Governor congratulates Missouri State band

Governor Matt Blunt offered congratulations today to the Missouri State University band, under the direction of Jerry Hoover, for earning the opportunity to lead this year's Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena.
Hoover is a Lamar High School graduate. The governor's news release read:

Gov. Matt Blunt congratulates Missouri State University Pride Band for being recruited to lead the 119th Tournament of Roses parade.
"MSU Pride represented our state well in the annual parade, watched by millions in person or on television," Gov. Blunt said. "It is a great honor and a testament to the talent of MSU Pride Band that not only were they selected to participate in the Rose Bowl parade, but to lead it."
Most bands submit applications to the Tournament of Roses in hopes of being selected to participate in the parade. However, the Pride Band was recruited to participate this year by the parade president after he heard them perform in the Tournament of Roses parade in 1995.
More than 280 members marched in the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade. Since 1985, the Pride Band has been directed by Jerry Hoover. The band has been featured in the Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City (1988, 1996, 2001), the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena (1995 and 2008), and the Orange Bowl Parade in Miami (1988). The group is known throughout the nation for its sound, explosive drum line, and precision flag line.
This year Tournament of the Roses parade route covered more than five miles and boasted an estimated one million spectators. About 300 MSU fans made the trip to Pasadena to see the band in person. The band is expected to return to Springfield today