Donny Franklin started his love of color guard almost 40 years ago in 1978 with Indian River. During his career, Donny has instructed thousands of students and worked in many different capacities. These have included high school marching bands, summer camps, clinics, band director workshops and college courses. People like David Duffy, Tim Gauldin and others have been in classes Donny has instructed and have gone on to have their own illustrious careers as instructors of World Class guards. Many of Donny’s former students have gone on to participate in drum corps, world class color guards, or have become guard instructors at every level.
Donny has worked with many high school band programs in the Virginia Beach area. Under Donny’s direction Grassfield high school has developed into a mature, nationally ranked program. At Grassfield, he has hosted many WGI Regional and AIA Championship contests representing AIA in the highest fashion at both the local and national level of competition. Most recently, he was instrumental in starting a feeder program at Great Bridge Middle School. This program attracted over 120 students that feed various schools in the area.
