Officer tryouts for the 2010-2011 Buccadears were held on Monday, April 19, 2010, and the following were selected:  Captain: Lesley Valastro; Line Officers: Jasta Alicie, Janae Alleman, Mattie Edwards, Abbey Johnson, and Emily McKnight. Social Officers:  Sadie Long and Taylor Thurman. 
 

Tryouts for the 2010-2011 Buccadears were held on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the old high school gym. The following students were selected:  Abbey Johnson, Alaina Potter, Amy Bertrand, Calli Wilcox, Ciara Starcke, Emily McKnight, Emily Neuman, Janae' Alleman, Jasta Alicie, Jordan Horger, Kaitlyn Bennett, Kelbi Duree, Lesley Valastro, Mattie Edwards, Nichole Mayeux, Patricia Paniagua, Sadie Long, Shelby Spencer, Skyler Drake, Tage Helm, Taylor Thurman, Aisha White, and Samantha Gobert.

Officer tryouts will be held on Monday, April 19, 2010, and the following are eligible to try out: Abbey Johnson, Emily McKnight, Emily Neuman, Janae Alleman, Jasta Alice, Lesley Valastro, Mattie Edwards, Nichole Mayeux, Sadie Long, and Taylor Thurman.
 

The ECHS Buccadear drill team held its annual Buccadear Bash on Monday, May 17, 2010,  in the new gymnasium. Attendees were entertained by the Faculty vs. Seniors basketball game, a dodgeball tournament, both high school and middle school drill teams, and  select elementary talent show participants. A silent auction was held with various auction items, and concessions were available for sale.

In addition to auction items provided by drill team members, some items were donated:  EC Washer Boards: donated by Rip Matthews and purchased by Phillip Hallmark; Astros Tickets: Donated by Cook Parker Accounting Firm and purchased by Taylor Wilcox; A&M/UT lounge chairs and coolers: donated by Matthews Family and purchased by A&M Aggies and Eric Adamson.

Special thanks also go to Mike Milligan and Brad Crone for officiating at the basketball game, as well as EC faculty and coaches, EC talent show acts, Elementary  StuCo, and JH dance team and sponsors.

Tryouts for the 2009-2010 Buccadears were held on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, and the following members were selected:  Abbey Johnson, Aisha White, Autumn Scott, Charmaine Comeaux, Chelsea Vayon, Ciara Starcke, Emily McKnight, Emily Neuman, Janae’ Alleman, Jasta Alicie, Jordan Horger, Kaci Bull, Lesley Valastro, Mattie Edwards, Nichole Mayeux, Paige Miller, Patricia Paniagua, Sadie Long, Shelby Franzen, and Taylor Thurman.

The Buccadears traveled to Dallas to perform in the Comerica Bank New Year's Parade, as well as halftime at the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Comerica Bank New Year's Parade is one of the largest holiday celebrations in the Great Southwest. Held annually in conjunction with the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, the event attracts tens of thousands of spectators to downtown Dallas.

In addition to the university bands, parade entries included high school bands and drill teams from across the country, more than 25 floats, the world-famous Kilgore College Rangerettes, and specialty units and equestrians.

The AT&T Cotton Bowl and Samsung Communications joined efforts to produce the  halftime show at the Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State bowl competition. The university  bands, the Rangerettes, as well as a finale that included high school marching units and drill teams were showcased during the halftime with over 100,000 spectators watching.
 

Officers that attended camp included Shelby Franzen, Lesley Valastro, Chelsea Vayon, Kaci Bull, Paige Miller,  Mattie Edwards, and Abbey Johnson as seen in the photo.

The East Chambers Buccadear drill team just completed a busy, but successful camp, band and football performance season and now is “super busy” planning participation in many exciting upcoming events. The Buccadears just recently served as Santa’s Helpers at the annual community Christmas in the Park. Following that, after several weeks of practice, the team will travel north to Dallas during the Christmas holidays to participate in the Cotton Bowl Parade and Cotton Bowl football game which will be held at the new Dallas Cowboy stadium in Arlington on January 2. The parade, pre-game and halftime performances are scheduled to be televised and will feature the Buccadears as well as other drill team members from across America.

Upon return to school in January, the drill team will host their annual clinic on Saturday, January 9, which is open to ages PreK through 8th grade. At the clinic, the participants will learn a dance routine that will be performed at the annual Follies. More information and registration form for the clinic are available at this link or you may call 296-8180 during school hours.

The annual Follies, which will be held on Monday, January 18, will feature dance and a variety of entertainment. The event will be staged at 7:00 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Tickets are now on sale for $5.00 and can be purchased from any drill team member. The theme this year is KICKER 201.0 and will take everyone on a trip down memory lane listening to their favorite radio hits.

