ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — David Jordan, the recently hired assistant band director at Robertsdale High, feels he walked into a dream job when Principal Theresa Bryant offered him the assistant’s position to Band Director Robin Isherwood.

“Robertsdale High is so fortunate,” Jordan said, “because we have so much talent to work with.”

A graduate of the University of Mobile, Jordan attended the University of Montevallo as Bedsole Scholar, where he majored in music education and communication studies, which include public relations and marketing.

“After my junior year I decided to join the U.S. Army, and then switched to the National Guard, in hopes of landing one of the positions in the Guard’s band,” he said. “I ended up as a mechanic.”

Jordan credits his time spent with the Guard for teaching him self-discipline, leadership, and other skills he can take through life.

“I was working on a truck transmission one day and it slipped and hit me in the knee,” Jordan said. “That accident resulted in a medical discharge from the Guard. So I decided to go ahead and graduate from the University of Mobile since I only had a year left.”

During his time at Montevallo Jordan was named a McNair Scholar, which gave him the opportunity to do a lot of independent research into a variety of topics.

“I was born and raised in Mobile,” he said, “and attended Satsuma High School. After graduating from UM, I worked under Neal Sasser, who was a former band director at Robertsdale. I really learned a lot from him, but I’m looking forward to learning so much more.”

Jordan said he was very impressed with the student leaders within the RHS band.

“I believe our students are going to buy into our program and will do a phenomenal job,” he said. “You get the feeling that these bandsmen know how to win, as all you have to do is look around at all the trophies they, and the students before them, have won. They have a winning tradition, and I believe they know what it takes to stay on top.”

This year the Golden Bear Band will be competing against bands from Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Mississippi and Florida at the Gator Bowl. There they will march in the Gator Bowl Parade, compete against the other bands, as well as take part in a massed band half-time performance.

“Our style of band is known as a corps band,” he said, “whereas the ones from up north are show bands. We are going to have to be on top of our game, which I believe we will be, to compete at that level. The winner of the competition can receive a lot of positive recognition nationally over network television.”

So far the RHS band is up to 150 students who will be marching, and the number could grow a bit with registration.

Band Camp will be Aug. 1-5, and 8-12, he said.

“We’ll be teaching the new students how to march in addition to learning the show music and marching formations,” he said. “This year’s show will be from the Blues Brothers movie.”

The Golden Bear Band will hold its annual Play-a-thon the Saturday after Homecoming. There the community will be able to come out and buy lunches from the Band Boosters Club, hear the band, and at 4:30 p.m. watch the band perform the new half-time show.

“Once they finish, we’ll dismiss the band so that they can go home and get ready for the Homecoming Dance,” Jordan said.

The band will also be competing in the Mary G. Montgomery Competition and at T.R. Miller High. These will be two new competitions for the band, however they have been to the Deep South Band Competition at Theodore High.

“Most of the bands in the county compete at these competitions,” he said.  “RHS has won the last three years at the Deep South Competition and we think it would set this band apart if we win each of the three competitions this year.”

Robertsdale High’s tradition of excellence is something Jordan wants to continue at the school.

“When a football recruit visits the University of Alabama, or Auburn University, they are immersed with their winning traditions,” he said. “Our band has that same type of tradition. We want our students to be proud of what they, and those that came before them, have worked so hard to create.”