John Gardner

19 yrs experience as a high school band director. 14 yrs as college adjunct faculty. 30+ yrs in the fundraising industry and 24 yrs as a small business owner. (Don't add all those up.). Experience in both the fundraising sales and education worlds give me a unique combination of perspectives in both. I love working with the youthful enthusiasm of today's teenage achievers and with those who work with them. Also 6yrs as proprietor of VirtualMusicOffice.com, which offers a wide variety of virtual services including web/blog design/hosting/managing, social media management (scheduling posts/tweets for maximum impact and brand enhancement) and small business consulting - specializing in school product fundraising.

Tariffs and Markets

Personal experience /
I am NOT an economist, and neither are most of the people crying on here about tariffs and the stock market. I see it too …. and have been advised multiple times in the past by my financial advisor to “ride the storm and you’ll be okay”.
The markets have never been a flat line and have never been a solid, unbroken incline. In the last 5 years, my accounts have INCREASED about 60%. Put that next to the @5% recent drop.
Since 2009, which is as far back as my account program will allow, the bottom line has increased nearly 500%, yes, nearly 5x. Again, the recent drop, while hurtful, is not going back anywhere near where I have been in my balances.
The diagram is from MY ACCOUNT, not something I found randomly on the Internet. I’m intentionally not showing the dollars, but you can see the ups and downs, but relative increase over the last 15 years.
Other recent quotes that I find interesting:
“If tariffs are so bad, why do all these other countries have them?”
In earlier US history, up until they were replaced by income taxes in the early 1900s, the USA used tariffs to raise revenue and to protect the young, new manufacturing businesses on the East Coast. Here is a link to that article: https://time.com/7268866/history-of-tariffs-trump/
A whole list of links posted for a recent “Unbiased Politics” podcast at: (scroll down on the page) https://www.jordanismylawyer.com/episodes/april32025
And below an interesting post from Eric Trump.

Tariffs and Markets Read More »

I almost quit. My time being the New Guy

Leave a Comment / Personal experience, Respect /

It is Sunday 1 of a pastorless Sunday at my church. The prior Sunday was the last one for a pastor and his wife who moved back to their home state of Alabama to minister in a larger church. In the meantime, my church will use deacons and others to fill the pulpit. 

Following is a near transcription of the first six-minute introduction. In the process of asking, “What will it be like for the new guy?”, I share my experience being the new guy in my first teaching experience.

It’s June, 1976, and I’m the new band director standing in front of my high school band for the first time getting ready for the big annual 4th of July parade in the thriving metropolis of Pekin, Indiana. Population 1000. 

It didn’t take long after I got there for me to discover that I was going to have a major problem. I took the band outside and began to line them up. 

“I want the trumpets on the front row, shoulder to shoulder.”

A hand goes up.

“Mr. Gardner, Mr. [Name] always lined the trumpets up 4 steps behind the percussion.”

And so it went, section by section as I was placing them, with each one telling me what I was doing the same as or different from the guy who was there before.

Later in the summer, we go to band camp where we learn our marching band show and I hear,

“This is not the way we did it last year. This isn’t the way we’ve done this before. This is too different.”

We go on our first band trip and I hear from the parents,

“Last year, they were allowed to get out of their uniforms after their performance and you’re going to make them sit there, in uniform, and watch their competition?”

From my principal on my first teacher evaluation,

“The former guy had a tighter grip on discipline than you have.”

At the State competition, which was our next to last contest I heard this;

“Last year we got 7th in the state and this year we only got 8th. And last year we won 1st Place at a contest and this year the best we’ve done, so far, is 2nd.”

I was about ready to quit because it just never stopped. Over and over again I kept hearing about last year and last year’s guy and the way they had done it before…until we went to the last contest. 

That first year, somehow we managed to squeak by and we got a 1st Place trophy. But it was not until that trophy that the attitude there began to change….to,

“Maybe, just maybe, you know a little bit about what you’re doing.”

I’m going to tell you something statistical, to make a point.

Joan and I were at that school, well, I was there four years, she was there three.

Our fourth year there, we had nearly 25% of the student body in the music program. That would be like a 500 member band at [Local School].

And that last year we won 27 First Place trophies [and caption awards].

But I was almost a total failure there because nobody would give me a chance. All I could do was be compared to what was there before. 

And so, this morning when I ask the question, “What’s it going to be like for the new guy?”, I’m speaking to you as someone who has been the new guy.

Here we are on Sunday 1 of a pastorless condition. 

Hopefully, it won’t be this way for too long, but the shortest time it can possibly be will be about a month to a month and a half – if we vote on “the new guy” next week. 

