First New Hall Of Fame Associate Induction Since 2003
Eighty year old Jordis (Jordy) Larvick, the sole marching member remaining from the inaugural group that started the Williston Cowboys American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps in Williston, North Dakota, in 1954 will be inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame on Labor Day weekend, the first new associate member chosen since 2003.
Induction to the associate membership category of the Hall of Fame was suspended for several years in order to keep the number of regular and associate members in balance. Jordy Larvick’s induction marks the renewal of the associate membership program.
Jordy Larvick’s lifelong friend and teacher Virgil Syverson founded the Cowboys and directed the corps for more than 50 years before passing away recently. Syverson was inducted as a World Drum Corps Hall of Fame associate member in 2001. Larvick, who served in the United States Army as a young man, played bugle Taps as part of the military honors provided at the funeral.
He has recently been honored by the American Legion and Bugles Across America, the not-for-profit group that provides uniformed military people to fold the flag and play Taps at funerals of veterans.
He received a remembrance citation and medal from Bugles Across America. The citation reads, “This is to certify that Jordis A. Larvick has been honored as a distinguished individual of the United States of America. This certificate is awarded as a testimonial of Honest and Faithful Service. Bugles Across America.” On the same evening, he received a plaque designating him American Legion Edgar M. Boyd Post 37 Legionnaire of the Year.
His love of drum and bugle corps activity is contagious. Two of his three children played with him in Williston Cowboys. Jon A. Larvick, Colonel United States Air Force (ret.) played bugle; his brother Jay played snare drum.
Jordy Larvick originally played saxophone while he was a student at Williston High School, under the direction of Virgil Syverson, who later also taught Jon Larvick to play trumpet. Shortly after graduation in 1950 Jordy Larvick joined the United States Army, serving a two-year stint at Camp Gordon, Georgia and further time in reserve status.
On returning to Williston around 1954 he reunited with his old teacher Virgil Syverson, who by that time had founded the local drum and bugle corps. He has been leader of the Cowboys’ soprano horn section for several generations of corps members, sometimes playing solo in lean membership years. He joined the American Legion in 1955 and has been a faithful member for 58 years.
He worked for Western Cooperative Credit Union for some time, followed by First National Bank before going to work for the city of Williston as treasurer then serving as the city auditor for 27 years. Along with his work duties, he has served as bookkeeper for several local groups over the years.
He and his late wife Eileen were married for 50 years and raised two sons, Jay Larvick of Minneapolis, Minnesota and Jon Larvick of Dallas, Texas, and daughter Joni Sternberger, who works with American State Bank & Trust Company in Williston. His family also includes a granddaughter and two great-grandchildren.
Jordy Larvick and seven new regular members will be inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame during a luncheon ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday, August 31. The induction ceremony will take place on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend at the Doubletree Hotel, 210 Holiday Court. Members of the public are welcome to view an exhibition of memorabilia featuring this year’s inductees and notable drum and bugle corps of the past during the social hour that precedes the induction luncheon. For luncheon ticket information, visit the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame website at www.worlddrumcorpshof.org/
The 2013 regular inductees are Dale Adair of Edgewater Park, New Jersey; Rita Macey Bernert of Blackwood, New Jersey; Allen Buell of Rochester, New York; Ray Fallon of Euless, Texas; Bobby Hoffman (deceased); Vic Kuluski Jr. of Orlando, Florida. The winner of this year’s President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, to be inducted as a regular member, is Bob Bellarosa (deceased) of Brooklyn, New York.
The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame proceedings, which include the annual general meeting for members after the induction ceremony, is one of several events held during Drum Corps Associates’ (DCA) annual championship tournament weekend. Although the Hall of Fame induction is traditionally held on the same weekend as the DCA championships there is no formal connection between the two organizations.
Inductees are elected by current members for their dedication, contributions and achievements over a long period of time in administration, arranging, adjudication, instruction, innovation and design.
Since its founding in 1976 by the late Vince Bruni of Rochester, New York, membership in the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame has grown from six charter members to 467 regular and associate members from the United States and Canada, who have contributed to the activity across North America, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Middle East, South Africa and Japan.
The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization honoring those individuals who have contributed significantly over many years to the development and continuing excellence of drum and bugle corps activity. The organization also seeks to preserve the history of the drum and bugle corps movement in North America by selecting a noteworthy junior and all age (senior) corps of the decade.
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