When Dr. Johnnie Vinson became director of bands in 1985, he already had over 20 years of Auburn Band under his belt and was well aware of the rich history of the band which began in 1897. Being grateful to all those who came before, he looked for a way to foster that heritage and “bring the band back together.” The idea for an Auburn Alumni Band was not new, and there had been previous attempts that waned due to lack of continuous activity. During a pre-game reception in the band hall in 1986, there was an overwhelmingly popular response to the idea of an annual reunion. In the following year, the first annual Auburn Alumni Band Reunion was held in 1987. The first one had a huge turn out with alumni in attendance from the 1930s through the 1980s. The 2017 Reunion marks 31 years of consecutive reunions.
Average attendance is from 200-300 members but during the 100th Anniversary of the Auburn Band in 1997, we marched over 500! Attendance varies due to time of year, weather, success of the football team, etc. but there is no reason with over 4,000 living band alumni that we can’t average at least 300 attendees each year.
The foregoing is a brief history put together for our new Auburn Alumni Band website. Anyone having more detailed information on our history is encouraged to contact the board through our email address: auburnalumniband@gmail.com or write to our post office box at: P.O. Box 1155, Auburn, AL 36830.