Fred Windish

Hi all! Championship tickets will not be mailed out for another 2-3 weeks. Due to new stadium construction, there are still a few seating areas to check. Actually, DCA officials will be in Rochester on Thursday for an inspection of PAETEC Park. We appreciate your patience! Fred

Good morning! Since assuming this position just four months ago, I have been satisfied with my relationship with the folks at Drum Corps International. Conversations with Dan Acheson and Ed Dempsey have been both courteous and supportive. Actually, it was Ed Dempsey who contacted me early with a "welcome aboard" message and an explanation about DCI Today ad space due to be provided to DCA at no charge. The ad space component is part of a larger assortment of cross-promotional efforts between DCA and DCI. DCA did incur the cost of ad design and preparation by DesignAura, but no cash payment was made to DCI by DCA, for the all-age ad space. DCA appreciates DCI's willingness to participate in this kind of cooperation, and believes there are other examples still to follow. The relationship seems fine from here. Reading this topic and others is helpful in the performance of my job description. Thanks to everyone who has contributed their thoughts. Fred

Hey, Bawk! I'm sure there's interest in a "legacy video thing," but so far, no effort. As Jeff Ream and others have alluded, DCA, and video, has been all over the map. We have dealt with a variety of sources, under a multitude of conditions. It would be a challenge, for sure. Also know, source material from earlier years is simply not available, and then there's the question of market size to justify expenditure. Please know it's a concept that needs to remain on the table. :)

Hi, all! I really should weigh-in on this. As Vic said, the DCA Championships were televised on PBS in 1977. I was one of the producers. We pitched the idea to WLVT, the Lehigh Valley's (Allentown) PBS affiliate. A few hundred dollars went to DCA, plus a few other promotional considerations. WLVT sold the concept to the (then) Eastern Educational Television Network. EETN was a consortium of 43 PBS stations, east of the Mississippi. EETN offered the broadcast nationwide to other PBS affiliates. Many stations throughout the United States did opt to broadcast the event. In the Allentown area, it was a three hour broadcast. The product that went out nationally was a one hour highlight thing for most areas of the country. The quality of the local production was outstanding! Frankly, the audio effort by WLVT remains the best I've ever heard. Note to Fran Haring . . . who was the Sunrisers' drum major that year? He had an amazing air of confidence about him. Unfortunately, WLVT did not archive programs from that long ago. This was well before the advent of personal VCRs, and the production is probably lost forever. If anyone has a recorded copy of that production, please let DCA know! Can the DCA Championships appear again on PBS, or any other national television outlet? Sure. Please be assured, DCA is open to that possibility, but it's not a simple deal. Fred

Webmaster Glen Johnson at dcacorps.org has made available an outstanding collection of performance photos from last season. Featuring the work of New York photo imaging specialist, Don Paluh, this colorful portfolio is a must see for every fan of all-age drum corps. Check it out! For more on Don Paluh, visit donpaluh.com. On behalf of President Gil Silva, and the entire Drum Corps Associates organization, I wish all of our Drum Corps Planet friends an enjoyable holiday season! Fred Windish Director of Marketing and Public Relations <santa>

Hi, all! This is great stuff. And now for a bit if trivia (but important trivia) . . . The Best Soloist Award created such a problem in 1986 or 1987 (Kurt Hawkins?) that it actually spawned the best Individual Showmanship Award created that same year! I had the pleasure of conferring with Mickey Petrone on the sidelines at Allentown. The local committee wanted to award Best Soloist to Sandy McNeil, the Steel City Ambassador conga guy. If you saw his performance that season you'll understand. Mickey explained the Best Soloist refers to a brass performer and we really should not change that. A decision was made to create a new award to acknowledge Sandy. We did, and the rest is history, as they say. My apologies to everyone who thinks DCA has too many special awards, but really, why not? Isn't DCA great? Fred :)

Hi, all! Earlier, there was concern about DCA booking an unfinished stadium for its main event. Well . . . please visit www.rhinossoccer.com! Look'in good to me! Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Drum Corps Associates. Fred

I sincerely appreciate everyone's warm welcome! Tom Peashey did an excellent job for DCA. While I will not be posting here nearly as often, please know that Drum Corps Associates recognizes the importance of fan satisfaction. Every comment and suggestion expressed here by our audience will be read, noted, and respected.

Hello, everyone! I am pleased to be a member of the DCA team. Here's a summary of this weekend. DCA Convenes in Rochester Rochester, NY’s Crowne Plaza Hotel was site for DCA’s annual October meeting on Saturday, October 22. The October meeting is usually a time to review the past season, receive reports from various divisions, for election of officers, and to establish goals and objectives for the coming year. This year, the meeting in Rochester also served as a preview of preparations for DCA’s next championship event. Upstate New York, and the Greater Rochester Region, are gearing-up to host their tenth drum corps championship week, as the 2006 DCA World Championships, presented by A.J. Wright, are scheduled for brand new PAETEC Park, in the city’s downtown. Rochester was host to nine previous DCA Championship events. Most recently, the city utilized Frontier Field for DCA in 1996. The 2006 event is to be held at an entirely new venue, nearby PAETEC Park. Nearly one hundred attendees, representing 23 corps were present. Gil Silva was re-elected President of Drum Corps Associates. He will be joined by Vice President, Larry Hershman; Secretary, Glen Johnson; Treasurer, Michael Corso, and Rich Templin, Judging Coordinator. Dan Rippon, the 2005 Vice President, will assume the position of Assistant to the Treasurer. Appointments by the executive board included Dick Eschenmann, returning as Business Manager, Dick Pronti and Barbara Haring as Coordinators of Individual & Ensemble events. Jim Minster will oversee DCA’s Class A Division, while Vic Kulinski will return as Coordinator of DCA South, joining Kurt Schiebel who will continue to manage DCA’s Central Division. Fred Windish was presented as the new DCA Director of Marketing & Public Relations. Jim Gruber of the Reading Buccaneers was voted Director of the Year for 2005. The Buccaneers are the current DCA World Champions. Allen Buell, Business Manager for the Empire Statesmen, was introduced as Chairman of the 2006 DCA World Championships, presented by A.J. Wright. Mr. Buell outlined preparations to date and surprised attendees with an invitation to tour the new PAETEC Park facility. PAETEC Communications, headquartered in Rochester, NY, is one of America’s leading telecommunications providers. PAETEC Park will be home to the Rochester Rhinos of the United Soccer League. This brand new, state-of-the-art venue, will open in May, 2006. Featuring approximately 13,000 seats (Phase 1), PAETEC park is designed for multi-purpose use. Drum corps fans will be happy to know, this stadium offers everything to make “in-your-face” DCA entertainment a reality. Everyone agreed, it’s time for DCA to “Rock in Rochester,” and this place will make that happen ! For complete 2006 DCA Championship information, visit dcacorps.org. (102305)

OK . . . I didn't get the signature image thing correct. Maybe later!

Thanks, Fran! I'm here trying to update my Drum Corps Planet settings. Let's see how this post works. Fred :)