SHERBURNE – Last Friday, an exhausted yet elated Sherburne-Earlville High School musical emissary returned home after a six-day stint in New York City. Meaghan Weinell represented her school in front of millions of Americans during the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the largest Thanksgiving day parade in the nation. The parade drew millions of Americans across the nation to TV sets.

After acing an audition earlier this year, Weinell won a spot among some of the most talented young musicians in the country, who composed this year’s annually selected Macy’s Great American Marching Band. The marching band constituted nearly 250 high schoolers, including the color guard, assembled from all corners of the nation.

“It was the most amazing thing I have ever done,” Weinell exclaimed. “There were band members from every state. I had roommates from Michigan and South Dakota.”

Weinell described how wonderful it was to be among such a diverse group of people who were dedicated to music. “Everyone was so friendly and great and we were teaching each other amazing new things about music I didn’t know about.”

“One of my favorite parts was being able to meet so many people from all over,” said Weinell. Weinell’s music teacher and guide, Jeffrey Manwaring, had told her about his experience with different kinds of Americans while he was going to school in Kentucky, but she had not fully appreciated what he meant until experiencing it for herself. “I met a girl from South Carolina who was just as excited as I was, but didn’t show it at all,” she said.