It will be a difficult time for us. We feel a sense of personal loss. We became attached to [outgoing pastor and wife]. They became our friends…and they’re gone…and we’ll miss ‘em, and that hurts some. 

Some people might feel a little bit of anger. “How could they possibly desert us?” 

What will it be like with the new guy? Will he yell and scream from the pulpit? Will he talk football like Bro [name] did?

It will be a revealing time and we will find out who comes to this church because of the fellowship, who comes to this church for worship, and who comes to this church for the pastor.

What will it be like for the new guy? What kind of church will he find when he gets here?

….

I’m here this morning to take a look at two places in Scripture where there was a New Testament Church that lost a leader…..

As we consider these two churches through the writings of the Apostle Paul, who in both cases, was the leader who left, I want to ask you to consider some things……

[short list]

….and which one is closer to the way we are here at Huntington Baptist?

If you read this post and would like to hear their entire 20-minute sermon, it is a private video available upon request.

Also, I will be adding this story to the EHS setion of my “Stories Through My Ages” book.

I almost quit. My time being the New Guy Read More »

Are public schools receiving less in Indiana due to SB1

College Prep, Family, High Schools, News and Happenings, Personal experience, Social Media, Teaching /
With all the publicity of public schools receiving less due to Indiana SB1, I started doing a non-scientific comparison between 2000 (one of my sons graduated in 1999 and the other in 2001) and current. Some lists show current as 2023, 2024 or projected 2025. I did not cite each of these numbers as they come from multiple sources and, in some cases, sources differ on exact numbers. ALSO, I emailed questions to my state Representative and state Senator. I have heard back from one of them. Once I hear from both, I’ll share.
Originally for my own information, I compared some of the local and state data I was finding with the near west-coast school (K-12) my grandkids attend (I will refer to as Private School A) and an east-coast boarding school (9-12) where one of my sons is a teacher, coach and admin (Private School B).

No fancy graphs or editorials ….just FYI. Some numbers don’t seem to “add up”, so feel free to note or correct discrepancies.

HUNTINGTON COUNTY POPULATION

2000 – 38079
2023 – 36781
Decrease 1298 or 3.4%

HCCSC

2000 – 6548 students
2025 – 4916 students
Decrease of 1632 or 25%

HNHS POPULATION

2000 – @2000 students
2025 – @1400 students
Decrease of 600 or 30%
Size of administration increases (?) – below

SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN HUNTINGTON COUNTY

2000 – 8885 (6548 in HCCSC = 73%)
2025 – 8000 (4916 in HCCSC = 61%)
Decrease in student population 885
Decrease in HCCSC participation 1632 or 12%
According to HCCSC published material, 15% of students within our boundaries (@1200) choose alternate options. This compares favorably with other systems in our area. Alternate options would be schools outside our boundaries, online education, home schooling, private schools inside or outside our boundaries, and others.
Class Size 15:1 – favorable, comparable to most data I found in a variety of school types
Govt money per student = $9876 x 4916 (student population) = $48,550,416

GRADUATION

2021 – 471 students
2024 – 307 students
Decrease of 164 graduates
HN Graduation 89%. State average – 88%
Private School A – no data.
Private School B – “nearly 100%”

SAT SCORES

HNHS – 1140 (better than national and state averages)
National – 1040
Indiana – 971
Private School A – 1270 (1081 state avg)
Private School B – 1446 (1112 state avg)
Duke University & UPenn (Son #2 attended) – 1550 & 1540
IU – 1310
Purdue – 1330
Notre Dame – 1500
Ball State – 1177
PFW – 1080

HUNTINGTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

1 – Principal
4 – Assistant Principals
1 – Dean
1 – Athletic Director
1 – CTE (Career & Technical Education) Director
5 – Guidance Counselors
? – Administrative Assistants (one source said 9)
1 – Resource Officer (Total of 3? in the corporation)

HCCSC ADMINISTRATION (aka Corporation Office)

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
Superintendent
Executive Secretary
CFO
COO
INSTRUCTIONAL SERVICES
Director of Elementary Education
Director of Secondary Education
Administrative Assistant for Secondary Education
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Assistant to Executive Secretary / Receptionist
Deputy Treasurer & Grants Specialist
Corporation Treasurer
Accounts Payable / Receivable
Payroll Specialist
HUMAN RESOURCES
Director of Human Resources, Payroll / Human Resources
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Principal High Ability Coordinator
Professional Development Coordinator
Assistant Principal Professional Development Coordinator
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Director of Special Education
Assistant Director of Special Education
Administrative Assistant for Special Education
Interpreter
2 – Speech Language Pathologist
Occupational Therapist
Early Childhood Coordinator
Consulting Teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Director of Marketing & Communications

Are public schools receiving less in Indiana due to SB1 Read More »

Air Tags and Find Me: A Personal Experience

Personal experience /

A mildly disappointing purchase, but a net positive. (Details in the pic captions).

