[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14616-14617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                          HONORING THE LIFE OF
                             DR. JON WOODS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PATRICK J. TIBERI

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 18, 2015

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of 
Dr. Jon Woods, the long-time director of The Ohio State University 
Marching Band. He passed away on Saturday, September 12th fittingly on 
a day when so many of his former students were gathered together for 
the alumni game to perform with the current band during pre-game and 
half-time shows. I was privileged to be one of his students when I was 
a member of The Best Damn Band In The Land (TBDBITL).
  Dr. Woods grew up in Pennsylvania, studied music education, and 
received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a 
master's degree from Penn State University, and a doctorate from ``that 
school up North''--the University of Michigan. After serving 10 years 
as an associate director he became the director in 1983.
  For 28 years he led TBDBITL. He was an innovator, creating computer-
designed halftime shows that are now one of the band's trademarks. He 
led by example, quiet but firm, encouraging comradery and promoting a 
tradition of excellence. Notably, he always strove to improve the 
band's performances and inspired that drive in his students. Unusual 
among his peers, Dr. Woods was also a professor and an advisor. In 
fact, he felt his greatest legacy was his students.
  During his career his name became synonymous with the band as he 
directed shows at 35 bowl games and three presidential inaugurations. 
It was my honor to work with him to secure the band's ability to march 
in the 1989 inaugural parade for President George Bush,

[[Page 14617]]

the 2001 inaugural parade for President George W. Bush and the 2009 
inaugural parade for President Barack Obama. He said his favorite game 
was the 2002 National Championship overtime win against The University 
of Miami. Dr. Woods' greatest honor was dotting the ``I'' during his 
final season.
  A trombone player himself, Dr. Woods looked forward to retiring so he 
could be more involved in his own musical group, Trombones Plus. He was 
also looking forward to travelling with his wife, Donna and spending 
time with his children and granddaughter, Reese. While his family will 
deeply feel his loss, Dr. Woods touched countless people's lives. He 
will be missed by his students, the university, and the TBDBITL 
community.

                          ____________________