The little band girl

Displaying some of the bracelets she makes for the band, Emme poses with a couple of band members during a March-a-thon.

courtesy of Adriane Benton

Displaying some of the bracelets she makes for the band, Emme poses with a couple of band members during a March-a-thon.

Emme Benton stands out at football games. Often found hanging out with the school’s band, Emme is one their most loyal and affectionate fans, having fallen in love with marching and music ever since one of band’s March-A-Thon events in her neighborhood.

Sitting in her stroller, Emme Benton displays the first sign she made for the band.
courtesy of Adriane Benton
Sitting in her stroller, Emme Benton displays the first sign she made for the band.

“I made them a sign,” Emme said of her earliest memories of the band. “Then I made them a sign this summer, and they remembered my name!”

Just 5-years-old, Emme has been going to games for years to watch the band perform and awards members who she thinks are working hard with her special Emme Award bracelets that she created with her brother, William.

Emme began making bracelets as a form of therapy to improve her hand-eye coordination, which is affected by her condition, hyperopia, a vision condition that causes nearby by objects to be blurry.

“ I asked her who she was making the bracelets for and she said the band,” Emme’s mother Adriane Benton said. “Keeping in mind that there are 200 plus band members we decided we would make them into the ‘Emmes’.”

Whether the football is at Toyota Stadium or Memorial Stadium, odds are Emme Benton will be there holding up a sign or cheering on her favorite marching band.
courtesy of Adriane Benton
Whether the football is at Toyota Stadium or Memorial Stadium, odds are Emme Benton will be there holding up a sign or cheering on her favorite marching band.

Band members reciprocate Emme’s adoration with lots of hugs, high fives, and even marching and directing lessons.

“I know that a lot of [band members] really do love her,” Drum Major Jenna Heflin said. “It’s really fun getting to put a lot of the spotlight on her and [she makes us] feel like the stars of the show.”

Benton said she is thankful the band allows Emme to pursue these passions.

“The band has had a great influence on her,” Benton said. “She really loves pretending to play instruments at home and she loves to sing,”

The kind of interest Emme has shown is exactly what band has hoped to achieve in holding events like March-A-Thon.

Although she is too young to be an official part of the marching band, Emme has been welcomed as an unofficial member.
courtesy of Adriane Benton
Although she is too young to be an official part of the marching band, Emme has been welcomed as an unofficial member.

Weaver believes she brings out the best in the students and inspires them.

“As much as older people inspire younger people, I think it might backwards,” Weaver said. “Her being around brings out a better us.”

Emme’s mother said that she’s thankful for the oppurtunities band has given Emme and thinks she’ll continue in her new-found interest.

“The band has shown her a great way to express herself,” Adriane Benton said. “I am sure when she gets old enough she will officially be part of the band in some way or another.”