SAA Newsletter, December 2011

Surfer’s

Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni Association Southeastern Connecticut

Volume 8 – Number 1

Miss Daisy, as she’s affectionately known to staff and members, has been a part of the drum corps activity since the early 1970s with the Surfers Drum & Bugle Corps, which evolved to become the parent organization of the 7th Regiment when the corps was conceived in 2002.

December 2011

Photo – Courtesy of DCI, International

“She makes a point of getting to know each member of the corps individually, and still at the age of 82, she proudly walks alongside the corps

with a water bottle in parades,” says 7th Regiment Director Tim Rall.

“Miss Daisy” receiving her DCI Volunteer of the Year award at the DCI National Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Drum Corps – Never too old to enjoy it…

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

Board of Directors President: Birse Timmons Vice President: Paula O’Neill Secretary: Daisy Johnson Treasurer: Edgar Frazelle 7th Regiment Director: Tim Rall Asst. Director 7th Regiment: Jim O’Neil

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: Barbara DeLillo

Visit your Web Site… www.7thregiment.org This site has all the news and activities going on with the Surfer’s Alumni Association and th the 7 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…

The SAA Newsletter, History in the making…

Let’s jump ahead, the year is 2051… “The 7 th Regiment is enjoying their year end banquet at the Ft. Trumbull, indoor practice facility and Civic Center after successfully defending their Universal Class Championship title, the 5th in corps history. This year was a little closer as the 7th just edged out the Imperial Dragons from Peking, China, and the upstart Federalists from the New European Union by a mere .012 points. The ever popular Cadets of Brazil (formerly a New Jersey corps) placed fourth just .015 away. An additional 150 corps rounded out this year’s competition.

Most of the 200+ 7th Regiment members and nearly 1,500 Alumni were entertained at the banquet by their own drum corps historian, Miss Daisy, who at 121 years young, provided an overview of where drum corps has gone since the Golden Days of the 1970’s. It was hard to believe that back in those days, corps would actually travel and compete on the same field of competition, some corps racking up 20,000 miles or more in a single season. Those days are long gone as computer and extranet technologies now allow corps to compete in the comfort of their own home towns, via live telecasts to nearly 200 countries. Judging is done remotely and calculated within seconds. And it is not unusual for home town crowds to exceed the 100K mark in some larger venues.

Miss Daisy explained that the 7th forerunners, the Surfers, Whalers, and Sword Excalibur corps left only pieces of memorabilia such as show programs, championship flags, and a few things called vinyl records in which sound recordings could be heard. But nearly 50 years ago, the SAA alumni had the foresight to start a series of newsletters to historically document the birth of the 7th and their rise to national and international prominence. Setting up an old contraption called a Dell computer, Miss Daisy placed a round disk called a CD into the unit and projected on visual screens set at each table, the actual newsletters starting in the year 2003. Attendees were amazed at the historical references of members, staff, locations, musical scores, etc. And isn’t it fitting to see that Tim Rall IV still carries the torch as Director of the 7th, a position his Great Grandfather filled in the early years of the 7th Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.”

So… although the future is yet to be really written, this is an example of why a corps newsletter is so important. The SAA newsletter will capture whatever that future will be.

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For the Record…. Official 2011 Corps Scoreboard…

The 7th Regiment competed in 10 competitions in June through August of 2011. The DCI Prelims on August 8th was a rain out. The DCI National Championships were held again at Michigan City and Indianapolis, Indiana. As an 8th year corps, the 7th Regiment again had a stellar finish of 7th place in the Open Class against tough competition. Scores remained in the mid 80’s – another great year!

June 27, 2011 Bridgeport, CT Open Class Score 1. Spartans 63.40 2. 7th Regiment 60.50

June 29th, 2011 Rome, NY Open Class Score 1. 7th Regiment 60.80

July 2nd, 2011 Lynn, MA Open Class Score 1. Spartans 67.70 2. 7th Regiment 63.90

July 3rd, 2011 Bristol, RI Open Class Score 1. 7th Regiment 64.50

July 16th, 2011 Manchester, NH Open Class Score 1. Spartans 79.90 2. 7th Regiment 75.65 3. Les Stentors 62.30

July 17th, 2011 Malden, MA Open Class Score 1. Spartans 80.45 2. 7th Regiment 76.95 3. Les Stentors 64.10

August 2nd, 2011 Dayton, OH Open Class Score 1. Blue Devils B 88.75 2. Oregon Crusaders 87.90 3. Spartans 87.40 4. 7th Regiment 82.90 5. Genesis 81.65 6. Legends 79.30 7. Les Stentors 66.05 8. Blue Saints 55.20

