“We were overwhelmed,” Bertram said when asked about the donations.
He said $104,000 was received from private donors, $50,000 from the Ohio Department of Development, $10,000 from the city of Middletown and $10,000 from Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones out of his campaign fund.
“Vice President-elect Vance’s rise to national leadership is inspiring and a truly significant achievement,” Assistant City Manager Nathan Cahall has said. “It is an honor for the city of Middletown to contribute to the band’s trip to celebrate this milestone. A celebration of Vance’s inauguration is a celebration of Middletown.”
Vance, 40, a 2003 Middletown High School graduate, invited the Middies to march in the Inauguration Parade soon after the election.
The inauguration starts at noon Jan. 20 on the steps of the United States Capitol. Vice President-elect Vance will become the first vice president from Middletown. He will be the third vice president born in Ohio, but the other two born here represented other states in politics.
The parade starts at 2 p.m. Jan. 20. MHS Principal Carmella Cotter called performing in the parade a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience and a learning opportunity for the students.
“We are so excited, absolutely thrilled,” Cotter told the Journal-News. “We want to show him (Vance) how proud we are that someone from Middletown, someone part of the Middie family, that he’s going to be vice president.”
MHS Band Director David Leisten said about 160 people — members of the band, cheerleaders, staff and adult chaperones — will take charter buses to Washington. The buses will be escorted by three Middletown police cruises and two Butler County Sheriff Deputy vehicles.
The buses will depart the high school at 6 a.m. Jan. 19, then arrive in Fairfax, Va., about 10 hours later, he said. Besides marching in the parade, the students, staff and chaperones are expected to tour some monuments and visit Arlington Cemetery, he said.
“What a great opportunity for the students,” said Leisten, in his 23rd season as band director. He is assisted by Amy Hoevel.
Numerous Butler County dignitaries are expected to attend the inauguration, including Butler County Treasurer Nancy Nix, Ohio Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester Twp., state Rep. Thomas Hall, R- Madison Twp. and others.
Nix, who plans to attend all the ceremonies in Washington, has supported Vance throughout his political career and she and her husband hosted a fundraiser when Vance was running for U.S. Senate.
“A Middletown boy is about to be the next vice president of the United States,” she said. “What could be more exciting?”
Hall said he wants to be in Washington to “witness history for our area, our state and our country.”
When asked about having a vice president from Middletown, Hall said Vance’s upbringing made him into the person he is today.
“He’s just a kid from Middletown whose roots grounded him into the leader he has become,” Hall said.
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