Building a Band From the Inside Out

Jonathan Breeden: [00:00:00] On this week’s episode of The Best of Johnston County Podcast, our guest is Jason Heard, the brand-new band director at the brand-new Wilsons Mills High School that opens here in Johnston County in August of 2026.

We talked to Jason about his growing up in Smithfield, his time at East Carolina, how you get a bunch of high school kids to all act and march in the same direction, how you build a culture within your band, and how you could use it to build a culture within your business, and what he’s looking forward to with the brand-new high school.

So if you’re interested in marching band, culture building, and how to do things the right way, listen in.

Welcome to another episode of Best of Johnston County, brought to you by Breeden Law Office. Our host, Jonathan Breeden, an experienced family lawyer with a deep connection to the community, is ready to take you on a journey through the area that he has called home for over 20 years. Whether it’s a deep dive into the love locals have for the county or unraveling the complexities [00:01:00] of family law, Best of Johnston County presents an authentic slice of this unique community.

Jonathan Breeden: Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Best of Johnston County podcast.

I’m your host, Jonathan Breeden, and on today’s episode, we have the brand-new Wilsons Mills High School, brand-new high school here in Johnston County, band director, Jason Heard. And many of y’all know that he was the band director at Cleveland High School from its inception until the end of the last school year.

We’re gonna talk to him a little bit about his growing up here in Johnston County. He’s worked at several of the different high schools here in Johnston County. What he tries to do with his band, how he gets teenagers to listen- … which all parents of teenagers could use. And a, a little bit about the new high school and, and their, their, their principal, Chad Jewett, and who’s gonna be going there, and his vision for the band he will build- There at Wilson’s Mills.

I think they are called the Green Wave. Green Waves. And so, we’re [00:02:00] looking forward to that. But before we get to that, we’d like to, like you to, ask you to like, follow, and subscribe to this podcast wherever you see it, whether it be on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, or any of the other social media channels, the Best Johnston County Podcast.

The Best Johnston County Podcast comes out every single Monday, and has now for over two and a half years. So go back and listen to some of our previous episodes, including with the Smithfield Selma band director, Brian Jones, most of the county commissioners, now Congressman Brad Knott the county manager, Rick Hester.

We’ve had a lot of great guests. If you love Johnston County as much as I do, this is a podcast for you. Welcome, Jason.

Jason Heard: Well, thank you for having me.

Jonathan Breeden: I’ve tried to get you to come do this- … for the last couple of years and, and now that you’re at Wilson’s Mills, you’re, you’re here and so I’m looking forward to this.

Should be an interesting conversation.

Jason Heard: Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: I’m the biggest Cleveland High School supporter in the world. And so I’ve seen your bands for, I mean, 15 years, however long- Yeah … the school, school’s been there. So anyway, but before we get into how, where they ended up, let’s talk about where are you from.

You grew up in Smithfield, I think.

Jason Heard: I grew up in [00:03:00] Smithfield, and actually I was a student at Wilson Mills Elementary. Okay. So I was a Green Wave growing up. Okay. And then went through to Smithfield Smithfield Middle School and High School. Part of music all the way through all of it. Went to East Carolina University.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, yeah.

Jason Heard: So go Pirates.

Jonathan Breeden: I know. I was gonna give you a little hard time about that.

Jason Heard: Yeah, so go Pirates. But long story short, my mom taught in the county for 30-plus years. So she was a teacher here, grew up here. She would pack me when I was sick. She’d pack me up in the car and she’d take me to Clayton High School where I would, when I was sick, and I’d sleep in the back of the room when you could do that.

So, you know, I’ve just been a part of this county and the school system forever. My first teaching job was actually at Four Oaks Middle School. And I started, I graduated in December, and started the second or third day of January.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, man,

Jason Heard: that was fast. So that was, that was a, that was a fast turnaround.

But at the end of that year, I transferred over to, to Clayton High School, which was my first high school job. I was there for five or six years, and I got married, and I decided I needed to make more money, so I spent one year in Wake County.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, I mean-

Jason Heard: Okay, just one year.

Jonathan Breeden: That’s true.

Jason Heard: So, [00:04:00] yeah,

Jonathan Breeden: the- Were, were you, you, you were not the band director at Clayton, were you?

Jason Heard: I was the band director at Clayton,

Jonathan Breeden: You were the… I didn’t know that.

Jason Heard: Okay. Yeah, from 2000 to

Jonathan Breeden: I thought you were the assistant.

