My brother's band was involved in a bus accident about a month ago. I decided to record the story and talk about the special competition they were in a few days after it happened.

CREDITS:

- "My Personal Favorites v.1" template set by Denise Beatty (altered a bit)
- "Play The Game" by Chelle's Creations
- "4th Hour Music" by DeCrow Designs
- "The Bright Side" some recoloring by Britt-ish Designs
- "Ohana" by Britt-ish Designs
- Fonts: Century Gothic, Pea Kadee

Journaling Says:

On October 10, 2009 the American Fork Marching Band was traveling home from a competition in Pocatello, Idaho. The band had taken first place and the kids were all very happy. As they traveled, one of the bus drivers lost consciousness. The band advisor aboard the bus, Heather Christensen, noticed what had happened and jumped up to try and to steer the bus and regain control. The bus tipped on its side & Heather was thrown from the bus and killed. The bus nearly missed a steep embankment and no students were seriously injured. The heroism of this advisor saved the lives of these students. She gave her life for those kids.

My youngest brother Cameron was in one of the busses following the bus that crashed. Thankfully he wasn’t aboard the bus that tipped. But he, along with the entire band, was shaken & heartbroken by accident, especially by the loss of Heather.

Just 3 days later the band was scheduled to compete at the BYU Invitational. When they decided to go through with the competition, the support was overwhelming. They knew this was what Heather would have wanted. The Band’s show this year was a tribute to American War Veterans. It honors those who gave their lives for us. It was a perfect message to dedicate to Heather. They changed the ending a bit and had a special tribute to Heather with her picture and the scripture, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13.

Josh and I were able to attend the competition. It was so special. We were all moved to tears by the band’s performance. It just happened to be our 4th wedding anniversary that night, and we couldn’t have had a more special night.