Reading Buccaneers Announce 2012 Hall Of Fame Inductees

The Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps and the Buccaneer Alumni Association announced today that Dwight Bomberger, James Gaiewski, Yvonne Landis and Ernie Shott will be inducted into the Buccaneers Hall of Fame at the corps’ annual year-end banquet on Saturday, November 24, 2012.

“The Buccaneers Hall of Fame was established in 1995,” said Hall of Fame Committee Co-Chairman Louis D. Tierno, Jr., himself inducted in 2001. “This organization has been blessed with so many fine men and women who have given so much of themselves to make the Buccaneers the storied corps it is. Singling out only four people for induction every year is incredibly difficult. But just the same it’s a tremendous pleasure for us to announce this year’s class and thank them for the indelible impact they’ve made on the Buccaneers and on the drum corps activity.”

Dwight Bomberger is one of those people who quietly went about his business. Dwight never craved attention or credit for the good deeds he did, he did them because they were the right things to do. Dwight was a part of the Reading Buccaneers for 13 seasons. He started his career as a Buccaneer in 1966 as a member of the color guard, and marched in ’66, ’67 and ’68. As a member of the 1968 color guard, Dwight was part of the corps’ second championship. In 1990, Dwight wanted to return to drum corps and did so by joining the Buccaneer Alumni as a member of the honor guard. In 2001, still a member of the alumni corps, Dwight decided to do double-duty and became a member of the Reading Buccaneers honor guard. He stayed with the corps until retiring after the 2010 season. Dwight has been known to drive hours out of his way to ensure that a member was able to get to and from rehearsal. He donated anonymously to assist corps members who were struggling with their dues. Before shows, he interacted with members of other corps in a show of friendliness and classiness that the corps is known for. Most of all, there are several members for whom Dwight became a father-figure. Unless you are one of those that directly benefited from Dwight’s generosity, you would not know he did these things. He did!

Words like “dedicated,” “consistent,” and “sacrifice” describe James Gaiewski and his commitment to the Reading Buccaneers. Few people know of the personal sacrifices Jim has made to march with the corps. Jim marched while working a full-time job, on the midnight shift. Jim would work, his shift ending at 7:00 a.m., hop on his bike with a baritone strapped on the back, travel across town, and always be on time for rehearsal. There were other times when Jim would arrange a ride to the contest site (again after his night shift ended), catching a few winks of sleep on the way, and then jump in for a full day of rehearsal. Those weekends where there would be a Sunday rehearsal; he was there too. At the end of Sunday’s rehearsal, he’d be back on his bike and riding to work for his Sunday evening shift. Jim has done this same routine weekend after weekend for some seventeen seasons, because he wanted to be a Buccaneer. Somehow, during the week, Jim found time to learn the music and drill to prepare for rehearsal. Everything that Jim needed to do to properly prepare for the upcoming corps weekend was done. When asked why he made these sacrifices, Jim responded by saying “because all of my friends are here too.” When asked what the most memorable event of his career with the Bucs has been, Jim responded “winning the 2005 Championship.” In addition to the competing corps, Jim found time to march with the alumni corps before and after the competition seasons since 2006. He’s helped with recruiting tables, worked on the membership committee and volunteered for the Jazz Fest.

Yvonne Landis started following the Buccaneers at the age of 5, following her brothers through their journey to the corps’ first two DCA championships. She continued to follow the corps, and as she became older she started helping the corps in a support role. From 1972 to 1977 she did her first tour of duty at the souvenir stand. Then in 1978, she married her Buccaneer boyfriend, Jay. They took the following 22 years off to start and raise their family. In 2000, her son Mike decided to march in the corps and just like that, back were Yvonne and Jay. In 2000, she and Jay approached the corps about helping with the souvenir stand, and since that time, they have turned the corps’ souvenir operation into the top “souvie stand” in DCA. In 2003, she was recognized as the Outstanding Support Person of the Year and through Yvonne’s continued efforts the corps souvenir stand has been a major fundraiser for the corps. In 2010, the souvenir operation reached a major milestone, having reached total generated revenues of over $250,000. Yvonne is proud to say she has been a witness to all eleven of the corps’ DCA championships and has been an integral part of the Buccaneer organization for the majority of them.