Jason Heard: No, 2000 to 2006 I was the band director at Clayton.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And then I went to Wake County for a year, came back to, to Smithfield with, with Mr. Jones for three years.

This, and then when, when Cleveland opened up, it, it was a, a great opportunity to, to, to move over there with Miss Meredith and, and open up the school, and have spent the 16 wonderful years at Cleveland.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. Yeah. That’s great. Golly, I’ve, I was, we were talking before we started recording that of the OGs when the school opened, you know, y- the only one that I know that is left is Coach Capps, the athletic director.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: Because it was you, it was the football coach-

Jason Heard: Yeah …

Jonathan Breeden: and now he’s left. Yeah. And y- you know, Scott Riley.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: And it was, it really, I, I, I thought about it, and then you had the, the former athletic director, but he’s retired too.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: So it’s like, you know, like, it was sort of like y’all were the ones that were left, and now [00:05:00] it I may be wrong, but it might be Coach Capps might be the only original person left.

No,

Jason Heard: well, Miss Sauls, Miss Sauls is back, so she, you know, she was there since the inception. And,

Jonathan Breeden: okay

Jason Heard: there are a handful or two, but

Jonathan Breeden: Okay

Jason Heard: we- we’re down to single digits now.

Jonathan Breeden: Single digits. Golly.

Jason Heard: And, and that’s either through retirement or not teaching or-

Jonathan Breeden: Right …

Jason Heard: or new schools and, and, and up and moves.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. I mean, that’s, that’s wild. I mean, they have had the same principal for-

Jason Heard: Yeah …

Jonathan Breeden: at least 10 years.

Jason Heard: Yeah,

Jonathan Breeden: absolutely. So anyway, so, well, cool. so what is going to be- the same and what is gonna be different in building the Wilson’s Mills program from scratch and building the Cleveland program from scratch 16 years ago?

Jason Heard: Well, you know, 16 years ago when, when Cleveland opened up, we were pulling from one or two schools. You know, there was West Johnston that was overcrowded, South Johnston was a little overcrowded. So I could pinpoint the students that were coming to the school. Everyone, you know, the, the… Tracking down the kids was a lot easier.

I could also ride the West Johnston wave, because that’s when West Johnston had the best band in the state [00:06:00] and, and on the East Coast. They were going to Macy’s and a- all of that kind of good stuff. So I could really pinpoint the students that were coming. Now, Wilson’s Mills is a little bit different, ’cause we’re pulling from 11 different schools.

Six middle schools and five high schools, and that’s just Johnston County public schools. That’s not counting the kids from ALA or maybe Thaley. So we’re, we’re in the middle of the county, and we were pulling from everywhere.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. And so where is the new Wilson’s Mills High School?

Jason Heard: Well, if you’ve ever been to Wilson’s Mills, if, if you go over the railroad tracks and turn on Main Street, you go all the way down Main Street and you turn on Toutant Farm Road and it is really located in the middle of the beautiful Greenway fields that are…

It’s kind of off there by itself.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. So if I was going there from Clayton, how would I get there? A lot of people have never been to Wilson’s Mills

Jason Heard: Yeah, you would go

Jonathan Breeden: that listen to this podcast.

Jason Heard: I usually don’t go from Clayton. So if

Jonathan Breeden: Okay

Jason Heard: if I were going from Clayton, I would go down 70,

I would turn on 42.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: I would [00:07:00] turn down Buffalo Road.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And just keep going straight until you get to Wilson’s Mills, and it’s the road right before the railroad track.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: Which is right there near the police department, I believe.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: You turn left right there, and you take it all the way down till you can’t go anymore, and you take a left.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And you drive through the fields, and boom. It’s

Jonathan Breeden: There’s the school

Jason Heard: that beautiful

Jonathan Breeden: Right

Jason Heard: beautiful brand new school.

Jonathan Breeden: Well, and we had Adrian O’Neal with the county parks department here.

Jason Heard: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Breeden: And there is a walkway on the river there behind the school-

Jason Heard: Oh, I know

Jonathan Breeden: that’s gonna be a greenway. And I think it’s gonna be maybe a mile or two miles long-

Jason Heard: Oh, nice

Jonathan Breeden: where you’ll be able to walk or… I think it’s gonna be paved, so that means walk or ride

Jason Heard: Yeah

Jonathan Breeden: there behind the school there at the new, the new Wilson’s Mills High School. And that should be opening about the same time as the school, I believe.

