SAA Newsletter, December 2005

Surfer’s

Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni Association Southeastern Connecticut

Volume 2 – Number 2

December 2005

Closing Out 2005 . . .

64.15 63.50 63.72

Looking back…

62.92

Practice…. Dedication…

Sweat… Exhaustion…

Focus…. Commitment…

Progress… Togetherness…

Pride… Achievement…

Accomplishment…

Personal Growth…

Friendships…

53.30 Memories…

Priceless…

50.05 48.75

42.75

42.95

7th Regiment 2005 Scores

60.45 58.95

These are the qualities that the returning 7th Regiment members will bring with them into an exciting new year. These new veterans of the drum corps world now join the SAA Alumni in knowing what it takes to improve and succeed on and off the field.

They also know that not everyone is cut out for such a challenge, nor will many take that first step into this mysterious and magical sport of marching and music – but oh if they do, they will never be the same…

2006 a New Year . . .

Drum Corps - Where Dreams Come True…

Surfer’s Alumni Association P.O. Box 64 New London, CT 06320 Phone: 860-442-DRUM

Board of Directors Chairman: Herb Tiffany President: Lizz Adams Vice President: Phae Pearsall Secretary: Daisy Johnson Treasurer: Dawn Davis Fundraising: Anne Grady Media/Technology: Barbara DeLillo 7th Regiment Director: Jeffrey Dozier Business Manager: Tim Rall Asst. Director/Members: Birse Timmons Asst. Director/Staff: Jim O’neil Co-Quartermasters: Jimmy Smith Bert David At-Large-Members: Dan Johnson

Newsletter Editor: Carl Burnett Letters to the Editor eMail: stampbiz@cfl.rr.com or mail to: P.O. Box 1987 Melbourne, FL 32902 Newsletter Staff: Lizz Adams, Barb DeLillo, & Michele Swain

Visit your Web Site… www.7thregiment.org This site has all the news and activities going on with the Surfer’s Alumni Association and the 7th Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. Also, plenty of photos and links to other favorite Drum & Bugle Corps sites. Visit the guest book register and look up old friends – and don’t forget to sign your name!

Editorial…

Bands vs Drum Corps Thinking back to my marching days (1965-1970), there was a big gap between high school bands and drum & bugle corps. The distinctions were many – bands had all kinds of instruments, usually had more marching members, and paid much less attention to the marching aspect of the performance. Drum corps on the hand, had very few different brass instruments, and percussion was made up of snares, tenors, bass, rudimental bass, & cymbals (no pit). Color guards were more polished with flags, rifles, and sabers. Execution in both the music and marching were equally important, a result of many more practice hours.

I do not recall many, if any of the corps members being also in band back in my time – although I am sure there were some. A band back then was a high school thing – you were one piece of a big performance picture, whereas, looking back, I think in drum corps, you were challenged to be the best individual you could be, and at the same time blending together as a corps.

The big high school band back in the late 60’s to my recollection was St. Bernard’s – I think they won a state championship back then. Most of the other local high schools were much smaller than they are today. Drum corps was somewhat at its zenith back then – there were over 50 junior corps in Connecticut alone!

Over time, both bands and drum corps have matured, and in some cases it’s hard to tell them apart. Some locals have told me that the high school bands in southeastern Connecticut are really exciting to watch, some of the best in the state! But, on the other hand, I’ve also read where you can always tell a drum corps member in a band – by the way they march, how they carry their instrument, and the quality of their performance.

So just think of the opportunities that lay right in front of our 7th Regiment. Back in my day, you wouldn’t think twice of a high school glockenspiel or piccolo player being an asset to a drum corps, but today many bands members have all the basics fundamentals down and just need the polishing and precision that a drum corps can provide.

What if the 7th Regiment could lure a few all star band members from each high school band – that’s the challenge going forward into 2006…

2

For the Record…. Official 2005 Corps Scoreboard…

The 7th Regiment competed in 11 competitions in June/August of 2005 – 5 more than the previous year. As a second year corps, the 7th made great strides throughout the season, with the finale of competing in their first DCI Class III Championships in Brockton, MA on August 9, 2005.

June 25, 2005 Malden, MA Division III Score Raiders 62.90 Citations 57.65 7th Regiment 48.75 Targets 47.50 July 9, 2005 Springfield, MA Division III Score Raiders 65.00 Citations 58.75 St. John’s 50.60 Targets 46.45 Spirit of NJ 44.85 7th Regiment 42.75 Cadets of NYC 41.30 July 10, 2005 Wayne, NJ Division III Score Raiders 69.90 St. John’s 47.40 Targets 46.95 Spirit of NJ 46.25 Cadets of NYC 44.30 7th Regiment 42.95 July 22, 2005 Everett, MA Division III Score Raiders 70.25 Les Stentors 64.80 Citations 59.10 St. John’s 58.35 Targets 52.75 7th Regiment 50.05 Cadets of NYC 49.80

July 23, 2005 Uncasville, CT Division III Raiders Les Stentors Citations St. John’s Spirit of NJ 7th Regiment Cadets of NYC Targets

Score 71.30 65.75 61.25 57.85 54.20 53.30 52.10 50.85

August 5, 2005 Sherbrooke, Quebec Division III Dutch Boy Pride of Lions Les Stentors 7th Regiment St. John’s Spirit of NJ Targets H.Y.P.E. Blue Saints

Score 75.70 75.60 71.45 63.50 62.45 58.20 55.20 52.95 41.00

Canadian Tour Starts…

August 1, 2005 Sudbury, Ontario Division III Pride of Lions Dutch Boy Les Stentors St. John’s 7th Regiment H.Y.P.E. Blue Saints

Score 72.95 71.65 67.05 61.00 60.45 54.75 39.20

August 6, 2005 Manchester, NH Division III Taipei Yuehfu Allegiance Elite Pride of Lions Citations Les Stentors Cadets of NYC Spirit of NJ St. John’s 7th Regiment Targets

Score 86.875 79.875 78.275 73.750 68.625 67.400 64.775 64.125 62.925 55.650

August 2, 2005 Kitchener, Ontario Division III Pride of Lions Allegiance Elite Dutch Boy Les Stentors St. John’s Spirit of NJ 7th Regiment H.Y.P.E.