The community should be extremely proud of this hard working group of young ladies. While at Danceline summer camp this past summer, they received all blue ribbons, the highest possible score and a Super Sweepstakes trophy was earned by both social and line officers. They were also recognized for having the Best Interview. Several of the members earned the distinction of making the Elite Dance Team and will be traveling to perform at San Antonio Sea World and Walt Disney World in Orlando. Elite members are Chelsea Vayon, Kaci Bull, Shelby Franzen, Lesley Valastro, Abbey Johnson, Mattie Edwards, Sadie Long, Jasta Alicie, Janae Alleman, Jordan Horger, Taylor Thurman, Emily McKnight, and Emily Neuman.

2008-2009 Buccadear Drill Team Members

Tryouts for the 2008-2009 Buccadear Drill Team were held on Saturday, April 5, 2008. The following girls were selected as a result of tryouts:  Abbey Johnson, Aisha White, Autumn Scott, Camarie Kear, Cara Higginbotham, Charmaine Comeaux, Chelsea Vayon, Courtney Joseph, Emily McKnight, Jamee King, Janae' Alleman, Jasta Alicie, Jordan Daniel, Kaci Bull, Katie Schmidt, Kelsey Finn, Lesley Valastro, Mattie Edwards, Paige Miller, Patricia Paniagua, Sadie Long, Samantha Gobert, Seirra Malveaux, Shaena Oldham, Shelby Franzen, and Tamera Beasley. Aurora Martinez is manager.

The annual East Chambers Buccadears' Follies was presented on Monday night, January 12, 2009, to a sold-out crowd. Attendees were taken on a "magic" bus ride through decades of music and dances. The night's program was emceed by Cole Hoffpauir, Tanner LeBlanc, and Keaton East. Special guest appearances were made by The Lollipop Guild, "Tina Turner," and "Ryan Seacrest." Drill team clinic participants performed from pre-k through 8th grade, as well as Buccadear members and officers, the junior high drill team, and cheer squads.  Drill team sponsors are Mrs. Kathy Hill and Mrs. Melissa Kelley. View slideshow (11:15).

The multifaceted performance also included a Santa flying high above the crowd, childhood dreams coming true in the Nutcracker, as well as being touched as the true meaning of Christmas was brought to life with the awe-inspiring Living Nativity.

The East Chambers High School Drill Team, the Buccadears, conducted a private line camp from July 31 through August 2, 2008, at the EC Junior High Gym. During the course of the week, dancers learned five dance routines and participated in numerous unity games and activities. At the conclusion of camp, the members performed the learned routines for their families and friends and awards were presented by the Danceline Camp instructors, Chelsea Davidson and Emma Schaaf.

Members selected to the Danceline Elite and extended invitations to perform at Disney World and New York were Shaena Oldham, Kelsey Finn, Paige Miller, Chelsea Vayon, Kaci Bull, Lesley Valastro, Shelby Franzen, Jordan Daniel, Janae Alleman, Jamee King, Abbey Johnson, Katie Schmidt, Aisha White, Tamara Beasley, Autumn Scott, Samantha Gobert and Patricia Paniagua.

Jasta Alicie, Charmaine Comeaux, Shelby Franzen, Janae Alleman, and Patricia Paniagua were recognized for their outstanding performances in routines learned at the camp. Individual honors were awarded to the following members: Best Smile-Chelsea Vayon and Shaena Oldham, Best Effort-Sadie Long, Outstanding Toe Touch-Courtney Joseph, Best Kick Technique-Jordan Daniel, Respect Award-Kelsey Finn, and Kindness Award—Lesley Valastro. Janae Alleman was selected by her peers as the Most Outstanding Line Member.

The drill team is looking forward to performing at pep rallies, football games, the Texas Rice Festival and their annual follies to be held on January 12. The members would like to express gratitude to their families, school, and community for their continued support.

The East Chambers Buccadear Drill Team's annual follies were performed before one of the largest crowds to date on Monday night, January 14, 2008.  This year's theme was "Who Stole the Show?" which lead attendees on a hunt from China to Hawaii looking for the missing drill team. Hosted by emcees Paul Trammell, Kendall Barrrow, and Vance McDonald, the follies showcased performances by drill team clinic participants from all grades, little dribbler's participants, the junior high and high school drill teams, as well as former Buccadears.

The production included the traditional slideshow to the drill team parents, as well as a pre-performance slideshow, and a senior slideshow. Upon conclusion of the performances, drill team members were honored, as well as the sponsors.  Graduating seniors include: Jara Vanya, Halee Thompson, Lana Rayburn, LaKendra Patrick, Lanee Oliver, and one other senior. Selected "Ideal Buccadear" was Shaena Oldham, and inducted into the "Kick Your Hat Off" club was Lesley Valastro. Sponsors are Kathy Hill and Melissa Kelley.

Also a special thanks to Brad Crone and Kelly Touchet who served as referees, EC faculty members, elementary talent, and drill team members and parents, as well as all participants.

Each year the East Chambers Buccadears host a drill team clinic which is attended by young ladies from preschool through junior high. Participants learn a variety of kicks, commands, and routines.

Parents, family, and friends are always invited for "Show Off" where they are entertained with dance routines by all age groups in attendance.  Individual awards are given to each participant ranging from best kick to best smile.