Jason Heard: Nice. That’s good to know

Jonathan Breeden: Adrian was on uh, I mean, maybe eight or nine months ago now.

Right. But that was the plan when he was on. So, so it’s gonna be, gonna be a good community center- Yes … as well. So, we’ll talk a little bit more about the, about the new school here in a minute.

But [00:08:00] let’s go back to your time at Cleveland. You had tremendous success. Arguably the best band program in the state. One of the best programs probably in the Southeast. That just doesn’t happen.

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: How did that happen?

Jason Heard: Well, first of all, it’s a trusting administration who allows you to do what needs to be done to be successful and trusts you to be successful, you know? But I think it all starts with the culture and building the culture within the parents and the kids.

And I think every part of Cleveland wants to be great. just, It’s just a great community of students and kids and parents. And you know, my mom always said, “Surround yourself with good people.” And from day one, I surrounded myself with good people, whether it be people I brought in to help build that culture or to teach the students our values were aligned.

And getting the culture in place helped the band excel at an extremely fast level.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. And so what were the [00:09:00] tenets of that culture?

Jason Heard: You know, for us, because the Cleveland community, as they came in, we focus on the standard is the standard. You know, this is how a band should act, you know?

But we also talk about how this is how you should act, too. I talk about with a lot of colleagues, it’s processes before goals. Yes, we have a lot of goals, but the goals are a byproduct of everything you do to accomplish those goals. And then when those goals go away, the processes are still gonna be there and, and now you’re onto the next goal.

So although you’ve accomplished something, you still have that foundation laid to keep on moving. You know, the one thing about the band world is the students never stop working, the parents never stop working, the band, the staff never stops working. And you know, to have those processes in place, doesn’t matter if we’re doing marching band, doesn’t matter if we’re doing winter guard, winter winds, winter percussion, the processes carry over from activity to activity, which really made the whole program, you know, grow and continue to grow.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. It’s, it’s interesting. The you [00:10:00] know, the Carolina Hurricanes just won-

Jason Heard: Mm

Jonathan Breeden: Stanley Cup. I’m a big Hurricanes fan. And you know, in their locker room, off to the side of their locker room is their weight room.

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: And there’s a sign in there that says basically Our standard is the standard.

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: I- it’s, it’s on the wall.

Jason Heard: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Breeden: I think I’m right, that’s what it says.

Jason Heard: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Breeden: And you know, Rod Brenneman has a way that he wants things done.

Jason Heard: Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Breeden: And he requires a tremendous amount of work and a tremendous amount of discipline from professional hockey players- Right … that are multimillionaires.

And some players come there, and they don’t wanna work that hard. Right. You know, you had Mikko Rantanen was there for a while, and he w- he’s one of the greatest players in the world. He’s like, “I don’t wanna work that hard. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna have to play both ends. I don’t wanna have to play this man-to-man defensive system he plays.”

And he got himself traded out of there. Right. And so it’s not for everybody.

Jason Heard: Nope.

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, is that, would you say that would be the same thing about

Jason Heard: the Cleveland band? Well, yeah, I would say that’s the same thing with students, ’cause as a ninth grader, they don’t know what they’re getting into. You know, so you’ve gotta kind of teach them the, the, the Cleveland way, or what’s getting ready to be the Wilson’s Mills way.

And- Right … and this is what great bands do to be [00:11:00] successful, but this is also what great people do to be successful. And I know e- eventually there, it’s a, th- there’s a learning curve within the first few weeks. But eventually they start to see the progress and, and the accomplishment of just tiny, tiny things that they change in their behavior which, which make them operate on a, on a higher level.

And their, and their parents appreciate that too, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Well, right. I mean, because I mean, ultimately being in a band is about discipline.

Jason Heard: Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, that’s- Yeah … that, that to me, I’m, I’m, I’ve never was really in a band, but as I watch your bands and other bands- Right … and I went to Scotland High School. Right.

And Scotland High School, you know, they wear the kilts. Yeah, yeah. They’ve been in the Macy’s Parade. You know, they’re one of the top bands. I don’t know if they still are, but when I was there they got to go to the Macy’s Parade. They got, my sister was got, got a chance to march in the, march in the Philadelphia Par- Mm-hmm

Thanksgiving Parade as well. And so, you know, I, I watched that, that process of what they did. Right. [00:12:00] And it really was discipline. Right. You, you know what I mean? And my sister was a, was a Highland dancer and did the flags and- Right … and, and all of that. And, and, and, and I think that there was a discipline in how they went about doing things there that I think followed her-

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: Absolutely … into her adult life. Y- you know what I mean? I mean, is that ultimately, I mean, we’re just trying to make people better.