When you move as slowly as I do and discover as you’re stepping into the detached garage car that you don’t have your keys, it can cause a moderate delay.

Joan has been traveling frequently. The only way I know how she is doing on the road is when she turns the car off and the State Farm Drive App registers where she stopped, not progress in real-time.

We took advantage of a sale price to order Air Tags for my keys and Joan.

When we set them up, we discovered that the “Find Me” app we already had would do most of what we wanted, with the correct settings.

The disappointment is that, for my keys, it doesn’t tell me whether they are in the Living Room or the Kitchen….just that they are at this address. Well, duh.

In contrast, and what I thought we were getting, is the find-me part of my hearing aids. I see where they are in relation to my phone and not only that they are at this address but also what part of the house they are in. If I hold the phone closer to one of them, that location changes to “very near.” I wanted that for my keys.

 

Still, it is good to have them. Actually, I bought a 4-pack. If you have Air Tags, where else (besides your dog’s collar) do you use them?

Air Tags and Find Me: A Personal Experience Read More »

The Beast at Daytona

News and Happenings, Personal experience, Teaching /
A few years ago, I made a post expressing pride in the success of many of the students from my first teaching position in a small rural school in southern Indiana. I think I said something about being humbled to have been (maybe) a small part of their success.
Cadillac at Daytona 500 Trump at Daytona
I got a really nice note from one of those students who shared a story about something he learned from me that has influenced his life lessons in management. He is now a Senior VP at General Motors.
He posted pics from celebrating the Cadillac racecar … and also the Cadillac Beast, which took a couple laps. I’m including a video (not from him) that shows the lap. Part is boring, but you can hear crowd noise, see two flyovers and how the racecars lined up behind The Beast (and the SS entourage, of course).
Great publicity.

The Beast at Daytona Read More »

Changing to Gulf of America is expensive

Communication, Respect, Social Media, Social Media /
Pres Trump announcing the name change to Gulf of America while flying over the Gulf.

I just read and responded to a post about the “cost” ($1+B, according to the writer) for changing the name to Gulf of America. This isn’t meant to be a complete argument, but tell me where I’m wrong (or right)…… kindly, please.

* “Gulf of Mexico” first appeared on maps in 1550. The USA didn’t exist.
* Renamed to Gulf of “America”, NOT “of USA”.
* Mexico is considered to be a country in “North America”. So, appropriate and not a slam against another country.
* 67 million people in USA in states touched by the gulf, vs 16 million in Mexico.
* 5 US States touched by the gulf.
I could have lived with “Mexico”, but feel your argument is based solely on WHO made the change. For example(s)…..

MILITARY BASE NAME CHANGES IN 2023

Fort Barfoot, VA (formerly Fort Pickett) was renamed March 24, 2023
Fort Novosel, AL(formerly Fort Rucker) was renamed April 10, 2023.
Fort Gregg-Adams, VA (formerly Fort Lee) was renamed April 27, 2023.
Fort Cavazos, TX (formerly Fort Hood) was renamed May 9, 2023.
Fort Moore, GA (formerly Fort Benning) was renamed May 11, 2023.
Fort Liberty, NC (formerly Fort Bragg) was renamed June 2, 2023.
Fort Johnson, LA (formerly Fort Polk) was renamed June 13, 2023.
Fort Walker, VA (formerly Fort A.P. Hill) was renamed August 28, 2023.

We (taxpayers) pay every time someone moves in/out of the White House or any office in Congress. We pay to duplicate Air Force One, fly triplicate helicopters and duplicate Beasts.

We changed maps, globes and textbooks when the Berlin Wall came down or the U.S.S.R. fell apart.
With this cost-to-change argument, we could never replace a school, update highways, move airports (Indy) or anything of the such.
What say YOU?

