A 20-year veteran of the Hi Society Baton Corps has brought the group to Bowling Green.
Any interested twirlers are welcome to join the group, which meets on Thursdays at 5 p.m. at First United
Methodist Church on East Wooster Street.
"We pride ourselves on providing an activity that not only do kids enjoy, but the whole family can
be involved in and that we have mastered a balance between ‘baton life’ and ‘home life,’" said head
coach and alumnae Tabitha Kirsch.
Currently the Bowling Green Division is 13 members, but the entire group, which includes Fremont, Clyde
and Bellevue, is over 100 members. Ages range from 4-16 and they have members from the Bowling Green,
Elmwood, Perrysburg, and other school districts.
Hi Society Baton participate in parades and performances, and competes in competitions. They have many
state and national titles over the past 40 years.
The group has been marching in the Bowling Green Holiday Parade for two years and this past year won Best
Live Performance.
The twirler have also performed at the Statue of Liberty, marched in parades in Hawaii and Canada
multiple times, and performed in California and Florida. This year, Hi Society will March in the Miss
America Parade 2014 in Atlantic City in September.
There are also plans to be the first and only baton group in history to ever perform during the opening
ceremony of the Daytona 500 in February 2015, Kirsch said.
Hi Society was founded by Bob and Sheila Michael of Clyde in 1973. Their eldest daughter, Nan Kramer of
Fremont, is now the director. Other staff includes twirling instructors Jamie Board and Jonathan Burkin
and flag corps instructor Heather Shull. Dan Rice was drum corps instructor 25 years ago and is starting
it again this summer.
Kirsch has been the group’s head coach and choreographer since 2011. She is also an alumni member, who
joined in 1992 along with her two younger sisters.
Outside of being a part of many national championship teams with Hi Society, Kirsch also holds a few
individual titles, including two international championships with former duet partner and current Hi
Society guest instructor Burkin from the Twirl Mania Championships held at Disney World.
Burkin is not only a Hi Society alum, but he is a World Champion, a Former University of Maryland feature
twirler, and a top 10 finalist from "America’s Got Talent."
For more information contact Kirsch at 567-201-3174 or check out the Facebook page.