VALDOSTA — Three grand championships is no easy feat for a high school band director.

For Michael Thomas, director of Valdosta High School’s Marching Cats, three grand championships in three years have been cornerstones in his career at the school.

Though Thomas has been a band director for 15 years, only three of them have been spent in Valdosta.

His love for music and band began at a much earlier age.

Thomas became involved with band as a middle school student in Hinesville.

In addition to enjoying the music, Thomas said band kept him out of trouble.

“I didn’t grow up in the best of neighborhoods,” Thomas said. “Band gave me something to do with my free time outside of getting into trouble.”

Throughout his career in band — in middle school, high school and college — Thomas was a percussionist.

Thomas said he did not originally plan to become a band director. An avid baseball player, his original career goals involved baseball or becoming a U.S. Marshall.

In the end though, Thomas decided that becoming a band director would be the best career choice.

He said the U.S. Marshall and band director positions may sound wildly different but do serve a similar function.

“They are both serving the community,” he said.

Before coming to Valdosta High School, Thomas served as band director at Northside High School in Warner Robins for a year.

“When this position came open, I took a look at it, at the history and tradition of the program, but it was not in very good shape,” Thomas said.

He saw the program as an opportunity to truly be able to help students and to teach and develop a program, Thomas said.