In Memoriam – A D.C. Legend Goes Home

LEGEND

The word ‘Legend’ is tossed around a LOT these days; There are folks that attain ‘legendary’ status for being good at a specific thing. Of course, there are folks out there that become ‘legends’ not just by there accomplishments and actions, but through the lives they change and the people they touch on a daily basis. In our craft, the latter definition of the word carries a special meaning for those a Band Director touches. It’s the ultimate gift that a man (or woman) in that position of mentorship and authority can pass on to the young minds under their watch.

Mr. Lloyd Wallace Hoover was a Band Director, a husband, and a father, that MET that legendary criteria with room to spare. Whether it was overseeing the students in Shaw Junior High’s (D.C.) storied band program, or single-handedly carrying the banner for the Marching Band Program at the University of the District of Columbia, Mr. Hoover’s specialty was challenging and cultivating young and talented people to attain excellence. If you set foot into his bandroom, you’d better be prepared to work and work hard. If you weren’t about the business of putting in that work, you’d be exposed quickly. It was that adherence to a set standard that made the Marching Firebird program as successful as it was, IN SPITE of the limitations placed upon it by the lack of a real operating budget, or an Athletic Department to really draw from. Mr. Hoover would often cover the financial gap himself for operating costs, whether it meant coming out of his own pocket, organizing fundraising for new uniforms, instruments, etc. Mr. Hoover turned maximizing the resources available to him into an art form as a director. That mentality showed in the ensembles he put on the parade grounds or in the field. They were tenacious; There wasn’t an opponent too big to show up. Since there wasn’t a football program to draw on. We did our damage at every parade, every homecoming invite, or BOTB we had the blessing of being invited to.

Pretty soon, UDC got the reputation of being a program you DIDN’T want to invite to your homecoming or event if you were half-stepping. That reputation that was built during Mr. Hoover’s tenure there would follow the program for the duration of it’s existence, and become the stuff of legend after the program ceased to exist.

For all of the miracle-working Mr. Hoover was responsible for between the hashmarks, He was an infinitely GREATER influence as a mentor, a father-figure, and a grade-A human being. As a band director, he understood many of the challenges outside of the bandroom that the kids under his care faced. The programs he ran were lifelines for kids that needed that one outlet to pour their focus, heart, and positive energy into. He was as engaging a personality with his students as he was demanding. Not many people have that type of gift to give. Mr. Hoover not only gave that blessing to others, but he instilled the same ethos and identity into an entire generation of young minds, who in turn have become directors, musicians, educators, and mentors in their own right.

Before I was part of the Marching Hornet family at Alabama State, I was a proud Marching Firebird. Before that, I was a high school student in a music program in PG county that hadn’t had much exposure to marching band, much less the craft as HBCU’s do it. I was class mates with his son Wesley at the time. Mr. Hoover invited me to sit in on a UDC practice to see if I liked it. The rest was history (for me) after that. I’m writing columns and loving everything about the craft because of that exposure.

As Mr. Hoover is laid to rest today, I can’t help but think about just how well of an example he set as a Band Director, a Father, and a Man. His life’s success is measured by the lives he touched for the better. If I can reflect on my life at the end, and know that I helped influence even a fraction of the lives that Mr. Hoover (and those like him) touched, I’d leave this plane of existence a content and happy soul. We should ALL strive to have THAT type of impact in people’s lives.