By Fancy Robbins
She went from being on a team with just 12 girls to leading a new one with 104 students.
Senior Lillie Grismore left golf behind to pursue being the lead drum major for Delta’s band. She had to make the difficult decision between two of her hobbies that she had done for years.
“Golf is something that I can do even when I’m not on a team anymore and band is a high school and college thing,” Grismore said.
Being the drum major means you lead the band. She conducts, oversees everything, runs practices, and helps during band camp in the summer to prepare for the upcoming year.
She doesn’t actually play the drums, despite it being in the title.
Grismore has played the piano since she was 5 years old. She also plays the mellophone, French horn, trumpet and trombone.
Being a multi-purpose musician put her in an excellent position to become the lead drum major.
The band director, Mr. Zach Enos, personally wanted Grismore to apply to become the drum major for her senior year.
“Lillie has a very good ear and often hears problems and issues that most others, and sometimes even myself, are unaware of,” Enos said.
She has the ability to move to different sections of the band if Mr. Enos thinks the band would sound better if she were there.
This past football season, Grismore conducted the band during the games, along with other drum majors Sabrina Cheek and Delaney Garner.
During the halftime shows, she stands in front of the crowd and conducts.
“I like the feeling of everybody looking at me up there,” Grismore said. “I don’t know if that’s weird; it’s an in-the-spotlight thing.”
Grismore is known in the band for being a great role model. She gets along with everyone, Mr. Enos says. She brings a calming maturity to the band, which has more than 40 freshmen.
Senior Hollis Klinger has been with Grismore all steps of the way. They’ve been in the band together since they were in sixth grade and played golf together from seventh grade until Grismore made the decision to stop playing after her junior season.
“She is precise and driven and it has reflected very positively on our band,” Klinger said.
Due to being in the band and playing golf together for so long, they’ve created a close bond.
During the 2022-23 girls’ golf season, the team went to the IHSAA State Finals for the first time in school history. At that time, Grismore had no idea what was in store for her senior year.
She then received an application to become a drum major and thought about it, then decided that quitting golf would be the best option for her senior year.
“I miss having something that I had to go to every single day and keep me on a schedule, but I knew it was the best decision for me,” Grismore said.
In the future, she’s thinking about going to Indiana University in Bloomington or Ball State University.
No matter where she goes to school, she plans to try out for their band and remain a part of a team.
