The late William Patrick Foster, founder of FAMU’s Marching 100, received a glowing tribute before a crowd of thousands at the university’s Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Teaching Gymnasium.The memorial service, officiated by band announcer Joe Bullard, featured performances by the Marching 100 and FAMU concert choir.
“It is almost impossible to imagine Florida A&M University without William Patrick Foster,” President James H. Ammons said during the ceremony.
Former President Frederick S. Humphries remembered how a Marching 100 performance he watched as a young high school student in Apalachicola, Florida helped ignite his interest in attending FAMU. He said Foster shaped the Marching 100 into one of FAMU’s most important recruitment tools.
“There’s no question that whenever people hear the name Florida A&M University, they quickly ask about the Marching 100,” Humphries said.