IN HER OWN SWEET WAY: This morning, Austin City Councilmember paid a surprise visit to McCallum to inform Mac Band director Carol Nelson that the council had officially declared today, May 23 to be Carol Nelson Day in the City of Austin. Nelson has taught at McCallum for 46 years and recently received the inaugural Austin ISD Icon Award for exemplary dedication to her students. Current band students just arriving from a recording session at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center, parent boosters, alums and school officials all showed up to celebrate the pronouncement with Nelson. The Wind Ensemble, Mac Band’s top performing group, had just finished recording a concert performance at the PAC and had returned on the bus without Nelson on it, prompting assistant band director Ryan Pride to phone Nelson. “I asked if she was on her way back”, Pride said. “I was worried she was out to get a sweet tea or something. Council member Mike Siegel was already there in addition to campus administr...