Ernie Shott has been a constant around the Reading Buccaneers since 1983. That’s when he started to drive his sons to rehearsals. He made sure they were there for every rehearsal, every parade and every show. Finally, in 1985, after seeing the man every weekend for the previous two seasons, Ron Gehris, the director of the corps, asked Ernie to march in the Honor Guard. Since that day – for 28 consecutive seasons – you could count on seeing Ernie standing by the goal line holding the American Flag while the corps performs. Parades? Yep, there’s Ernie. There were times over the course of all those seasons when Ernie was the only Honor Guard member to make an event, making it necessary for a member of the color guard to guard the colors. Ernie made sure they knew what to do. Ernie also holds another distinction. He is the oldest member of the Buccaneers to walk onto the field weekend after weekend. He is a gentleman, a friend and an inspiration to the entire Buccaneer Family.

Bomberger, Gaiewski, Landis and Shott join 82 other members of the Buccaneers Hall of Fame. Each of these individuals has made a lasting impact on the Buccaneers and the drum corps activity:

1995 inductees: Norman DeTemple, Bruce Englehart, LaVern Rohrbach, Roy Miller, Ron Gehris, Edward Johnston, John Flowers, George Parks, Ned Baldinger and Frank Ferraro.
1996: John Ferraro, Willard Marcks, Tony Yaklich, Roland Hoffman and Elmer Winzer.
1997: John Derr, Diane Koenig, Michael Vilardo, Joe Jasinski and Donnie Solinger.
1998: Wilson Goodwin, Glenn Rhine, Bruce Young, Gary Koenig and Jack Wells.
1999: Norm Cimerol, Jim Gruber, Lou Werner, Candy Golding and Robert Weidenhammer.
2000: Thomas Brown, Grant Hill, Earl Price, Mike Doherty and Wayne Kauffman.
2001: Bill Battaglia, Louis Tierno, Fred Windish, Gary Smith and Darrell Weyman.
2002: Victor Brown, Mike Luckenbill, Donald Walls, Rich Koenig and Henry Smith.
2003: Ronald Ferraro, Phil Rabenold, Dan Fitzpatrick and John Rozum.
2004: Tom Bitner, Robert Gruber, Bernard Brown and Howard Nagel.
2005: Lois Tierno, Joel Miller, Randy Kerschner and Curt Rissmiller.
2006: Glen Brumbach, Francis Chupick, Matt Krempasky and Amy Snook.
2007: Ron Fisher, George Price, Carl Bagenstose, Roberta Doherty and Rich Hammond.
2008: Ken Honsberger, Ralph Pace, Jay Landis and Randy Mutter.
2009: Josh Decker, Chris Feist, Bill Snook and Lee Umberger
2010: Martie Hetherington, Al Cola, Robbie Robinson and Steve Vincent
2011: Wilson Black, Althea Mazar, Carl Ruocco, Jerry Ware
2012: Dwight Bomberger, James Gaiewski, Yvonne Landis, Ernie Shott

The Buccaneers are seeking members in all sections for the 2013 edition of the Balance in Blue. On Sunday, November, 25, 2012, the Buccaneers will host Membership Day 2013, at Twin Valley High School, Elverson, PA. Registration begins at 11:00. All persons interested in learning more about membership in the Reading Buccaneers and being part of the 2013 corps are invited to contact Membership Manager Karen Wildonger to indicate their interest. Visit www.readingbuccaneers.org for more information or email membership [at] readingbuccaneers [dot] org.

Founded in 1957, the mission of the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps is to provide men and women of all ages a unique and enriching educational experience in the performing arts in which they develop as individuals and as performers. The Buccaneers were founding members of Drum Corps Associates and won the first-ever DCA World Championships in 1965 and won ten additional titles since.

Formed in 1981, the mission of the Buccaneer Alumni Association is to reunite all past members of the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps in camaraderie and fellowship, to engage in the parade drum & bugle corps activity, to encourage the growth of the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps, to maintain the commitment to excellence generally associated with said Corps, and to perpetuate drum & bugle corps in general as an art form and entertainment medium. The Buccaneer Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps was formed in 1987 as a program of the Buccaneer Alumni Association.

For more information, visit www.readingbuccaneers.org.