“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence,” (Confucius).
Charlie Sorto knows what it takes to succeed and achieve excellence and desires to see others achieve excellence as well. He has always loved Clarke County and the people who make up this community.
“I grew up here in Quitman. Quitman has always been home to me and will always be home to me. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else,” recalled Charlie. “The people here are what make this town. I’ve lived in three or four different places now, and when I came back three years ago, it was like I’d never left. The thing about this place is it truly is a caring town. People in this community care for one another. Everyone here has been supportive of what we have going on here and supportive of me, and I’m truly appreciative of that. It’s one of my favorite things about this place.”
As he was growing up, his dad had a major influence on him that carried over when they eventually moved away from this area when he was younger.
“I grew up going to sporting events with my dad here at the school, and that’s how I came to love sports like I do. Also, my dad would drive for the band on Friday nights, so I would be on the band bus with him. I was around the band culture from an early age, so it was only natural that when I got in sixth grade band here that I fell in love with it and really took off with it,” expressed Charlie. “We moved from Quitman to Pontotoc when I was in the sixth grade. Some extended family had gotten sick, and my parents were trying to get closer to them. That’s where I really got into sports and band because seventh grade is when all of that really kind of picks up.”
While he was in school, he experienced great success. He was able to accomplish great things in the activities he participated in that some strive for but never attain.
“I did four sports and band in high school. I did powerlifting, bowling, football, track, and band,” Charlie reminisced. “I was fortunate enough to win a state championship in bowling and an individual state championship in powerlifting in high school. I was a member of the All-State Band all four years of high school and a member of the Lion’s Band three out of the four years in high school. In Lion’s Band, I placed sixth chair as a freshman, second chair as a junior, and first chair as a senior.”
The success and encouragement he received in school played a vital role on the career path Charlie selected once he graduated.
“I was very fortunate that I had a lot of opportunities going through school, and that’s because I had good teachers and coaches that pushed me to be the best I could be when I was at that age,” explained Charlie. “That’s part of the reason I got into education. My whole philosophy around education is that I want to provide my students the same opportunities if not more opportunities than I had growing up.”
Not only did his experience lead him to his current career, but his faith and trust in God played a major role, too.
“Truly seek out God’s will. That’s always been true in my life,” advised Charlie. “If it had been up to me, I probably wouldn’t be here right now because there were several other opportunities out there that I thought might be for me. Through lots of prayer, God led me here and has allowed this thing to be successful. It’s not because of anything I’m doing but it’s because He put the right pieces in place for it to be successful. Just trust His will for your life and never be afraid to turn to Him in times of stress.”
He truly feels that his return to Clarke County was a call from God, and he is highly supportive of all the kids he interacts with at the school. He does his best to make sure that they feel the same support that he experienced growing up.
“I have deep ties to this community and school, and that’s one of the reasons I chose to come back here,” discussed Charlie. “I felt like God was leading me here, and I feel like I can help be part of something successful here. It’s not about me; it’s about the kids I teach and coach. That’s what keeps me going. I really want to see them succeed and not in just my classes but in all their activities. That’s why I go watch other sporting events they’re involved in. I want them to know I support them in everything they do and not just band or the powerlifting team.”
Like other teachers, he desires to teach his students more than just a subject or sport. He wants them to succeed and know what the real secret of success in life is.
“If I can teach these kids to be better people, no matter what they do after they leave me, they will be successful if they are better when they leave me from when I got them. That’s the goal,” proclaimed Charlie. “That’s ultimately what we as teachers do as we teach people, no matter the subject. We’re trying to train young people to be the best version of themselves so they can be successful when they go out on their own into a college or career. I work hard to make sure these kids have success day in and day out. That’s something that I hope they see in me is how hard I work and that maybe they can understand that it requires hard work to be successful and that it’s not going to just be given to you.”
Since he started his career as the band director at Quitman High School, he has experienced great success with the program; however, he credits the great band achievements to God, the students and their parents, and the general support of the community. Seeing how everything has worked since he first started, he is also excited about the direction his program is headed.
“This is my sixth year teaching band. I had been teaching band for three years when I heard about the head band director job coming open, and I knew I wanted to be a head band director. I didn’t think it would happen that quickly in my career, but God made things happen at the right time for me to move. I had a house at the school I came from. It was an established band program in a nice community, and people were telling me I didn’t need to move or do this, but God led me here. I sold my house within two weeks for more than what I was asking for it, and the market was not favorable for that at the time. God led me back here, and we’ve had some great success early on,” remembered Charlie. “Coming in, nobody knew Covid would be a thing. Even through Covid, this program had 48 kids when I got here, we built it back up to 93 this year, and we’re looking to have over 100 this next season in the fall. That’s a testament to the kids and the parents and the community for not giving up on this program, especially during a time of uncertainty with Covid. While so many programs lost numbers, we gained them and that makes me excited. I really feel like the sky is the limit for this group. We’re going to be the Big Blue Crew again, and there’s already an excitement in the community. There’s excitement amongst the kids. We’re already building towards next year, and it’s an exciting time.”
Through his direction, the band has also started up another amazing group: indoor percussion.
“This was the first year we’ve had indoor percussion,” expressed Charlie. “They had a very successful year by placing first in their division at two of the three competitions they competed at. Greg Haskins and Katlyn Mosley did a fantastic job with that group.”
Teaching band isn’t the only role Charlie has taken on at the school. He also took on the role of coach and started the girls powerlifting team. Under his leadership, they have flourished, and he is proud of his students’ achievements through their hard work with the new program.
“Of course, my dad was a powerlifting coach, so that was a sport I fell in love with at a young age. That’s why when I came back to Quitman—knowing my dad started the program—I wanted to try and pick that back up. Especially last year when the band couldn’t do a whole lot, I asked if we could do something with girls powerlifting. We got to do it, and that has been enjoyable,” informed Charlie. “Those girls have only lifted for two years, and we recently competed for a state championship. We only came up two points shy of winning the state championship in only the second year that any of them have ever lifted. We had two individual state champions, and I’m super proud of them. There are six seniors on that squad who will graduate, and that will be a big loss, but for them to have never lifted or competed as of two years ago and have a chance to go up against teams for multiple years is super impressive.”
While he works hard with his students, he is also busy continuing his education even more.
“I’m a huge Mississippi State fan,” stated Charlie. “I went to school at Mississippi State and am working on my Master’s Degree in Music Education from there right now.”
Although he stays busy with work, Charlie does have things that he enjoys doing in any free time he may be able to have.
“I enjoy lifting weights, but because of my busy schedule with school I don’t get to do that as much as I’d like,” said Charlie. “Over the past three or four years, I have picked up fishing. I love to bass fish. I don’t have a boat but wish I had a boat. I try to get as many creek beds and ponds that I can to fish on and maybe catch a fish or two. I like to travel when I get a chance to take road trips. I was in San Antonio when Covid was a thing. I got a phone call from the principal asking me where I was and telling me we probably weren’t going to have school the following week. That was interesting. The world shut down, and I was in Texas. I enjoy grilling too. I love to grill steaks, pork chops, burgers, chicken, you name it.”
No matter what he does, Charlie maintains a humble spirit as he cares for and teaches others each day. He will continue to live out a life of excellence as he demonstrates how others can do the same each day.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
