Mercer Island Band Director Parker Bixby Honored by Local Phi Beta Kappa

Mercer Island High School band director Parker Bixby was selected for honor society Phi Beta Kappa's prestigious “Pathfinder Award,” the Mercer Island School District Announced.

Bixby is the director of the Mercer Island High School Marching Band and the Wind Ensemble. Bixby has taught in the Mercer Island School District for 15 year, according to his school biography. About 20 percent of the students at the high school are enrolled in his programs, according to the school district.

According to the Puget Sound Association of Phi Beta Kappa, the Pathfinder Award "honors those who encourage others to seek new worlds to discover, pathways to explore, and untouched destinations to reach."

Current students, band volunteer Terry Pottmeyer, and MISD Administrator Jennifer Wright nominated Bixby.

Bixby was nominated because “he inspires others to seek and explore different pathways in life,” according to his nomination.

Several students were quoted in his nomination including Hannah Frisch, a drum major.

“Mr. Bixby is not just a teacher. He is a therapist, comedian, pal, role model, disciplinarian, philosopher, intellectual, and humanitarian. Not a day goes by when Mr. Bixby does not teach you something, whether it be about making music, or perspective about a common stereotype.” 

Bixby also is an active performer as a member of the Washington Wind Symphony and enjoys spending time with his wife Jessi and two children Madeline and Duncan, according to his school biography.

Bixby will be honored Phi Beta Kappa’s spring luncheon event on May 13, 2013.

Online

Mercer Island School District:  Mercer Island High School’s Band Director Parker Bixby receives the Pathfinder Award from the Puget Sound Association of Phi Beta Kappa