When awards were announced at 9:00 p.m. that night, the overall winner of Class 5A, in which Hope competes, was the Green County Tech Marching Eagle Band of Paragould for the second straight year.  The Sound of Hope, who were scheduled to perform at 6:15 p.m, placed fourth with an 86.2 overall score, having placed second last year. 

The Hope High band's performance can be seen on a youtube video uploaded by Julie Russell. 

Less than four points separated the winner from Hope.  The score sheet, broken down into different categories rated by five judges, has Green County Tech Marching Eagle Band in first place at 89.8 overall.  Second place was Valley View Blazer Marching Band of Jonesboro with 86.8; third was Paragould Pride Marching Band with 86.4 

Hope High’s band was among seven bands in 5A given first division ratings. Twenty-two bands in the 5A conference competed.  

The contest takes place over a three-day period the first week in November weather permitting.  According to this year’s program, the four judges were highly experienced band-leading professionals, all from states other than Arkansas.  One hundred bands from all over Arkansas were scheduled to take part.

In the other conferences, the 3A winner was Rivercrest High with a score of 86.7; 4A winner was Arkadelphia High, with a score of 88.7; 7A was Bentonville with 93.8, the highest score of the contest.