August 4th, 2011 Johnsonburg, PA Open Class Score 1. Blue Devils B 90.90 2. Oregon Crusaders 90.75 3. Spartans 88.30 4. Genesis 84.55 5. 7th Regiment 83.80 6. Music City 82.15 7. Les Stentors 68.20 8. Blue Saints 57.50

August 6th, 2011 Erie, PA Open Class Score 1. Oregon Crusaders 92.35 2. Blue Devils B 91.65 3. Spartans 88.60 4. Genesis 84.35 5. 7th Regiment 83.15 6. Music City 82.90 7. Legends 80.25 8. Les Stentors 67.45 9. Blue Saints 55.20

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August 8th, 2011 Michigan City, IN DCI Open Class Prelims Open Class Score Rained Out

August 9th, 2011 Michigan City DCI Open Class Finals Open Class Score 1. Blue Devils B 95.00 2. Oregon Crusaders 94.70 3. Vanguard Cadets 94.20 4. Spartans 91.50 5. Revolution 89.25 6. Genesis 86.85 7. 7th Regiment 86.15 8. Yokohama Scouts 85.35 9. Music City 84.80 10. Legends 82.30 11. Raiders 81.90 12. Jubal 80.20 13. Forte 79.20 14. Colt Cadets 79.15 15. Les Stentors 72.10 16. Racine Scouts 69.55 17. Blue Saints 63.05 18. Spirit of NJ 56.60

Due to the rain out on Aug 8th, all Open class corps participated in the prelims of the World Class championship, with World Class judging, the 7th Regiment scored 64.35.

2011 7th Regiment Banquet The 7th Regiment held their Annual Banquet on October 23, 2011 at the Elks Lodge with over 140 in attendance.

Guest speaker for the evening was Edna (Lambert) Correia, A lifelong DC player from 1964 to the present.

A special plaque was presented to Barbara Tiffany in memory of her husband Herb to show appreciation for his time and efforts with the 7th Regiment and drum corps in general in the New London area.

For those 7th members who aged out this year, presentations were made to thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the corps.

The annual “Superlatives” – a tradition amongst the corps members is as follows: Best Smile Guy – Adam Lattimore Girl – Tori Smolenski Best Attitude Guy – Mike Vita Girl – Alyssa Venuti Most Spirited Guy – Adam Lattimore Girl – Alexis Waller Most Talkative Guy – Travis Vanover Girl – Nancy Killoran

Corps Clown Guy – Travis Vanover Girl – Burgundy Penn Most likely to put their kids through the corps Guy – Bror Okerblom Girl – Erica Dozier Most Accident Prone Guy – Dan Topping Girl – Emily Milner

Corps Director Tim Rall

First in Food Line Guy – Wes Parker Girl – Petey Bottoms

Most Improved Guy – Ian Palmer Girl – Olivia Lattimore

Next Super Insructor Guy – Gage Brown Girl – Viki Straitt

Most „(un)Square‟ Guy – Chris O’Neil Girl – Burgundy Penn

Cutest Couple Yovana Karakitukova & Jonathan Miller

Rookie of the Year Guy – Justin Srodulski Girl – Dana Brown

Best Bromance Daniel Monte & Tim Lee

7 Member of the Year Guy – Jonathan Miller Girl – Rachel Timmons

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Visit the 7th Regiment Website and click on the link “SUPPORT” on the left side and you will see other opportunities to help out with the corps… Thanking you in advance…!!!

Raise money for the 7th Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps just by searching the Internet GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo! Just type 7th Regiment in as your cause & verify.

Donate to the 7th Regiment through your United Way Campaign If you contribute to the United Way at your job, then you have the opportunity to help out the 7th Regiment!

When filling out the paper work for your donation, you can check off “Other” and write in the Surfers Alumni Association. Your contributions would then go directly to helping out the corps.

There are several people doing this and what a thrill it is to know that your monies would be going to such a worthwhile cause.

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~~ IN MEMORIAM ~~ Herbert “Herbie” Tiffany 1928 - 2011

It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to one of the founders, and without a doubt, the Father of Drum & Bugle Corps in the New London area.

Herbie and a few other New London firemen organized the Surfers Drum and Bugle Corps back in 1964. And throughout the years, he was involved in the leadership and support functions of running a corps. The dedication and countless hours he gave to the kids will always shine as a beacon to those that follow.