Jason Heard: Well,

Jonathan Breeden: absolutely. I mean, ultimately we want a good band, but really this is about making young adults better.

Jason Heard: Well, absolutely. So, so there’s a lot of personal accountability, right?

Which let’s face it, that’s we’re not all, we’re not all personally accountable. But, you know, I’m also a sports guy and I love to watch sports but, you know, you compare a band to sports. If, if you have a 300 batting average in baseball, you’re probably gonna be in the All-Star game.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah.

Jason Heard: I- if you’re shooting 40% from the, from the three, from the three-point arch, you’re probably going to be in the All-Star game.

If you’re playing 40% of your notes correctly in band, you’re probably not very good. Right. So, so everybody has to be [00:13:00] accountable and everybody has to do everything correctly all the time in order for the, the group to be successful.

Jonathan Breeden: So how, and I asked Brian Jones this when he was on a couple of years ago, how do you get 200 14 to 17 year olds to walk in the same direction?

Jason Heard: Well, it goes back to the process. Like, you know, every- everything we do from, from the way we line our instruments up, from the way we, y- the, the teaching process that, you know, it, it’s all about the process. And so that way if, if you’ve ever watched a rehearsal s- certain groups’ rehearsals there’s a process in place.

Everybody, all 200, 100 kids understand the process. This is what we’re gonna do, this is how we’re gonna do it. One thing leads to another, and then it just becomes a natural routine. And then that natural routine takes it into the performance. So everything you do in that rehearsal bleeds over into rehearsal, and it just becomes second nature at that point.

Jonathan Breeden: I gotcha. It was very expensive to be in your band.

Jason Heard: Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: There’s a lot of people that have opinions about that.

Jason Heard: Oh, [00:14:00] absolutely.

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, $1,500 a kid, I think.

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: To be in the marching band. Is that fair? Does everybody get a chance to be in the band, and is that necessary?

Jason Heard: I think it depends on what your goals are. And everybody does have an opportunity ’cause, you know, fortunately for Cleveland and most band booster programs, they have scholarships and they have ways for students to make it through even if they can’t pay, ’cause they don’t turn kids away. Nobody turns kids away. For one, it’s not educational and band should be everybody.

‘Cause if you look at most band rooms, we are truly the melting pot of the school. And it’s welcome room to everybody. I think what you don’t see when you see that price tag are all the things that you do get, ’cause there’s a lot of traveling involved in that, you know, the cost of traveling’s expensive, particularly when you’re moving that many students.

I don’t teach band alone. And there’s an incredible staff that, you know, at Cleveland we put in front of the students. And for better or worse, you pay for what you get. And the better someone is, the higher [00:15:00] their price tag is, and sometimes they price they value themselves out, and we have to move on to somebody else, and that’s okay, too.

But band is an expensive thing. And most people don’t know what goes into making a successful high school band program. You know, our band was not even on the higher end within Johnston and Wake County. And it was actually probably on par, if not right there in the middle range of what people charge around here.

But yet we were finding ways to do more with less. The other thing that people don’t see with that is the budget was much higher than what the students were actually paying. The parents at Cleveland work extremely hard and you know, it takes a village to raise a child. And the one thing about Cleveland, and I hope we can make that happen at Wilson Mills, is the village was strong.

And, and they were constantly there for their students. They were constantly raising money hosting three or four major local and regional competitions a year where s- over 60 [00:16:00] schools would attend. So, you know, I, I, I think that number is deceiving.

Okay. Yeah. I mean, I know they-

Yeah …

Jonathan Breeden: worked a concession stand at Lenovo Center- Yeah, yeah

and they work a concession stand- Yeah … at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. Right. And you know, you had the big critique every year- Yeah, absolutely … in, in September.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: And I mean, I mean, I don’t know. By the time… By… If you stay there for 14 hours, like, there’s over 1,000 kids go through that th- Absolutely

that are gonna perform that day, you know? Yeah, absolutely. I know last year’s got rained out, which was disappointing. Yeah. But, but so yeah, I mean, I know they’re, they’re raising a ton of money, but, but, but I’m glad to hear that everybody… And, and I’ve given scholarships to- Right … kids that go there when y’all call and ask me.

