SELITA SUE SMITH, 1969-1973

Home: Frankton, IN

Married name: Selita Reichart

Husband's name: Brian Reichart

Children: Beau Reichart (23), Colt Reichart (21)
All Purdue men!

Current occupation: Vice President of Employee and Consumer Relations at Red Gold, LLC, the world's largest privately held tomato processing company. I grew up on a tomato farm. My job is a perfect fit!

Past jobs/life situations that have contributed to the richness of my life: I have been very fortunate to travel extensively. I must have caught the travel bug while with the Purdue Band. Traveling to Japan and South America were great cultural learning experiences. While in Venezuela, the majorettes changed clothes in a stall adjacent to a bull-ring. That certainly lowered my accommodation expectations for life..I've never been disappointed!

Hobbies/passions that I enjoy: Working outside the home and raising two boys has not left a great deal of time for "hobbies". I have enjoyed my children more than anything in my life. My passion now is my family and being involved with their interests. If you knew me "back when", it would hard to imagine me vicariously enjoying big game hunting or a wrestling meet, but introducing interests such as dancing and twirling to a house full of men was out of the question. I have been privileged to follow my husband and sons around the globe with a camera, (while they were hunting).and no, I'm not a great photographer! I do enjoy cooking, gardening, needlework and reading.

Still involved with twirling? No. I did teach for a few years in the 70's and truly enjoyed it. Baton twirling helps young women develop poise and confidence and it was rewarding to be a part of that.

What made/makes the Golden Girl position so special: When I enrolled at Purdue, I think that I had a pretty good understanding of what solo twirling positions entailed at most universities. I had auditioned for the solo position at Indiana University during my senior year in high school. In the spring of that same year, I marched in the 500 Festival Parade with several young women who were solo twirlers at many of the Big 10 schools. The Golden Girl position is so much more than performing with the band at football games. The opportunities that the Purdue Band affords young women for personal growth are unique.

How being Golden Girl has shaped/impacted my life beyond Purdue: I learned quickly that I was just 1/450 th of the All American Marching Band equation. While the solo position brings a great deal of attention, it requires a good deal of responsibility. If you accept a leadership position, you owe it to those following you to represent them well. When marching in front of that great big, wonderful band, I knew that I needed to perform well. But, I learned that I needed to be a good ambassador for the Band as well as the University. This was a great lesson that has served me well in my job today.

Favorite memories from being Golden Girl: All memories pale in comparison to the first time one marches into Ross-Ade Stadium. The first time that I crested the incline on the southeast corner of the stadium and took in the sights and smells of a football Saturday, I thought my heart would stop. My high school graduating class was only 42 students and our school didn't have a football team, so seeing Ross-Ade filled to capacity, and knowing that you were going to have to march out in the middle of that field and perform was nearly overwhelming. It's a good thing that I had twirled nearly all of my life. I was so bombarded with sensory overload, that the "twirling" part of the day was automatic.

In September of my freshman year, 1969, I was invited to be a guest and twirl on the television show, "What's My Line". My mother and I flew to New York City (she accompanied me as I was still only 17 years old), stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, taped the segment at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, shopped at Macy's and experienced life beyond Sharpsville, Indiana! In November, Professor Wright was asked to be a guest on "To Tell the Truth". He asked the Silver Twins, Jan and Joyce Carlson and me to join him and we twirled at the end of his segment.great experience, great fun!

In 1970, when the band traveled to the World's Fair in Osaka, our majorettes were the tallest, blondest women in Japan!

My first performance as Golden Girl was at the Hoosier Hundred Motor Race in Indianapolis. The band had also been asked to perform at Wapakoneta, Ohio for a tribute to Neil Armstrong (he had just walked on the moon in the summer of 1969) on the very same day. Professor Wright sent the most tenured bandsmen to Ohio and took a troupe of underclassmen to Indianapolis. On the way back to West Lafayette, a freshman bandsman and I sat in the two front seats of the bus. He asked me question after question, most to which I had to answer, "I don't know". By the time we arrived back on campus, this young man said, "Boy, for a girl in your position, you sure don't know much about the band or Purdue!"

He was a little surprised to find out that I too was a freshman and had the same amount of Purdue experience as he did. I still remember that boy's name!

Touching up my "black roots" every Friday evening before football Saturdays.

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