From Keith Miller, Carolina Crown Alumni Association President

It has been 19 years now since the first ever Carolina Crown took the field in Drum Corps International competition. Dressed in their white “milkmen” uniforms – that were actually converted waiter jackets- with a small cardboard teal crown on the breast and cranberry sashes, those first 61 members went to Buffalo, NY and pulled out a 33rd place finish at World Champions. Impressive sounding?..not really. Although that is the least talked about year perhaps in the corps otherwise exciting history, that group holds a special place for me, personally… I was one of them.

In retrospect, that year was not memorable for any of the common reasons you may speak about past years in the activity. We did not have a spectacular show, nor did we did have an incredible sound or a drum line that would drop your jaw. We were, after all, a very small and somewhat motley collection of rookie ”band geeks” that just wanted to be a part of the activity. I am thinking many of you can relate. No, what I remember the most is that we worked our tails off and pushed through the summer not knowing what kind of food we would have the next day, but just reveled in the fact that we were out on tour doing drum corps. We were simply excited by the fact that we got to perform in towns and cities most of us had never been and then stand in retreat with the likes of the Cadets of Bergen Co., Spirit of Atlanta and Star of Indiana. Although our show was not designed to bring people to their feet in a rousing ovation, I believe we incorporated the excitement we felt into our performance where, if nothing else, we put a smile on your face.

The other thing that we did, however, we did not even think about or were even aware of at the time. By pushing through that year, we officially began Carolina Crown and allowed the future years to happen. I think I can speak for most of us from that corps, and the other members of those early years in saying that there is an enormous sense of pride in the fact that we had a hand in starting what this drum corps has now become. I also believe that ANY Alumni from ANY year can say the exact same thing as you had a hand in setting the stage for the future years’ successes and accomplishments.

Every time I see the corps these days I think about that and marvel at how this has progressed in a relatively short amount of time. Just think about what we all as alumni helped to build and that we helped develop. A drum corps-from the south no less-that has made Finals in 12 of its 19 years of existence. There are not many corps out there in the activity’s history that can make a statement like that and we all, as alumni, have a claim in that.

Now, I also have the honor of inviting you on a new, and perhaps overdue venture with Carolina Crown. Establishing the inaugural Carolina Crown Alumni Association. Much of the framework has already been built with a task force of alumni that have worked to get to this point. With that, I am pleased to introduce you to the first Carolina Crown Alumni Association Board of Directors:

Other Alumni Task force members: