By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Helena High School band will have a uniform “different from everyone else in Shelby County” when the school opens next fall, the school’s new band director said while unveiling the uniform design during a Jan. 19 meeting with parents and students.

“We wanted to make sure they didn’t look like anyone else out there,” incoming HHS Director of Bands Jeff Burnside told a group of more than 100 parents and students at the Helena Community Center. “They are not going to look like anyone else we see at a game or concert.”

The uniforms, which feature the HHS colors of light blue, black and silver, have no exterior buttons, and include a large stylized “H” across the front.

Burnside, who currently is the director of bands at Pelham High School, said the uniform was designed with input from the community, and said it took “several months” to finalize the appearance.

The first HHS band uniform, which was modeled by current Pelham High School band member Caroline Hull, was donated by Trustmark Bank, which also approved a loan to allow the band to move forward with ordering its full set of uniforms for the 2014-2015 school year.

HHS, which currently is under construction on Hillsboro Parkway, is set to open in August. High school-age students in Helena currently attend PHS.

Burnside said he is expecting about 170 students to participate in the marching band program next fall, and said the band program is working to raise about $300,000 over the next few months to ensure the program is “wide open” by the time the school opens.

During the meeting, state Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, presented the first half of a $5,000 donation to the Helena band, and Trustmark presented a donation for an undisclosed amount.

“I am beyond excited to be a part of the new Helena High School,” Burnside told the parents and students. “We have a very unique opportunity, because we get to build a band program from the ground up.

“We need everyone to be a part of that,” Burnside added.