3

Score 73.10 72.35 71.20 68.05 61.70 59.10 58.95 51.20

August 7, 2005 Pittsfield, MA Division III Allegiance Elite Pride of Lions St. John’s Les Stentors Cadets of NYC Spirit of NJ 7th Regiment

Score 78.000 77.650 70.550 70.150 69.150 67.300 64.150

August 9, 2005 Brockton, MA

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

DCI Div. III Qualifier Division III

Score

Taipei Yuehfu

87.250

Raiders

85.900

Yamato

85.025

Revolution

82.875

Capital Sound

80.250

Allegiance Elite

79.725

OLD TIME ALUMNI’S AT 2005 BANQUET

Pride of Lions

78.425

Harold McKelvin, Jim Fritz, Herb Tiffany, & Jimmy Smith

Dutch Boy

76.900

Lake Erie Regmnt 75.400 Citations

74.500

Les Stentors

70.575

Cadets of NYC

70.425

Strangnas

67.225

Spirit of NJ

66.700

St. John’s

65.925

Racine Scouts

64.775

7th Regiment

63.725

H.Y.P.E.

62.700

Targets

56.850

Blue Saints

41.425

‘2005’ -

7TH Regiment Banquet

The 7th Regiment and the SAA wrapped up 2005 with the annual Banquet, which saw 112 people in attendance. The 7th Regiment were represented with 41 members and 71 parents, staff, volunteers, and SAA members joined in the festivities.

Guest speakers for the occasion were: CWO Kirk Edwards USCG Academy Director, Windjammers Drum & Bugle Corps; Peg Curtin – City Council, New London, CT; and Mr. David Richardson, Bennie Dover Middle School.

Movie tickets were given out to the 7th members who sold the most ads for the program book for the Drum Corps on the Thames. Tyler Adams won for the pit section, Rachel Timmons won for the color guard, Chris Scheck won for the drum line, and Rojaia Braggs won for the horn line. Award certificates were given to all the 7th members.

7th Regiment members and guests enjoying the 2005 Banquet…

4

Recent SAA & 7TH Regiment Activities…

The SAA sponsored a Spaghetti Fundraiser held at the American Legion in Norwich, which turned out to be quite successful. Between 60-70 people attended, things went so well the SAA is planning to run this activity in other local towns as well to bolster support for the corps and raise much needed funding.

The BIG event to kick off the new year was the 7th Regiment Open House. Approximately 49 youth attended – 14 new members and 35 current members. New members came from as far away as Southington and Meriden – meaning the word is getting out there about the 7th!!! A presentation was given to parents and kids, introducing them to drum corps. Later the new and old members separated into sections to rehearse with their instructors.

Parents then attended a meeting headed by Corps Director, Jeff Dozier. A Questions and Answer period followed.

Also noted were 5 new instructors for the upcoming year (see instructor list on the back page of this newsletter).

We also note that there were several 7th members who couldn’t attend the open house but plan on being at the first rehearsal.

The SAA is also hard at work securing funds for the upcoming season – plenty of thanks go out to Mike Brown and others for their efforts to secure grants. Many other avenues will be looked at and one of the more successful activities last year was the 7th member sponsorship. The sponsorship letter and form can be presented to member’s families, friends and businesses to help defray the cost for a member. There were a few members last year that paid their entire membership costs through the sponsorship process. Impressive…!

Of course, the fun part of a new year is the practices and camps. Practices have already started, new and old faces coming together to learn and blend into a precision team. The instructional staff is busy designing the music score and drill that the 7th will be presenting next summer. And the veterans of the 7th Regiment can now be a part of the teaching process, as they can share their experiences from the past year or two with the new rookie recruits.

It is hoped that the SAA Alumni members will look at what part they can do - financial donations, volunteering, fundraisers, promotions, etc.

Everyone plays a part and as the corps grows, the smoother things will run, and the by-product will be the growth that the 7th members reach through practice, commitment, and success.

7th Regiment on their first tour – to Canada..!

5

Surfer’s Alumni Association P.O. Box 64 New London, CT 06320

7th Regiment - 2005 / 2006 Instructors DRILL

BRASS

PERCUSSION

COLOR GUARD

Drill Arranger: Jeff Weir

Music Arranger: Jack Gerster

Caption Head: Bob Burt

Caption Head: Elizabeth Sosnowich

Visual / Drill Instructor: Steve Surina Drill Tech: John Curran

Caption Head: Shawn Hines

Percussion Tech: Rich DeCapio

Guard Tech: Fawn Hodgdon

Brass Tech: Edgar Frazelle

Percussion Tech: Jim O’neil

Guard Tech: Dana Saccomano

Brass Tech: Steve Gangi

Percussion Tech: David Brush

Show Design Team: Jack Gerster Jeff Weir Jim O’Neil Rich DeCapio David Brush Steve Surina

Pit Tech: Feather Gangi

Show Coordinator: David Brush

The 7th Regiment’s 2006 Show – “??????????”

The musical score has not been completed at the time of this newsletter release.

Announcement of the 2006 show theme and songs to be played will be released in the next newsletter.

Shop at the new 7th Regiment On-Line Store Visit the fundraisers that you can be a part of and help sponsor the 7th Regiment.

Go to the 7th Website at: www.7thregiment.org and click on the “Support” tab on top.