BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University students Megan Francomb and Andrew Tobin will become part of history as they march in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade on January 20, when President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office.
The two will be playing for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, an independent corps out of Dubuque, Iowa. The Armed Forces Inaugural Committee notified the Colts in December that their application to be part of the parade, one of a record number submitted, was accepted by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
“I cannot wait to be there,” said Tobin, an Illinois Wesleyan junior who plays the baritone for the Colts. “This is something I will be telling my children and grandchildren about for years to come.”
Francomb, an Illinois Wesleyan first-year student who plays the cymbals for the Colts, says it will be a “surreal” experience. “This is the first time I could vote, and I will be playing in the Inaugural Parade for the man I voted for. Never did I think that could happen.” Both of Francomb’s sisters are also in the Colts, and will join her in the parade. “We all started playing together, and all of us going to Washington, D.C. together makes it all the more exciting,” she said.