The Surfers Alumni Association and the 7th Regiment extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends.

There are no words that can express the gratitude that we feel for the deeds done

by Herbie… you were the best!

~~ IN MEMORIAM ~~ Helen “Nikki” Kilpatrick 1931 - 2011

The Surfers Alumni Association and the 7th Regiment Organization wish to express their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends on the passing of Helen “Nikki” Kilpatrick. Her smile and willingness to get involved will be missed.

Nikki was a super supporter of the Surfers, and later was a charter member of the Surfers Alumni Association. She also renewed her passion for drum corps being involved with the 7th Regiment.

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* * S.A.A. 2011 Member Spotlight * * Rachel Timmons, a member of the color guard, has spent seven years with 7th Regiment. She was the color guard captain for five out of those seven years, and has now aged out in the 2011 season. She also spent a year in both her high school marching band at East Lyme, and her college marching band at the University of Massachusetts, along with spinning winter guard for both Kinetic, which was run by 7th, and UMass' s Color in the Cage productions for three years.

Other than her background in color guard, Rachel also studied dance for 14 years under the direction of Maggie Dennis at the Dance Extension in New London.

RACHEL TIMMONS

Today, Rachel is a graduate from the University of Massachusetts with a B.S. in Communication Disorders. With this, she plans to attend Graduate school in the future and study to become a Pediatric Audiologist. In the meantime, she works as a Hearing Technician, testing the hearing of the workers in local manufacturing companies. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her friends and family, read, and watch television.

Our 7th Regiment “Age Outs�

There are always mixed emotions when drum corps members age out. This year we honor from left to right: Justin Srodulski, Alyssa Venuti, Wes Parker, Rachel Timmons, Burgundy Penn, and Jonathan Miller.

We thank you for your dedicated service and wish you all the best in the new chapters of life you will write after your days with the 7th Regiment.

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7 Regiment 2011/12 Camp, Rehearsals and Competitions Schedules Camps: December 16-18 January 13-15 February 10-12 March 9-11, 30-31 April 1, 27-29 May 11-13, 25-27

The 7th Regiment ran a very successful Open House on November 20th, 2011, with nearly 90 kids showing up (a count of 35 for the horn line alone) which is a beacon for bigger things to come in 2012. It was noted that several new and returning members could not make the event due to other commitments on this day.

Rehearsals: Every Friday evening and weekends when not performing.

Weekdays – June 25-29 & July 23-27

Competitions: June 29 – Glen Falls, NY June 30 – Lynn, MA July 1 – Bridgeport, CT July 6 – Quincy, MA July 14 – Manchester, NH July 30 – Erie, PA July 31 – Johnsonburg, PA August 3 – Dayton, OH August 4 – Niles, MI August 6 - Michigan City, IN (DCI Open Class Prelims) August 7 – Michigan City, IN (DCI Open Class Finals) August 8 – Indianapolis, IN (Individual/Ensemble) Note: Additional dates for rehearsals, parades and other activities will be added – check the 7th Website, Schedule tab at the top of the home page for further information.

7th Regiment staff, instructors, old members and new prospective members, parents, and volunteers all shared in an exciting day of drum corps.

2012 season here we come…

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

7th Regiment - 2012 Instructors DRILL

BRASS

Visual Designer/Program Coordinator: Stephen Lyons

Caption Head: Ray Fallon, Jr. Brass Instructors: Matthew Lagarde Julio Cruz Kristen Richard

Visual Caption Head: Mark Maguire Visual Instructors: Daniel Wyman Andrew Mastronunzio Sean Corbett

PERCUSSION Percussion Caption Head/Front Ensemble Arranger: Michael Blancaflor Percussion Instructors: Tom Sulzicki Brendan Mason Colin Mason

COLOR GUARD Designer/Caption Head: Dana Lyons Guard Instructors: Fawn Margolis Dori Langton Barbara Bauer Jani Springer

Battery Coordinator/Arranger: Jeff Bickford Percussion Consultant: Chris Horvat

The 2012 SAA Membership Dues are Due Yearly membership costs are $20 per individual Life membership is $100 – make payments to: “Surfers Alumni Association” and remit to: P.O. Box 64, New London, CT 06320 Your continued support is MOST appreciated

7th Regiment Corps Merchandise for Sale Order your 7th Regiment T-Shirts, cinch bags, hoodies, and hats today!!! Contact Leta Madore at Camps, Rehearsals, and DCI Competitions or email Leta at Psalm381@gmail.com