Mm-hmm. I’m happy for my office to be able to do that. Right. But I did wanna hear somebody say that we’re not gonna turn somebody away.

Jason Heard: No,

Jonathan Breeden: that’s right. Because that’s, that’s a lot of money, and, and I know everybody thinks everybody in Cleveland’s rich, but that is not the case.

Jason Heard: No, no, no,

Jonathan Breeden: no.

Jason Heard: No, band should be for everybody. Music should be in for everybody.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. That’s the point.

Jason Heard: Yeah. And, you know, and sometimes kids come to the band, and they’re not good for the band, but the band’s good for them. And that also goes for students who may or [00:17:00] may not be able to pay.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. I got you.

Have family law questions? Need guidance to navigate legal challenges? The compassionate team at Breeden Law Office is here to help. Visit us at www. breedenfirm. com for practical advice, resources, or to book a consultation. Remember, when life gets messy, you don’t have to face it alone.

Jonathan Breeden: So let’s talk a little bit about what’s gonna happen with Wilson’s Mills. It opens with a 9th and 10th graders.

Jason Heard: Yep.

Jonathan Breeden: You’re not, and the school at this point is not exactly sure how many kids are gonna be there, but you think it might be 600 this year?

Jason Heard: So we’re opening with 9th and 10th graders. And, you know, 10th graders and some 9th graders, depending on where their siblings are, have the option to stay at their school.

So right now, the last I heard this week, we were 560-ish.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: Which is increasing every day. All that paperwork’s still going through from all the other school and the process of the paperwork.

Jonathan Breeden: But the school’s built to hold 2,300 students?

Jason Heard: The school’s [00:18:00] built to build, I believe almost 2,300. It’s massive.

Jonathan Breeden: It’s a massive school.

Jason Heard: It’s a big school with lots of classrooms. So if you drive out there, there’s a huge three-story wing that holds all of the academic areas which is cool because branching off of that wing is the fine arts and athletic wing, which is pretty cool, which I’ve never been in a setup like that.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, that’s cool.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: That’s cool. And I mean, it’s a beautiful school. Like I would encourage everybody to follow their Facebook pages.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: I don’t know who’s doing those videos, but they’re doing a really nice job with them. And I mean, it looks like the nicest school I’ve ever seen. I mean, it really is, and it’s all green.

Jason Heard: Well, it is.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. Green. It’s green. A lot of green.

Jason Heard: So the question for you, do you know where the green wave comes from?

Jonathan Breeden: I do not know where the green wave comes from.

Jason Heard: I did not either, and I went to Wilson Mills Elementary. So the green wave comes from the agriculture blowing in the wind.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: Which creates a green wave.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, how about that?

Jason Heard: So I had no idea.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: But it’s cool ’cause when you go up into the second floor, like we’re surrounded by the fields, [00:19:00] and you can actually see the green waves go through the fields that surround the school, because it literally, we are surrounded by fields in every direction.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh my goodness. So- That’s wild …

Jason Heard: it’s beautiful.

Jonathan Breeden: So, so they’re gonna have a JV football team this year.

Jason Heard: They are, yes.

Jonathan Breeden: And they’re gonna have a JV volleyball team. I know, I know a couple

Jason Heard: Yes

Jonathan Breeden: kids that are already out there practicing for that.

Jason Heard: Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: And I guess they’re gonna have a JV men’s soccer team. I mean, basically they’re gonna try to have all the normal sports, but just have

Jason Heard: Yes

Jonathan Breeden: a JV version of it.

Jason Heard: No, well, I… And, and I could be wrong.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: They’re gonna try to do JV and varsity in every sport but football.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, okay. Okay. Well, I see.

Jason Heard: ‘Cause, so football- Okay … is the only thing that we’re not in a conference in.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And that we’ll field a JV football team. So as long as students are there to field the teams-

Jonathan Breeden: Okay …

Jason Heard: they’re gonna field the teams. As long as students show up to tryouts, they’re gonna find the coaches to field the teams.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. All right.

Jason Heard: So, right now, I, I heard this week we’ll be in the 2A conference-

Jonathan Breeden: Okay

Jason Heard: With everything but football.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. And eventually, once you have a full student body, you’ll probably end up in the conference with Cleveland and [00:20:00] Triple S and Clayton

Jason Heard: I would think so

Jonathan Breeden: more than likely.

