Two talented band leaders will be inducted into the Four States Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame Saturday at the conclusion of the organization's annual convention and clinic.
During his time at L-EMS and also during his previous 16 years as band director with the Stephen, Ark., School District where he began his career, Utsey was a role model and father figure to many. His daughter, Lisa Hill, who teaches music at L-E Primary, said it was truly an honor for her father's legacy to be remembered in this fashion.
"It was his calling," she said. "It was the love of when (the students) got it-when that light came on or when they were making the music or when they went to contests. My father was a competitor." She added that rarely did the award-winning L-EMS band get a score less than excellent while under his direction.
Utsey, who died in 2008, was known to wear distinctive hats and shiny shoes, always polished, and to be especially punctual, Hill said. She said he had many memorable sayings he would pass along to his students throughout the years, one being "To be on time is to be ahead of time." Another was "You've got to be better than good."
"There's always going to be someone better than you, he'd say, but if you know inside that you've given your all, you've done the best you can that you worked hard, you're still a winner," Hill said. "You may not actually get that trophy or get that superior rating right then, but you're a winner inside because you know what you've done."
Hill said her only regret was not being able to see her father accept the honor.
"With this award, my dad's living truly has not been in vain because he has touched so many lives," she said. "Everything that he taught us, everything that he said to us every day, in some kind of way, has an effect on us-a positive effect."
Meggs created the jazz program at UA-Monticello in 2007 and directs the university's jazz band. He performs across the nation and has shared the stage with the Glen Miller Orchestra, The Four Tops, Conway Twitty, Mickey Gilley, and The Temptations, among others. He has also been a guest artist with the 8th Air Force Jazz Band and the Air Force Band of the West and was director of the 531st Air Force Jazz Band while serving in the military. He is retired from the 106th Army Band.
He holds a Bachelor and a Master in music education.
A concert by the Four States Honor Band will follow the induction ceremony. The event is free and open to the public.