farragutpress

‘He changed my life’

Seldon Louis Valentine remembered at FHS through a special fundraiser

December 10, 2020 by Michelle Hollenhead

Hoping to create a enduring reminder of a man who inspired generations and tripled the band program size at Farragut High School, the memory of Seldon Louis “S.L.” Valentine — beloved former band director of 11 years who died Oct. 19 — is being honored through a Marching Admirals fundraiser.

After consulting with both FHS principal Dr. John Bartlett and the school’s current interim band director Elizabeth Gott, Kim Conner Deakins, a 1989 FHS graduate who was among the last band class members to serve under Mr. Valentine all four years, started a Go Fund Me page to raise money in his honor. The goal is to purchase a band director’s podium, then address other needs with any remaining funds.

“I don’t know that he knew that, but he changed my life in a good way, and I feel like a lot of people felt that way about him in some capacity,” she said of Mr. Valentine, who directed the Marching Admirals from 1978 through 1988. “He was the best teacher I ever had, and I have a love and respect for teachers to this day that I am fairly sure came from knowing him.

“He was a very gentle soul, which is very rare in a band director,” added Deakins, who started out playing the clarinet as a freshman before switching to Color Guard her sophomore year. “Mr. Valentine observed his students and really saw them as they were, and was able to help them develop in ways we couldn’t even see ourselves.

“He could see leadership opportunities for us, for example, and also gave us a safe space where we could grow and flourish.”

Mr. Valentine came to FHS in 1978 following nine years at Gibbs High School, where he held his first band director’s job after graduating from the University of Tennessee.

At Gibbs, he made quite an impact on another student, Ron Rogers, who eventually followed in Mr. Valentine’s footsteps professionally, and almost literally, as Rogers became the new FHS director when his mentor departed from Knox County Schools Central Office as Instrumental Music supervisor in 1989.

“Mr. Valentine meant quite a lot to me,” Rogers said last week in a phone interview. “First and foremost, he was a really good person. He always wanted what was best for the person and the program, and he always put others first.”

Rogers said his professional intent was to become an architect until his sophomore year of high school. By then, he had been studying with Mr. Valentine since middle school. “But I think the way the band felt — it being a safe place and a wonderful atmosphere — I came to feel the need to create that environment for students myself,” Rogers said.

From 75 to 300 Marching Admirals

Mr. Valentine built the program, which Rogers ran for 22 years, to include more than 300 students.

“That was an incredible legacy,” said Rogers, who is planning to retire at the end of the current school year as William Blount High School’s director of bands. “Most school band programs are considered successful if they include 10 percent of a school’s population, but with what Farragut’s population was then, he had at least 15 percent participation.

“The first year, he only had about 75 students. It was as though the program was a sleeping giant, just waiting to be unleashed — and he did that,” he added.

Down through the years, Rogers maintained a friendship with his former supervisor.

“I was fortunate to spend an entire afternoon with him at his house back at the end of July,” Rogers shared in a heartfelt e-mail following Mr. Valentine’s death.

“He will be greatly missed.”

For more information, or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/sl-valentine-memorial-conductor-podium.