In Memorium.......Cadets director Dr. Richard "Doc" Santo

[Bob984]

Dr. Richard "Doc" Santo passed away last evening in Florida. "Doc" was director

of the Cadets from 1979-1982. He was a great guy who treated everyone

with respect and kindness, and was loved by all who knew him. His optimism

was contagious, and his open-minded approach to running the corps allowed the

corps to plow through challenging times and to a return to greatness. I will remember him

fondly forever.

[ironlips]

My sincere condolences to the Santo family.

Doc took the leadership of the Cadets at a critical time and guided the ship with great skill. He will be remembered for his vision.

Edited November 18, 2010 by ironlips

[sarnia sam]

One thing that always impressed me about Garfield Cadets in that time period was the steady and sure growth musically and on the score sheets. While everyone goes on and on about 84 and 83, to me it's 82 that was the watershed program. I wasn't so surprised by the first win in 83.

While George has sustained the plateau Garfield reached, I have no doubt he wouldn't have had the opportunity without a person like Santo building the foundation. It must have been a remarkable time to have been a Garfield Cadet then.

Regards,

John

[perc2100]

One thing that always impressed me about Garfield Cadets in that time period was the steady and sure growth musically and on the score sheets. While everyone goes on and on about 84 and 83, to me it's 82 that was the watershed program. I wasn't so surprised by the first win in 83.

While George has sustained the plateau Garfield reached, I have no doubt he wouldn't have had the opportunity without a person like Santo building the foundation. It must have been a remarkable time to have been a Garfield Cadet then.

Regards,

John

Great point; that 82 show REALLY set all the ducks in a row for the corps to go on a great competitive run immediately following that season. They placed 3rd (if I remember correctly), which was their highest DCI placement by a lot, and maybe even their first Top 5 placement in DCI. Also introduced to the drum corps community Rocky Point Holiday, which Garfield used again in 83 to even greater success.

I honestly know very little about Doc Santo, but he seemingly took charge of Garfield at a fairly dark time (competitively, at least), grew/improved the corps each year, and probably had just about as much to do with the 80's dynasty as Hop did (or at least Hop owes Doc Santo a bit for nurturing the corps and 'preparing' the organization for the next level).

My condolences to the Holy Name/Garfield/Bergen County Cadets family, as well as Dr. Santos' other friends and family.

[luvs me sum mello!]

...

[cabsbari79]

My condolences to the Santos family.

Although I never had the opportunity to meet the man, my dad spoke highly of him.

[tommytimp]

Condolences. he was excellent on the 84 broadcast.

Even more important than 82, IMO, was 1981. That year Garfield finished third in horns, first in field horns, and first in percussion exposure to error. That was the year that made 82 possible. They pick up from the successful 1980 season, end up with a great hornlinre the next year, Get Z for 82, and then the dominos tumble.

[84Cadet]

RIP Doc. FHNSAB.

[Fran Haring]

Condolences. he was excellent on the 84 broadcast.

Even more important than 82, IMO, was 1981. That year Garfield finished third in horns, first in field horns, and first in percussion exposure to error. That was the year that made 82 possible.

And 1980... when the corps went from nearly folding to making it back into Finals for the first time since 1977.