First 2007 DCA Championships Local Planning Committee Meeting

The first meeting of the local planning committee organizing the 2007 Drum Corps Associates (DCA) world championship tournament will take place in Rochester, NY in late January, with all the individuals who held key positions on last year’s committee returning to add their organizational skills to the process.

The tournament will take place, as usual, on Labor Day weekend, with field events for competing and exhibition alumni corps again held in PAETEC Park stadium on Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, and Individual and Ensemble (I and E) competitions taking place in a number of downtown venues on the evening of Friday, August 31.

Rochester’s Empire Statesmen, five-time DCA champions, are again sponsoring the DCA championships, with business manager Allen Buell serving as local planning committee chairman for the second year in a row.

The planning committee includes representatives from the city of Rochester, Monroe County, the Greater Rochester Visitors Association, DCA, Empire Statesmen and a number of individuals with extensive drum and bugle corps backgrounds and special event planning experience.

Those serving in key positions on the committee are: chairman, Allen Buell; secretary, Leslie Wehner; stadium liaison, Norm Lefrois; security liaison, Joe Siracuse; program liaison, Kevin Walters; local ambassadors, Kelli O’Connor; Monroe County, Becky Wehner; City of Rochester, Charles Reaves and JudieLynn McAvinney; public relations, Roy Wilson, housing, Donna Duckett; DCA headquarters, Colleen Coogan; practice sites, Allen Buell; Individual and Ensemble liaison, Dick Pronti; Empire Statesmen, David Bruni and Ron Cheesbro, Greater Rochester Visitors’ Association, Kelli O’Connor, Tracy Armstrong and Tim James; PAETEC Park stadium, Matthew Ford; DCA, Dick Eschenmann.

The DCA tournament makes a major impact on the local economy. During the 2006 event, members and staff of 25 competing corps and 10 exhibition alumni corps, and thousands of spectators from across the United States and Canada occupied more than 80 per cent of the available hotel accommodations in the city and county. The DCA championship tournament was the first major non-sporting event held in PAETEC Park, which opened last June.

The 2006 DCA tournament was considered a huge success, creating an economic impact of about $12 million on the city and county local economy, despite the day of heavy rain that drenched the entire area as the tail end of Hurricane Ernesto swept across western New York. On Friday evening of the contest weekend, thousands attended the downtown I and E events, including the percussion competitions held outside on Main Street as part of an old-fashioned drum corps street party.

Ten of the 43 DCA championships from 1965 to 2006 have been held in Rochester: four from 1968 to 1971; four from 1973 to 1976; in 1996 and 2006.

The Empire Statesmen drum and bugle corps is a self-supporting independent group that represents the city of Rochester across the United States and Canada and as far abroad as Europe, the Caribbean and South America. The organization kicked off a major capital fund raising campaign in late November. Funds raised will be used to support the operations of the Empire Statesmen and such community outreach programs as the Empire Cadets youth marching band.

For information about the Empire Statesmen, the DCA 2007 championship tournament, to contribute to the Empire Statesmen’s capital campaign, or to obtain information about membership and volunteer opportunities, call (585) 266-2232 or visit the Empire Statesmen Web site at: www.statesmen.org