Changing to Gulf of America is expensive Read More »

Response to a friend supporting DEI

Respect, Social Media /
Several programs that have come/gone in my lifetime had noble ideas and, at least in theory, attempted to make the world a better place. We needed something like “AFFIRMATIVE ACTION”, but when my white son working toward a PhD in African-American Literature is told by his Ivy League university that he will not be placed until after every non-white person is placed…. that is discrimination in reverse and just as wrong.
My Fire Chief father was told to hire people of color. When he said he hired from those who passed the tests, he was instructed to re-write the tests — twice. He eventually DID hire the first black (who became a life-long friend). He told me about their first interaction after the hire and I wrote about that in my book … perhaps I’ll share that in a different post, because it taught ME a life lesson.
Dad was also ordered to hire the first woman firefighter for his mid-sized city department. His focus was on ensuring that those he sent into burning buildings understood how fire worked and/or could carry an unconscious person out of the building or down the ladder. That is merit-based hiring, right?
Merit-based hiring vs. affirmative action hiring in professional sports is also interesting, but a topic for another day.
“NO “CHILD LEFT BEHIND” sounded great, until the emphasis on standardized testing rewarded teaching to the test…. Before I retired as a hs teacher, to keep my job, get top evaluations and receive pay increases, I had to prove that every student learned something. The way to do that was to give a really difficult starting test, teach to that test and show a better score at the end of the semester. My argument that a concert in front of an audience was proof of learning was unacceptable. So, I would use tests on rhythms and definitions that would show individual scores. A student shouted out in class, “We need to do poorly on this one.” They understood the game. We still did concerts.
Who remembers “CORE-40”? Or “WEIGHTED GRADES”? We lost students from the music programs because an advanced biology class would count more for a GPA, an Academic Honors Diploma or Valedictorian status (which is being done away with in many schools). So many diplomas. A current proposal in this state is to return to one basic diploma with “seals” for extra qualifications.
The core words of DEI are good. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are all good things. My polio-surviving mother got her job without it, however. I would support it until we start hammering that students in elementary schools are either oppressors or oppressed, or that we can’t hire or promote a better qualified white male until we have equaled the numbers.
We should not overreact to every mention of a program, but some kind of adjustment is needed. Not to worry; there will be a new program coming at us.

Response to a friend supporting DEI Read More »

Be a Gold digger.

Assistant Directing, College Prep, High Schools, Music Performance, News and Happenings, Solo Prep, Teaching, Teaching Music /

Solo/Ensemble season is here. Vocal is local and starts tomorrow. Instrumental for local musicians starts next Saturday. If you get District GOLD, you qualify for STATE.

Every participant is a winner. What other activity (maybe shooting free throws in a ball game) requires someone to stand in front of a person with the job of (usually) finding their every mistake?

Be GOLD diggers.

Be a Gold digger. Read More »

Happy Birthday to a former boss

Assistant Directing, Marching Band, Music Department, News and Happenings, Personal experience, Respect, Social Media /

Happy Birthday to a former boss Read More »

Solo Judges Sheet from 53 years ago – The Story

Leave a Comment / High Schools, Music Performance, Personal experience, Solo Prep, Storytelling, Teaching, Teaching Music /

Allow me to share the story behind the performance and the rating from this 53-yr old piece of falling-apart paper.


Throughout high school, Robert Roden was my clarinet teacher. I was the first chair clarinet at Holmes HS in Covington, KY. He also taught the first chair clarinet student from Simon Kenton (where he was Band Director) and at Campbell County HS. We were all in the same grade and had been competing with each other throughout high school when it came to District and All State ensembles.

For Solo Contest senior year HE GAVE ALL THREE OF US THE SAME SOLO!

It was a crazy difficult Theme and Variations on “Au Clair de la Lune”.

It created quite a stir as it became a bragging rights contest between the three bands.

When the schedule came out, I was third to go.

Pressure.

The first girl went – got a “I” (Superior) Rating. The room was fairly full with mostly students from her school.

More pressure.

The second girl went – got a “I” (Superior) Rating. Again, the room was fairly full.

Pressure cooker.

When I went, there were students from all three schools who couldn’t even all get into the room.

The piece is structured with a theme, piano interlude, variation, interlude, variation, etc.

The judge was Earl Thomas, clarinet professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He knew me well as I had studied with him four summers at the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp at EKU.

As I am ready to begin, Thomas says,

Mr. Gardner, I don’t think I have ever heard this piece performed at the high school level and this is the third time I am hearing it today.

(I explain we three had the same teacher).

Well sir, since I have already heard this piece twice, can we just cut out the piano interludes? Just play each section, pause, and go on to the next.

For those who know me, I hope you would agree that my biggest strength is technique while my biggest challenges are endurance (and nerves). I could play fast, but I really needed those breaks. GONE.

I got so worried about losing the interlude breaks that I forgot to get nervous about performing….. I always wondered if, knowing me, he did that on purpose just to see how I’d respond.

At the end of my performance, HE STOOD UP FOR ME …. and then gave me the highest rating of the three. Yay!

Solo Judges Sheet from 53 years ago – The Story Read More »