New WDCHOF President And Vice President

Rich Templin, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania is the new president of the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, following his appointment by outgoing president Bob Peterson, of Mankato, Minnesota. A change in several leadership positions took place during the group’s annual luncheon and induction ceremony, held this year in Annapolis, Maryland on Labor Day weekend.

Templin, who served as vice president for the past year, appointed Bob Findley as the new vice president. Larry Hershman will replace outgoing director of admissions Dick Filkins, with responsibility for the nomination and selection of inductees.

The changes to board of trustees positions are among a number of projects planned to energize the affairs of the Hall of Fame, including re-activating the associate membership category which had languished for several years to allow regular and associate membership totals to reach a balance. Total regular and associate membership is now 471. However, almost half those inducted as regular members since 1976 have passed away.

Rich Templin, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000, performed with a number of Pennsylvania drum and bugle corps, starting with the Milton Comancheros in 1959, going on to the Milton Keystoners and York White Roses through 1969. He was a member of the Westshoremen from 1970 through 1973.

During the 1980s, he was a show designer and drill arranger for such well-known senior corps as the Westshoremen, New York Skyliners and Archer-Epler Musketeers. He was the drill instructor for the Hawthorne Caballeros from 1982 to1984.

He has served as an administrator with a number of judging associations, including the Mid Atlantic Judging Association, the Cavalcade of Bands, the Keystone Indoor Drill Association and was visual caption chair for Drum Corps Associates (DCA). He has also been a visual judge with Drum Corps International (DCI), DCA and has judged for the National Judging Association. He is the co-founder of the Keystone Indoor Drill Association.

Bob Findley, inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1987, knew what he wanted to do the first time he saw a senior drum and bugle corps contest, but he was much too young to join a corps at that time. By the late 1950s, junior drum and bugle corps were springing up across Connecticut. His involvement began when he was recruited to play drum in St. Ann’s School drum and bugle corps.

He enlisted in the United States Army in 1963 and served until 1966. He returned home to resume his drum corps career, eventually becoming drum major for such highly regarded senior corps as Connecticut Hurricanes, Connecticut Yankees, Rhode Island Matadors, Connecticut Alumni and the Park City Pride alumni corps.

He began instructing in 1969 and became a drill and show designer for many drum and bugle corps, high school bands and winter color guards along the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, winning many titles and awards. In addition to these continuing commitments, he is the drum major and visual coordinator for Park City Pride. He is a member of the Rhode Island Matadors hall of fame and a charter member of the Connecticut Hurricanes hall of fame.

The other current members of the board of trustees are: executive secretary Bob Zarfoss, of York, Pennsylvania; treasurer Bob Neuhoff, of Sea Bright, New Jersey; chaplain, historian and dinner program editor Bill McGrath, Jr. of Rochester, New York; systems information chair Carol Hooton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; membership chair Frank Dorritie, of Brentwood, California; merchandising chair Roman Blenski of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; public relations chair Roy Wilson of Burlington, Ontario; banquet chair Shirley McGrath of Rochester, New York.

The late Vince Bruni of Rochester, New York, who passed away 10 years ago on the Friday evening of the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) championship tournament weekend in 2003, founded the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1976. Membership has since grown from six charter members – Vince Bruni, George Bull, Jim Costello, Henry “Lefty” Mayer, Harvey Olderman, Vinnie Ratford – to 277 regular and 194 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 each decade since 1940. Those corps are:

1940s: Holy Name Cadets and Lt. Norman Prince

1950s: St. Vincent’s Cadets and Reilly Raiders

1960s: Chicago Cavaliers and Hawthorne Caballeros

1970s: Santa Clara Vanguard and Hawthorne Caballeros

1980s: Blue Devils and Sunrisers

1990s: Cadets of Bergen County and Empire Statesmen

2000s: Cavaliers of Rosemont and Reading Buccaneers

For more information about the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, visit the web site at: http://www.worlddrumcorpshof.org/