News From the Top - September 8th

PIONEER/DCI RELATIONSHIP:

An interim Board has been formed. We have received, reviewed, and are developing a comprehensive plan to address Drum Corps International's suspension reinstatement terms.

We are seeking individuals who have knowledge, experience, and expertise in the following areas of; administration, education, non profit boards, finance, fund raising, public relations, communications, media, transportation, health and wellness plans, first aid, food service, alumni organizations, and of course, drum corps, to assist in the process of developing policies and procedures specific to these areas.

If you are interested in assisting us, please respond by completing the VOLUNTEER APPLICATION found under the Contribute tab on the Pioneer website. Your information will be given to the appropriate committee. We will contact you shortly. Thank you.



BINGO:

Bingo is sponsored by the Pioneer Corps most Wednesdays at the St. Francis Lions Club located at 3476 E. Howard Ave Saint Francis, WI It begins at 6:30 pm. Every Saturday evening the Pioneer hosts bingo at the United Seniors Center at 4515 W. Forest Home Ave. in Milwaukee. Our Saturday night bingo also begins at 6:30 pm We would very much like to welcome you to come and play bingo, or help us as floor workers, which are especially needed!



LAKE ERIE BUS RETURNED:

Roman and Sue Blenski took back the Lake Erie Corps’ bus as they were on their way to Williamsport, PA to attend the D.C.A. Championship. The bus was thoroughly cleaned and in good order. We cannot thank Mr. Ray Luniewski enough for his caring generosity when we needed a bus. We would like to apologize for the unkind remarks that one of our members wrote about the vehicle, posting for the whole world to see. Dave Campbell posted that the State of Pennsylvania has only computer records of inspections and licensing. They no longer use stickers on the license plates with an expiration date. The Lake Erie bus was fully and currently licensed as well as inspected. Again, we apologize to the Lake Erie Regiment Corps on behalf of the Pioneer for the embarrassing and ungrateful gossip posting of one of our members. Mr. Ray Luniewski is one of those people who never hesitates to be of help if either he or his unit can. We stand ready to return any favor if asked of us.



GOOD DEED:

Bus driver, Charity Brooks completely scrubbed the inside of Bus #69, and drove friends of our cook, Ms Daphne to Chicago to attend a seminar about “Wisconsin’s Afro-American Women”. They also did some serious shopping!



MORE GOOD DEEDS:

Lead by Pioneer Alumni…John Schoenknecht #444, Karl Mueller #1003, Al Dobyns #1171, Greg Loomis # 215, Robert Newman # 385, and Carl Cummings #616, these Pioneer Alumni spent two whole sweaty days cleaning and scrubbing our Food Truck getting it ready for winter and our first camp. The good news is that the new Thermo King freezer worked too good. Some of the frozen food on the bottom was as solid as a rock. The second day was needed to allow for thawing. Thank you guys for offering your much needed help without asking!



ALUMNI MEETING:

This important meeting of all alumni, boosters, & friends will take place at PIONEERLAND on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20th, at 1:00 pm to discuss future projects that are being planned. It will be a great time to meet old friends, ask questions, and perhaps see how you can be involved.



$$$ TO ERIC:

Some members made promises to pay the rest of their tour fees after the season! Well it is now about a month later. Please send a check now, even if it’s only a part. It shows that you are responsible to your commitment.



PIONEEER AWARDS BANQUET:

Caption Head, Josh Logan has the most difficult job at the Awards Banquet.

David Phan, the Cymbal Tech had to leave for a band camp, and probably the best section in the corps was our Cymbal Line. They consisted of 5 high achieving and competitive individuals who constantly set the high bar for spirit, discipline, and all around drive for excellence. Mr. Logan announced that the winner had the members’ vote and staff noted ability vote. The veteran who aged out and was section leader is Evan Pliska #2616.

Pioneer Alumnus Zach Hewitt #2477, our snare tech, gave out the Snare Award to Pioneer Snare Section Leader, Larry Smith #2731. Larry won both the member vote as well as the staff’s acknowledgement of his abilities.

Mr. Manny Castenada presented the Best Tenor Award to Hunter Poole #2701. Hunter won the member, ability, and attendance captions.

The most unique award was the Bass Drum Award presented by our electronics engineer, Rob McCowan #2426. He had on his cell phone, John Quinslik, who was in Taiwan, China teaching. Via the microphone on the podium and Rob’s cell phone, John was able to talk to the entire corps! That was an awesome display of dedication and Corps Spirit! The Bass Drum Award was presented to McKenzie Speidel #2730 winning the attitude and ability caption.

The Front Ensemble Award went to Jordan Wood #2673 winning attitude, ability, and attendance captions. This award was presented by Alex Sylvester #2429.

The Best Dressed Male of the banquet was Josh Pier, Pioneer Visual Caption Head. The best Dressed Female of the banquet was Jalissa Bishop #1815, Pioneer Tour Manager.



Never forget to be

BETTER EVERY DAY!

Gary Owen