MABEN — Music and athletics are often thought of as “extras” but at East Webster High School they’re essentials. At least two coaches are an integral part of the school: Jesse Yates, the band director, and Jon Ginn, the basketball coach. Both have been at the school for three years.
Yates, originally from Kosciusko, directs the East Webster Marching Wolverine Band, a competition band that has only been in existence for seven years. And the last two years, it won the Division 2A State Championship for its performance.
“Band adds a lot to the school,” Yates said. “It teaches students to strive individually for excellence while also teaching them to work toward goals and responsibility. At work you might not like who sits next to you, but you still have to work together to accomplish a goal. The same holds true of band.”
Yates began performing at age 9. His dad was a singer in nightclubs and honky-tonks, so it came naturally to him. For the last 20 years he has worked with a Nashville performer, Jo-El Sonnier.
The music is Cajun-style and Yates plays piano by ear for Sonnier’s group. Two of the best-known songs from the ’80s and ’90s are “Tear Stained Letter “and “No More One More Time.” Yates tours with the group when he’s not working with the school.
He played saxophone at Mississippi State University in the marching band and he’s taught in both private and public schools in Mississippi.
“We try to find the right instrument for each student who wants to be in the band,” Yates explained. “It’s not always foolproof, but it works pretty well.” The 82-member band and its trophies are proof of that.
Ginn: singing coach
Ginn, whose family is from Tishomingo County, went to high school and started college in Virginia. His dad was a coach in the Tishomingo County area until his parents felt the call to ministry and moved the family to New Orleans so that both parents could attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
His dad started a church in Virginia and that’s how Ginn became a high school marching band student in Virginia. He completed his college work at Mississippi College, where he played basketball. He also met his wife there, completing the circle to Mississippi.
Ginn helps with Hope Church in Tupelo currently and fills in at other churches as needed. He led music there at one time, and fills in from time to time there and at other churches. He sang with a quartet called Four plus One (the four singers plus God).
They were working on a new arrangement of the national anthem when 9-11 occurred. His church, as did many others, held special services that night and they premiered their arrangement. Since then, they have sung at Mississippi State and Ole Miss athletic events, and opened the NCAA Tournament with their music.
Last year, Ginn filled in as chorus director; this year, he’s back to physical education, health and coaching junior high boys basketball and senior high boys and girls basketball.
Community’s role
Both are comfortable at East Webster and pleased that their careers have brought them together there.
“It’s an old-school feel,” Ginn explained. “When we moved from Pontotoc, my son became a senior here. I was pleased that he came to a school that still did the pledge and a prayer, and I’m proud that he graduated from East Webster.”
Both cite the community and parental involvement in the school as a major asset.
“There’s more to this school than reading and writing, it’s about the welfare of the student. Getting to know them from grade six through 12 is great,” they agree.
The facility, which was rebuilt after the 2011 tornado, rivals that of many 4A-level schools.
“And just come to the gym on any Friday or Saturday night when we’re playing ball,” Ginn said. “The community is there. It’s very much a part of the school and its goals.”
Principal Corey Stidham agrees.
“The school is focused on regaining its A level, which it missed by 20 points last year. Both students and teachers keep that 20 points in mind every day as they work to improve,” he said.
Teachers like Ginn and Yates help them move forward.
Located at the old Cumberland High School, the school enrolls 511 students and houses grades 6-12. Kindergarten through fifth-graders attend East Webster Elementary in Mathiston.
