DCA Spring Meeting A Success

Saturday, April 26th, all corps and executives from Drum Corps Associates met in Scranton, PA for their Spring Meeting. President Gil Silva, opened the meeting with the roll call. The first thing noted was that after polling all corps present, Business Manager Dick Eschenmann, advised that currently we expect at least 25 or 26 competing corps to attend the DCA Championship Prelims in Rochester August 30th. He also reminded all corps that if they wish to compete at the Championship in Class A, they must declare so no later than June 1st. Proper procedure for doing this is provided in the rulebook. Other notable items from the meeting included:

· Vice President, Larry Hershman advised that DCA Championship ticket sales (pre-sale and on line) are progressing well. He was particularly pleased with a sharp increase in Canadian sales. Phone orders will begin June 3rd.
· President Silva advised that the DCA Contest Committee is currently encouraging bids for the 2010 DCA Championship. Anyone knowing of an interest in hosting this event can get further information by contacting prdirector@dcacorps.org who will forward the necessary requirements to bid as defined by the Contest Committee.
· The draw for positions took place. An excel spreadsheet reflecting the draw for positions in 25 sanctioned DCA contests is available by contacting prdirector@dcacorps.org. Competing position in the Championship Prelims is determined by seeding rules and will not be known until after the last regular season contest of the year. Everyone was extremely pleased with the number of DCA Central and DCA South contests and congratulations was offered to all the groups involved and regional directors Amber Roeker and Vic Kulinski.
· So far, 5 corps who did not compete in 2007 have either completed the evaluation process or are close enough that a positive completion is imminent. They were allowed to draw for positions in the shows they are participating in. They include 2 returning DCA former member corps, Kingston Grenadiers and Carolina Gold. Joining them are newcomers Austin Stars, Sun Devils and Excelsior. President Silva noted with regret that Sunrisers and Skyliners will not be competing this summer. It is still possible that other new corps could be evaluated prior to the season. Evaluation is necessary to compete in any sanctioned DCA regular season contest.
· DCA Rochester Chairman, Allen Buell, advised everyone of the progress toward Labor Day Weekend. After some questions of ownership of Paetec Park over the winter, all has been resolved with the sale of the Soccer Club and the Stadium to a new owner. Among other things, a new stadium concession operator was chosen and they have advised a much-improved stadium food situation is expected.
· Judging coordinator, Rich Templin, advised that the Judge’s Clinic for 2008 will be June 7th in the Allentown, PA area. He also was pleased to announce that the General Effect portion of the clinic will be conducted by well known Hall of Fame personality, arranger, instructor and soloist, Frank Dorritie. This news was very well received by the membership.