Dear Troopers Alumni,

Please join me in welcoming the new Troopers Alumni Association Committee:

• Jon Beerman (1983-84, Brass)

• Julie Eslinger (2001-2005, Guard Captain)

• Jake Fortin (2007-2008, Brass)

• Teresa Hassel Hummel (1982-84, Brass)

• Nick Kottman (2007-2008, Brass)

• Skyler Krall (2010, Brass)

• Matt Larsen (2005-2008, Drumline)

• Morgan Marchand (2011-2014, Brass)

• Tony Monterastelli (1981-1991, Brass, Drum Major)

• Corey Moore (2007-2010, Brass, Drum Major)

These 10 alums were appointed by the Troopers Board of Directors last week. They will start to work very soon on continuing the TAA growth that began in 2016.

While the TAA bylaws allow for the Troopers board to appoint members to the committee, the usual way to fill the committee is by election. The committee called for nominations during the 2016 season. Two nominations were made, but that wasn’t enough to populate a committee that requires between seven and 10 members. Rather than extend the nomination and election window into the fall and winter and lose momentum, the board moved forward to recruit volunteers and ratify their appointment. (The two alums nominated for election, by the way, are included among the 10 who have been appointed.)

It’s my hope that the work of the new committee will continue to grow the number of alumni who are active members of TAA, and that the growth will assure an adequate number of nominations for committee positions, so that elections once again will be the way the alumni select their association leadership.

I’d like to thank the outgoing members of the TAA Committee:

• Terri Everett

• Ila Gapanoff

• David Hobart, President

• Jim McDaniel

• Kenton Nielson

• Vicki Niswonger

• Ariana Pyburn

• Gary Shockey

Under their direction, TAA has grown its active membership in 2016. It led the annual Rocky Mountain Rivalry fundraising campaign to its second-highest total ever. The TAA also shared the stories of alums who adopted Troopers, fed Troopers, and supported Troopers in various ways. Please join me in thanking them for their dedication.

The Troopers’ mission is to provide young people the opportunity to pursue the highest levels of performance excellence in the Troopers tradition. Competitive success is the measure of performance excellence that the Troopers provide to its members. Our goal, then, must be nothing less than to be a perennial DCI finalist.

Getting there requires all elements of the organization -- the members, the instructors, the caption heads, design team, administration, volunteers, board, and the alumni -- to work with singleminded focus on that goal. The Troopers have one of the deepest and dedicated pool of alumni in the drum-corps activity. United in support of the corps members, you can make a huge contribution to their success on the field and in the quality of their experience as Troopers -- and have a heck of a lot of fun along the way.

Audition season is only a few weeks away. Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work on a 2017 season that, under the leadership of the new TAA Committee and with your active support of TAA, will bring the Troopers closer to the Promised Land.

HLD,

Mike Ottoes