Introducing Mr. Don Warren, Keynote Speaker for RAMD Virtual Symposium 1995:
Drum Corps Reconsidered.
On behalf of RAMD Virtual Symposium 1995 Steering Committee, participants and
virtual audience, I would like to introduce Mr. Don Warren, our keynote speaker for Symposium
Week 1995. Mr. Warren is making his first appearance on RAMD, and after rumors of this
unruly bunch, was only slightly comforted when I assured him that RAMD would be on its best
behavior this week. In addressing this newsgroup, Mr. Warren is breaking a tradition of official
non-involvement with RAMD that spans the entire history of the newsgroup.
Mr. Warren founded the current DCI world champion Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps
of Rosemont (formerly Park Ridge), Illinois in 1948 as a Boy Scout corps in Chicago, and took
their name in 1950. One of the two remaining all-male corps (the Madison Scouts being the
other), the Cavaliers "broke the eastern stranglehold on National titles in 1957" as one of the few
travelling corps of the 50's. In the first 30 years of existence, the Cavaliers won over 500 first
place awards, and never placed lower than third in a national contest from 1955 to 1970. They
went undefeated in 1961 through 21 consecutive competitions, and were elected to the Drum
Corps Hall of Fame in 1966. Among the many innovations they brought to drum corps are "the
first corps hall, the first large equipment truck, and ...corps camp" (Popp, 1979).
Mr. Don Warren remains the corps' president from its founding, and is himself a member
of the Drum Corps Hall of Fame in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and well as a charter member of
the D.C.I. (Drum Corps International) Hall of Fame. Mr. Warren is Co-founder of the Combine
as well as D.C.I., which grew therefrom. With the passing last Summer of his friend, the late
Mr. Jim Jones of the Troopers of Casper, Wyoming, Mr. Warren becomes something of the
world's most qualified authority on D.C.I. After serving on the D.C.I. board of directors from
1972 to 1980 and 1985 to 1986, he finds that his telephone bills no longer run into the thousands
of dollars as they did in 1971 during the founding of D.C.I.
Mr. Warren is married, with four children and four grandchildren, and is a commercial
insurance broker, retired. He will be addressing RAMD on the subject of "D.C.I. Reconsidered,"
via the keystrokes of Stuart E. Rice. This is a rare opportunity to hear from this fine gentleman,
and I am sure you will enjoy his remarks as much as I have enjoyed his correspondence over the
last few weeks. He has assured me he went to great pains in making sure he would say nothing
which would get him sued, and with any luck, that will be the only risk he will run by addressing
us RAMD smart-alecks.
It is a privilege to introduce Mr. Don Warren.