Stacy Forbess
Eastern Shore Twirlers was founded by legendary twirler and coach, Stacy Forbess, who left this world on August 10, 2021. It is now directed by her former twirlers and proteges, and is carried on by their capable hands, in her honor. But to understand EST, one must first understand the life, accomplishments, and mission of Stacy.
Stacy was born October 10, 1965. At a young age she was introduced to twirling by her mother, Pat Houston, who was also a twirling coach. Stacy quickly progressed and it didn’t take long before she became beginner Miss Majorette of Florida, in 1980. She moved to Huntington Beach, California, in 1981 and started taking twirling lessons from renowned twirling coach, Beverly Johnson. After winning first place as Miss Majorette of the West, she qualified for Nationals and ventured to Notre Dame for the competition, with her mother and grandmother. There, she won 1st place in World Open Strut, 1st place in the pageant, and was finally awarded 1st place in the world championship at Notre Dame university in 1982, at the age of 17.
She didn’t stop there. She continued to grow in her art and athleticism and eventually became the Feature Twirler for the Los Angeles Rams, where she continuously performed at Anaheim Stadium for 80,000 fans. Stacy continued on to college where she continued to practice and perform, until she was led to take a job at MCI, where she eventually met her husband of 35 years, Ed Forbess. They moved to Orlando, Florida, where they had two children Taylor and Trevor.
In 1999, Stacy and her family found their way to Fairhope, Alabama, which is still considered home to them all. It didn’t take long for Stacy to become active in the Fairhope community, and for her to being teaching private lessons and sparking an interest in baton twirling along the “Eastern Shore” area of Mobile Bay. She begin working with the school systems to allow her to teach after-school lessons at a few local schools.
And Eastern Shore Twirlers got its official start.
After several years of teaching and mentoring, Stacy’s girls began to tackle the competition circuit. They gained so much traction, that Stacy formed three competition teams within EST, the Gold Team, The Silver Team, and the Bronze Team. The teams and twirlers moved to regional competitions and then on to national competitions, where they achieved awards and notoriety. Eastern Shore Twirlers continued to be a local presence, in parades, festivals, and local events and competitions, and is ultimately responsible for several schools in the area adding their own feature twirlers to their band.
For Stacy, being a coach was more than just teaching people a sport. It was her life’s passion. Where she pour her heart and soul into her students to be a mentor, guide, and often a second mom. Her teams were families, and she led by example, teaching them how to have grace and compassion, and to live their lives as strong, capable, and morally sound young women.
Two of her award-winning students- her proteges, her “adopted” daughters, are honoring her today by continuing her legacy with Eastern Shore Twirlers. EST continues to be a place where students can not only learn the sport of baton twirling, but a place they can find life-long family. A place to grow. And a place to belong.
Because of the impact seen in the lives of so many students, and Stacy’s goal of using the sport of twirling to empower her students to have a better future, a memorial scholarship program has been started by one of Stacy’s dear friends and twirler moms to reward hard work and dedication as she so often did.