AHS Band members and Color Guard students geared up and spread out to cover AHS territory one house at a time during their annual Tag Day today. This year, dedicated students raised $16,640 in funds by going door to door asking for tax-deductible donations for the AHS Band Department.

“For the band, we have a wide variety of fundraisers, but tag day is our biggest fundraiser of all time. It usually when we make the most money,” band director Adam Hilkert said.

The Band Department uses this money to pay for their trips, equipment, music, and new uniforms. Funds also support this year’s Marching Atom’s performance, Music of the Night, which, starting this year, the Marching Atoms will perform at national level performances.

Students worked all day, meeting at the school at 8:15 a.m. and not returning until approximately 6:00 p.m.

“[Tag Day] is a lot of work because its like seven hours but it’s kind of fun just walking around with your friends, so it can be fun,” sophomore Katherine Schaedel said.

However, the students’ hard work is essential for the band program. According to a letter about Tag Day on www.anandalebands.org, “Tag Day provides almost half of the band budget for the entire year.”

“Tag Day was definitely a success,” Hilkert said. “We had a very good turnout of students and we made more money than last year, so that’s always great.”

While Tag Day itself is now over, you can still donate to the AHS Band Department by mail or on their website, http://www.annandalebands.org.