[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 96 (Monday, June 25, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4458-S4459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PAUL L. PARETS

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of Senator 
Chris Coons, Congressman John Carney and myself in recognition of Mr. 
Paul L. Parets upon his retirement from 36 years of exemplary service 
at A.I. duPont High School as a nationally-recognized high school band 
director and 46 years as a music educator. His enthusiasm and 
leadership over the years has won him the respect of educators, 
musicians, community leaders, co-workers and students alike, and his 
passion for teaching music has inspired generations of Delawareans.
  Growing up in Michigan, Paul Parets was not raised in a musical 
family. In fact, his parents expected Paul to become a doctor. But Paul 
had a keen interest in music from an early age, and once he joined the 
band in his grade school, he was hooked. Following his graduation from 
Melvindale High School in Melvindale, MI, Paul received a Bachelor's of 
Music Education from Central Michigan University and continued his 
graduate education at the University of Michigan and the University of 
Maryland. For the first 10 years of his career, Paul led the band at 
Croswell-Lexington High School in Michigan. Fortunately for those of us 
in the First State, though, he moved to Delaware in 1976 and became the 
Band Director at A.I. duPont High School in Greenville. There, over the 
course of the next 4 decades, Paul developed one of the foremost high 
school band programs in the country.
  Under Paul's leadership, band membership rose from 90 students to 
well over 300, and from one band sprouted five: the Freshman Band, 
Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and The Tiger 
Marching Band.
  Paul's unique approach to music education has made the A.I. duPont 
band program a standout in Delaware and in America. Through a student-
elected executive board for the band, students--not teachers--are 
empowered to make major decisions about music and band activities. By 
allowing students to decide the arrangements they would like to 
perform, the drills they want to execute or the trips they want to 
take, Paul gave his band members an important opportunity to learn how 
to lead, to make decisions and to become better musicians. Paul's 
approach also expanded the prospect of band membership to every 
student--from novices to the classically-trained, from football players 
to after-school waiters--giving all Tigers exposure to the power of 
music.
  Paul once said in an interview with School Band & Orchestra Magazine 
that he has two objectives as a band director. The first is to make 
sure his students play ``some great music by some great composers.'' 
The second is that the students recognize that ``there is only one 
purpose for music, and that is to thrill people. Nobody listens to 
music that doesn't do something to them emotionally.'' And for the past 
36 years, our State--and the world--has been thrilled by Paul Parets 
and his A.I. Tigers.
  Beyond A.I. duPont and Delaware, the rest of our Nation--and other 
countries beyond our borders--began taking notice of Paul Parets and 
his talented musicians at A.I. duPont years ago. Since 1989, his bands 
have received first place awards in almost every category of every 
festival competition they have entered. Paul is the only band director, 
and his Tiger Marching Band is the only high school band outside 
California, ever to be invited to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses 
Parade an unprecedented five times: 1990, 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2008. 
The Tigers have appeared in the Orange Bowl twice, the Macy's 
Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Hall of Fame Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl twice, 
the 6ABC Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia every year since 1987 
and the inaugurations of three U.S. Presidents, the most recent being 
Barack Obama.
  Internationally, Paul's Tigers have represented the First State with 
honor at the London New Year's Day Parade seven times, the Rome New 
Year's day Parade twice, the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin 4 
times, and played for two of the world's most recognizable figures: 
Queen Elizabeth in London and Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Square. The 
talents of his bands have filled the music halls and legendary stages 
of the Ireland National Concert Hall and The Royal Albert Hall in 
London.
  Paul was named Delaware Teacher of the Year in 1987 and was a 
recipient of the Ruth M. Jewell Outstanding Music Educator Award from 
the Music Educator's National Conference at Indianapolis in 1988. In 
1989, my friend and former colleague, then-Governor Mike Castle, 
conferred on Paul the Order of the First State, as well. While Paul's 
accolades have made him legendary in the sphere of public education, 
his legacy will undoubtedly remain with the thousands of students--many 
of whom are second generation Tigers--that he has taught in his nearly 
50-year career.

[[Page S4459]]

  It is not hard to see the span of influence Paul has had on his 
students, who are now scattered across the globe. He has nearly 2,000 
Facebook friends, mainly made up of past and current students. A quick 
Internet search of his name will turn up blog post after blog post of 
former students stating that Paul--or ``Mr. Parets''--``changed my 
life,'' ``made a difference,'' and that A.I. will ``never be the same'' 
without him. I think all of us who have experienced the thrills of any 
of the A.I. duPont bands echo these sentiments. As they say at A.I., 
``You cannot hide that Tiger Pride,'' and I know I share that feeling 
of pride every time I turn on my TV and see the A.I. duPont Tigers 
marching down the streets of Pasadena, London or New York. Up and down 
Delaware, we certainly can't hide our overwhelming pride for Paul 
Parets, nor will we be able to hide our heartbreak when he is not on 
the director's podium this fall.
  Upon Paul's retirement, he will leave behind a legacy that is a 
testament to the importance of music in public education and the pure 
joy--and thrill--of music. His lessons inside and outside of the 
classroom will remain with his students, our community, and with future 
generations of A.I. duPont band members. I thank him for his 
contribution to music education and for his commitment to public 
service through years as an elected member to the Delaware City 
Council. I also thank him for the pride he has brought to the First 
State and for the generations of musicians he has nurtured--a gift that 
will give time and time again. I wish him, his children, Tim and 
Meredith, and two grandchildren, Aaron and Abigail, and the rest of his 
family only the very best in all that lies ahead for each of them. As 
we say in the Navy, ``Bravo Zulu!'' to Paul Parets. You are one of a 
kind, and we are blessed to have known you all of these years.

                          ____________________