Jason Heard: I would think so.

Jonathan Breeden: That would, that would pro- ‘Cause you’re gonna be as big as they are.

Jason Heard: Yeah, absolutely.

Jonathan Breeden: So, well, that’s cool. So what is the plan for the band? I mean, you’re gonna build this thing from scratch? I think somebody told me you’re gonna have a pep band this year.

Jason Heard: Yeah. Well, you know, this year, again, it’s kind of odd ’cause we’re coming from 11 different schools. So I said earlier, I could pinpoint the kids when they were coming to Cleveland.

This is not as easy to pinpoint because of all the different directions they’re coming from. So, you know, for me, this year is gonna be all about building the culture, supporting the community, ’cause I don’t know if you’ve met anyone from the Wilson Mills community, but it’s a very small community, but they’re a very proud community.

I met the mayor last week and some of the folks who have just been part of that community since they were born and went to the original school are just absolutely proud that this new school is happening out there. So, I kinda wanna pay it forward and give back to them.

So it’s gonna be a slower start than to Cleveland, but I think once we find the kids and once we find the [00:21:00] parents, you know, we’re gonna start out walking, but I think by probably October we’ll be able to start running a little bit.

Jonathan Breeden: I gotcha. And I know you’re hoping to maybe do a winter guard this winter.

Jason Heard: Yeah, absolutely. So my plan, you know, again, my goal is to support community, so we’ll be at the football games, we’ll be at the community events. You know, I wanna start a jazz band that, that’s gonna be out and that can go out and play for some of our sponsors and kind of, play at some of the school events that are there.

We will be starting a winter guard. We are and we are partnering with First Light Winter Guard, and I don’t know if you know anything about them, but they are, it’s a color guard for, for people to go when they graduate from high school. Their ages are from 19 to 21.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And they actually won WGI last year. So we’re kinda partnering right with them where they’re gonna kinda help us out and we’re gonna kinda help them out in return. So the, the winter guard program will be started. You know, the, the goal is to build the band parent organization so next year when we’re ready to literally take that step forward out in marching band, [00:22:00] they have the foundation from the parents.

And the parents understand the culture, and the students understand the culture and understand the expectations that come with Having a, a group that is ready to compete and ready to be successful.

Jonathan Breeden: So the point is to, right, you wanna try to build a competition band at Wilson’s Mills just like you had at Cleveland.

Jason Heard: Maybe. You know, I don’t know to that extent, ’cause I think with Cleveland at, I’m gonna say we built it from the outside in. So we started out with all the pageantry.

And then from the pageantry I had to kinda work myself into the musicianship from the inside. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. And with Wilson Mills I’m gonna build it from the inside out. Start with the musicianship, start with some of the things that kind of got glossed over at Cleveland because I was having to teach them how to march and play.

With Wilson Mills I wanna focus on the music fundamentals and really instill that culture so that way when we are ready to march, they can already play.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Jason Heard: If that makes sense.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. That does make sense. Yeah, ’cause I don’t know, I always thought the hardest part was teaching them to march band but it might be teaching them to [00:23:00] actually play the instrument .

Jason Heard: Well, you know, yeah, it’s yes. The, The answer is yes and yes. You know, the marching band is what everybody sees, you know? But the education really takes place in the classroom, and it really takes place with teaching them how to play, ’cause when it’s at the end of the day, it’s band and it’s music education.

And a lot of the times when we’re doing marching band, we have to sacrifice a lot of the music education to teach them how to march. So It’s gonna give us an opportunity to make sure they are musically sound to be ready to play.

Jonathan Breeden: All right.

Jason Heard: You know?

Jonathan Breeden: Well, that sounds exciting. Yeah. I know you need sponsorships.

Jason Heard: We do.

Jonathan Breeden: How can people reach out and sponsor, I mean, everybody the athletic department.

Jason Heard: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, they’re starting from absolute scratch, and they don’t get quite as much as you might think they get from the county to get started. But so how people could sponsor you or the athletic department or the school?

Jason Heard: Well, if you wanna sponsor the band, you can contact anybody at the school, but my email is jasonheard@johnston.k12.nc.us. We’re in the process, when we’re starting from nothing, we’re starting our band parent organization. We just got our incorporated, and we’re working on our [00:24:00] 501[c][3].

