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Boston Crusaders Executive Director Tom Spataro shares a reflection on 2010
with us below in this Director’s Note:
By now, most fans should know that 2010 was the Boston Crusaders’ 70th Anniversary. From humble beginnings at Most Precious Blood parish in Hyde Park in the 1940s, the corps has steadily grown into the nationally recognized DCI finalist we are today, drawing participants from 25 of the 50 states as well as Canada and Germany this past year. 2010—what a year. It was a year of new beginnings: new events, a new show, and even a new company!
Probably the biggest news last winter was that the Crusaders launched a new company—Mass Bay Music Festivals—setting a strong new direction for the future of the organization. Mass Bay Music Festivals is a series of spring music festival events held in the Boston Metro area. Mass Bay offers performance opportunities, adjudication, clinics, and master classes to local ensembles from grades 4-12. This is a chance for us to use the resources we have as music educators and event promoters to create a series of impactful, inspiring events to serve our local schools and fine arts programs! It gives us an opportunity to expand our reach beyond the football field to choirs, orchestras, jazz ensembles, and other indoor performance groups in the New England area.
Last spring, we launched the Crusader Classic Golf Tournament (South) to coincide with our May Camp in Bradenton, FL. For twelve years, our northern tournament has been a continued success, and with a returning participant base of around 85 players and some terrific sponsors, we know it’s here to stay. We hope to grow our southern tournament in the coming years to reflect the success we’ve had in Massachusetts.
Heading into the summer, we were proud to return to a storied drum corps town and stadium when we established the Bridgeport Drums show at Kennedy Stadium, which will be returning to the DCI summer tour in 2011 on June 27th for a second year. The 2010 Crusaders won the gold medal at our inaugural event, and look to defend our title this coming season.
Some of the biggest off-the-field highlights from the summer are purely due to our fans and supporters. We were the proud recipients of a grant from Chase Community Giving thanks to literally thousands of Facebook votes from the fans. We also launched the “Old School Challenge” with the Madison Scouts, raising a combined total of over $30,000 in just two short weeks! Thank you to all of you who helped us, whether it was a Facebook ‘Like,’ or a $1000 donation!
Finals night saw us in good company, as for the 12th year in a row, the Crusaders were Drum Corps International finalists, establishing a consistency that few other corps have matched in DCI’s long history.
In September, in addition to our yearly northern golf tournament, the following day we officially celebrated our 70th Anniversary with a reunion gala. For weeks leading up to the event, commuters travelling into and out of Boston were treated to a large LED Crusaders 70th Anniversary logo flying above the IBEW Hall in Dorchester! We had over 300 alumni and friends across all generations in attendance! There was memorabilia on display, including uniforms from every era. The evening included a wonderful five-course sit down dinner and a scrolling slide show with over 1,000 photos from 1940 – 2010. We featured a video performance of the Crusaders’ 2010 production, and a live performance by the Crusaders Senior Corps. We are proud to be the only competing ‘junior’ corps with an active senior corps in the activity.
2010 was a great year, and as the corps (and all of us) enters a new decade, we look forward to an exciting 2011 with plenty of news and exciting events in the works.
Thank you to all who were a part of our 70th year in any way; from our performers, staff and volunteers, to our friends and families, even the 12 year old who went to his first drum corps show in Iowa—you are all part of what made last year and makes every year in drum corps special.
Best wishes for a Happy 2011,
Mr. Spataro is in his fourth year at the helm of the Crusaders organization, and sixth year working full time for the corps. You can reach him at the Crusaders corps office. Look for more ‘notes from the director’ as the 2011 season progresses.
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