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Info as of October 11, 1999 - 10:00 pm PDT from www.scvanguard.org

Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps
General Public Announcement
DATE: October 8,1999

The contract for James W. Koester, program manager for the Santa Clara Vanguard was not renewed for the upcoming season. The SCV Booster Club has been considering and now plans to implement a restructuring of the administrative section of the organization. It is anticipated that there will be minimal disruptions with staffing, programming and corps operations during the next few months and into the upcoming season. Further information will follow as it develops. The SCV Booster Club would like to acknowledge the efforts and success that J.W. Koester has brought forth to the Santa Clara Vanguard organization. He has contributed to further extend the standards of drum corps yet retain the spirit of which Santa Clara is know for. The SCV Booster Club wishes the best for J.W. Koester in his future endeavors.

It should be noted that this note below has been posted in the Rec.Arts.Marching.Drumcorps newsgorup about the above statement.

"This anonymous message was not issued by the SCV Booster Club rather the SCV Booster Board."

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This letter was from J.W. Koester, former Director of Santa Clara Vanguard, 10/8/99

Hello All,

Ê ÊI apologize upfront for the impersonal contact to all of you. However, this is the only way I can reach you quickly before you hear all kinds of rumors and stories.Ê As I do not have many of your fellow corps members e-mail addresses loaded into my computer I am depending on you to forward this letter to as many of the 1999 corps membership as possible.

Ê ÊOn Thursday evening at 6:00 PM I was advised by Charlie Gibson and Charlie Iwanaga of the SCV board of directors that my contract with the corps had been terminated ( I have been fired ) effective immediately.Ê I recently received my yearly review and I did not receive very high marks in several catagories. Based on that evaluation process they decided that a change was needed on the corps administrative team.

Ê ÊI would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for allowing me the chance to work with the best corps members in the world.Ê I always strove to provide you with the best possible environment in order for you to be successful and you have done that beyond belief.

Ê Ê Please do not feel that you are the cause for my dismissal - that would be the furthest thing possible.Ê You have provided me with the best times of my life, events only equaled by the love of my family. What is in store for the corps in 2000 ?Ê Well, I don't know, an interm director was not announced to me.

Ê Same goes for instructional staff members, I don't know the organizations plans.Ê I would suggest that you keep an eye on the web site or just stay plugged into your local grapevine.

Ê Ê I know many of you have asked about rings and their status. Well, I had added into the 2000 budget funds to at least partially pay for them with the balance being provided by you, the corps members. Unfortunately, those dollars were not included in the budget that passed.Ê So, I don't know what to tell you.Ê I hope that whoever takes over as director will push to have the rings made and distributed to you.

Ê Ê I hope that each of you decides to do what is best for you for 2000 ( except you age-outs ).Ê I want you to do what feels right for you and no one else.Ê Please give the organization the opportunity to present their belief in 2000 and beyond and go from there.

Ê Ê You are the future of the Vanguard - you have learned the beliefs well and I know that you will carry them with you forever.Ê If you would like to contact me anytime in the future ( I would like that ) my personal e-mail address is: Jwkoester@aol.com or you could call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.Ê I'm not sure what the future has in store for me - I hope that it will come close to the excitement that you provided. With a little bit of luck I will run into you somewhere down the road ! Ê Take Care and remember that I love all of you,

Ê Ciao,

Ê JW

Ê PS - Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen - time to rise and shine

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A letter from a marching member of Santa Clara Vanguard of 1999

As a member of the 1999 SCV Family, I would like to say a few words about thecurrent situation with the Vanguard organization...

First of all... The Santa Clara Vanguard has always been, and will continue to be an organization associated with tradition, class, and respect. I certainly have not lost my love for the Vanguard and what it represents because of all this, and I doubt anybody who had lived with or been associated with the program has. I have only experienced one year of being a part of SCV, and I can tell you that it was the greatest experience of my life. I'm sure anybody who was with us in the 99 season can tell you ~ we are a family in every aspect. Our love for each other, our dedication, our hard work, our treasured moments and our memories will be with us in our hearts forever. The experience was there from day one... until that final talk on the field with JW after our victory concert, and no matter what happens, nobody can ever take that away. J.W. Koester is like a father to us all. His dedication to the program and his love for all of us is what kept us all moving on through everything that happened. I'm sure any Corps member who has ever experienced Vanguard under the direction of JW will tell you the same, and although there were only a handfull of us who were given the privelage to share our memories with such a wonderful man this past season, I will say that my heart goes out to the many future Vanguard members who will never know what it is like to feel such love from somebody who wakes you up bright and early every morning of the summer.

I wish every drum corps member could have experienced a season like I did last summer, and although I know Vanguard will push on and continue to represent the Santa Clara name like it always has, I have to admit that I feel the decision that was made.. for whatever reason it was made... was a mistake.

To JW Koester, your lovely wife, mother, and daughter who helped us all so much last summer as well, and to the members of Vanguard ~ past and future... My heart goes out to you all. Thank you for everything you've done for me and for the organization... and while I'm sure this is not over yet, I think that we all owe the man who made us champions another standing ovation.

As for the situation with our rings... I can personally and honestly tell you that owning a championship ring had been a dream for me for a long time, but I'd be willing to give up my ring if it meant I'd be able to stand in front of whoever made this decision, along with my 127 brothers and sisters from 99, and express to them everything that we... THE MEMBERS... feel about what has been done.

I am deeply saddened by this event, and like you all, will continue to support and fight for the man we know and love ~~~ even though I won't be returning as a corps member next season.

Thank you for your time

Rich Gordon

SCV Timpani 99

sCORPSboard will keep you up-to-date on this breaking story.

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