So we are truly starting from scratch from zero. So, you know, and there’s not many, there’s not many businesses or people out in the Wilson Mills areas to contact. So anybody from Johnston County who’s had a student in band, I, I met with a, a company yesterday, and it, it was a virtual meeting, and there were six of us in the meeting, and five of them had been in band before.

So, if you’ve been in band before and, and you wanna support a good cause, email me, call me at the school. We are in the process of starting the, the webpage and the Facebook page, so that information will be b- will be out.

Jonathan Breeden: All right, cool. And it’s, it’s Heard, H-E-A-R-D.

Yes. Like I heard.

Right. Yeah. Like you heard, not H-U-R-D.

Jason Heard: No. ‘

Jonathan Breeden: Cause when I went to Google and get information about you- Right … I s- I accidentally spelled your name wrong. And there is a band director in Tennessee- Yes … uh, h-U-R-D.

Jason Heard: Right.

Jonathan Breeden: You may have met him. I don’t know. Yeah. So anyway well, cool. So people can reach out to you through the email. Yes, please.

They can reach out to the school. And I mean, what excites [00:25:00] you most about this new school? I know you’re a big fan of Mr. Jewett, the new Yes … principal there. I mean, what do you think is gonna make this unique? I mean, what’s got you excited?

Jason Heard: I think I’m a musician and I’m a band director, but I think I’m also a builder.

it, And it excites me to take a new group of students and build them and shape them and educate, and the parents, of what high school band can be. And it’s different everywhere. And so that, that always excites me. We had a saying in the band when we started in Cleveland, when you go from zero to one, you’ve improved 100%.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Jason Heard: So, you know, it’s always exciting when you take a new group of students and they accomplish one little thing.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Jason Heard: And they are so excited. So, you know, between now and whenever, it’s gonna be filled with accomplishing something and realizing that you do the processes right, you’ve taken one step forward.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Jason Heard: You know, but that’s not just within the band, you know. You mentioned Mr. Jewett, and so far with the meetings and the interactions we’ve had, you can tell he’s about leadership and service, not only with his [00:26:00] teachers, but he wants to transfer that over to his students as well.

So I think the school community’s gonna be great. He’s hired some really great teachers from all over the County. You know, I’ll give Miss Melissa Pierce a a plug. She’s coming from Cleveland and she was in charge of our SGA. She was in charge of the, all of the clubs.

Like, she really was integral in building the culture inside Cleveland High School.

Jonathan Breeden: I think she’s an English teacher. Right?

Jason Heard: She is a English teacher.

Jonathan Breeden: Yes, yes. And, I know her.

Jason Heard: And she’s from Wilson, and she is incredible. And Mr. Jewett hired many teachers who played integral parts in the culture of the school, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. Well, the last question we ask everybody on this podcast, what do you love most about Johnston County?

Jason Heard: I love the people. You know, although we’re growing, we still have that small time, that small, that, that small town vibe, which, which is absolutely awesome.

Jonathan Breeden: That is. It’s awesome.

Yeah. And 98% of the people that come on this podcast do say it is the people, and that’s what I believe. Yeah. It’s why I love Johnston [00:27:00] County as much as I do. Well, let, we’d like to thank Jason Heard, the brand new band director at Wilson’s Mills High School that opens here in August in just a very short period of time.

It’s gonna be exciting to get a brand new high school. Mm-hmm. And at the same time I drove by the Clayton High School the other day, and the walls are up on the new Clayton High School. So a lot of great things happening here in Johnston County. Bu- feel free to reach out to him, support his band, support the new athletic program at that Wilson’s Mills High School and Mr. Jewett and everything they’re doing there. A lot of really good people there. I think it’s gonna be a tremendous success. I’m excited about it. They’ve been talking about Wilson’s Mills High School for probably 15 years, and for it now to get open I gotta congratulate the county commissioners and school board for everything they’ve done to get us to that point.

As we mentioned earlier, please like, follow, subscribe to this podcast wherever you see it: Apple, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, X, LinkedIn. Also tag us in your Instagram stories, Best Of Johnston County, and give us a five-star re- review down below and tell us what you like about it. Until next time, I’m your [00:28:00] host, Jonathan Breeden.

That’s the end of today’s episode of Best of Johnston County, a show brought to you by the trusted team at Breeden Law Office. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more interesting facets of this community next week. Every story, every viewpoint adds another thread to the rich tapestry of Johnston County.

If the legal aspects highlighted raised some questions, help is just around the corner at www. breedenfirm. com.