Marching Mizzou (M2), Greyson Spencer is a sophomore at the University of Missouri where he is a Computer Science major specializing in Cybersecurity with the IT Department. Spencer graduated Macon R-1 High School in 2019 and is the son of Jim and Susan Spencer of Macon. When asked about how Marching Mizzou got selected to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Spencer expanded on what Brucks provided above. "Marching Mizzou was selected after Dr. Knopps submitted a video of our performance in 2019 celebrating the St. Louis blues winning the Stanley Cup. I think a lot of it had to do with us garnering more national attention because of the pride within our state and the special appearance of two of the Blues players at the game," stated Spencer.

We reached out to Macon R-1 Band Instructor, Jamie Baker, former students of his being on Marching Mizzou and the opportunity they will get to have in New York City next year. "It's great to see my former students continue their instrumental music journey into college. They reap not only the financial scholarships through the music department, but they also create lifelong memories by participating in band and all the experiences these groups are able to provide for them," stated Baker.