News of Interest to Corps Members

The most recent additions are first.

• It is with great sadness that I pass on the details of the funeral arrangements for Edith O'Halloran (Gord's wife)
• Visitation on Thursday, Nov. 20th - 2 - 4 pm; and 6 - 9 pm
  • at Humphrey's Funeral Home
    1403 Bayview Ave. (south of Eglinton Ave)
    Toronto, ON M4G 3A8
    Tel: 416-487-4523
• Funeral is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 21st at 2 pm
  • at St. Cuthbert's Anglican Church (located beside Humphrey's Funeral Home)
    1399 Bayview Ave.
    Toronto, ON  M4G 3A9
• Reception: Following the Church service, there will be a reception at Humphrey's Funeral Home.

Brian Byrne were elected by acclaim as "Treasurer" as was Bill Kane for the VP position. Voting was held for the three contested positions. Carol Munro, Gord Brown and Mike Lang were elected. Our new Executive consists of:

• Len Perrin, President
• Bill Kane, Executive Vice President
• Henry Beben, Secretary
• Brian Byrne, Treasurer
• Carol Munro, Director at Large
• Gord Brown, Director at Large
• Mike Lang, Director at Large

Many thanks to the members of the previous Board for all of their work over the last year. Congratulations to Carol, Gord and Mike who were elected and many thanks to Phil Hennings who, while unsuccessful, expressed his willingness and commitment to serve in yet another role.

Roussel, Timothy Valentine "Tim" of Chilliwack, passed away suddenly September 15, 2008 at the age of 55 years. Tim was predeceased by his parents Ray and Shirley and is lovingly remembered by his family; his wife of 27 years Denise and his son Curtis. He is also remembered by his 4 brothers, Ray (Carrie), Rick (Susan), Dennis and Lorne, sister Mary (John) Gibb, father and mother in law Sandy and Phyllis, brothers in law Gord (Betty), Jim (Barb) and sister in law Lynn as well as many other family members and friends. Tim's love of family and friends, his great sense of humour, and passion for life will be remembered by all who knew him.

Memorial Service will be held on Friday September 19 at 1:00 p.m in the chapel of Valley View Funeral Home 14660 72 Ave. Surrey. If desired in lieu of flowers donations in Tim's memory may be made to the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation.

• On Monday, September 15th, 2008 Tim Roussel, younger brother of Ray Roussel, died of a heart attack today. He was only 55. Tim marched in the corps in 1968, 69 and 70. There were 4 Roussel brothers in the corps, Ray, Rick, Dennis and Tim.
• We'll post more details when we have them.

• Contest entry from Jamie Prokop, the son of  former Toronto Optimist Ron Prokop, for the new Hockey Night in Canada theme (thanks to Gary Kennett for letting me know about this).

• Visitation: July 1, 2008 at Giffen-Mack - 2570 Danforth Avenue, Toronto 2-4pm & 7-9pm
• Funeral Service: July 2nd at 11am at Giffen-Mack - 2570 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
• Internment: Resthaven Memorial Gardens - 2700 Kingston Road, Scarborough 
  Follow the convoy to the internment or go directly to the reception. 
• Reception: Branch 1/42 (Baron Byng Beaches)  Royal Canadian Legion - 243 Coxwell Avenue
• Directions from Funeral Home to Reception: 
  Head west on Danforth toward Main. Turn left onto Coxwell (about 5min)
• Directions from Internment to Reception: 
  Head West on Kingston Road - 8 km (or 14mins) on Kingston Rd, you will cross Midland Avenue. Turn right at Dundas Street East. Turn Right at Coxwell Avenue (total trip is about 15min)

• on Friday, June 27th, Dot Kane, the mother of Bill and Jim Kane, passed away. We offer out condolences to Bill, Jim and to their familes.
• Visitation will be July 1st at the Giffen-Mack funeral home, 2570 Danforth Ave, Toronto. Their phone number is: (416) 698-3121
• Her service will be held on July 2nd at 11 am at the above location.
• I received this message from Wendy Paquin: "Jim Kane's Mom passed away last night in her sleep. She had been suffering from cancer for about a year. Dot Kane was an absolutely amazing lady with a life story that could launch a best selling novel. She was a salesclerk at the Woolworth's in the beach area of Toronto until the day they closed their doors and was a proud supporter of Jim and his brother Bill and granddaughter all marching in drum corps. Visitation will be July 1st @ Giffen-Mack @ 2570 Danforth, and her service on July 2nd at 11 am at the same place. Dot what a lady RIP"

• on Thursday, May 29th, Jim Dwyer's father passed away. We offer our condolences to Jim and to his family.
• Friends will be received at the ANDREWS COMMUNITY FUNERAL CENTRE (8190 Dixie Rd., North of Steeles Ave., Brampton 905-456-8190) on Monday, June 2, 2008 from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m.
• A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church (940 North Park Dr., Brampton) at 10:30 a.m.
• Interment to take place in Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery, Montreal.

• Visitation will be at the McEACHNIE FUNERAL HOME, 28 Old Kingston Road, Pickering Village (Ajax) 905-428-8488 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday
• Funeral Mass on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church (1148 Finch Ave., Pickering, ON) at 10:30 a.m. Interment at Christ the King Catholic Cemetery

Bob Duggan was an alumnus of De La Salle Drum and Bugle Corps, of its predecessor De La Salle Blue and Gold Band and its successor, Oakland Crusaders Drum Corps. In that regard, he stands alone.

In 1953, as a student at De La Salle College 'Oaklands', Bob joined the De La Salle Blue and Gold Band. He was a member of the Blue and Gold through 1957. When the Band reorganized to become a drum and bugle corps in 1958, Bob was a member of the original De La Salle Drum Corps . He rejoined Del in 1966 as an instructor with the horn line and as a Drum Major.
In the early '70's Bob became corps Director of the Etobicoke Crusaders. He held that position in 1975 when Del and the Crusaders merged. Bob was the original Corps Director of the Oakland Crusaders.

Arrangements are as follows

• Visitation: on Wednesday December 19 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
• Service: on Thursday at 1:00 PM.
• Both will be at the McEachnie Funeral Home (905-428-8488), 28 Old Kingston Rd in Ajax (Pickering Village).

A notice is to be in the Tuesday Toronto Star.
 

Turner and Porter "Peel" Chapel
2180 Hurontario Street
Mississauga Ontario
The funeral home is on Hwy #10 just north of the QEW on the West side.

Visitation: on Tuesday November 13, 2007 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm and from 7:00 until 9:00 pm

Service: Wednesday November 14, 2007 at 1:00 pm (cremation)

Reception: will follow the service. It will be held at:

2542 Argyle Rd. (downstairs reception room)
Mississauga Ontario

Note: At this time it is unknown if there will be a special band tribute. Marilyn will be talking with her Mother and will advise us. We will keep everyone informed when we have more information.

• Since we had too few people running in the elections we were left with a vacancy. Under the terms of the constitution our Board of Directors has appointed Jim Dwyer as Director at Large.
• In recognition of the excellent job he did last year Jim has once again been appointed as Business Manager.

• I'm sad to report that Brian Hogan has resigned from the corps. Brian was a charter member of the Optimists Alumni. We know that it was a very difficult decision for Brian to make and we want him to know that he'll be missed.

After some discussion we learned that the corps plans on applying for a Trillium Grant and the Trillium Foundation prefers a larger board of directors. As a result of this discussion both of the proposed amendments to the constitution were withdrawn by the individuals who had suggested them.

Peter Burton and Ron Chong were elected by acclaim as "Directors at Large". Voting was held for the two contested positions. Len Perrin was re-elected as president and Henry Beben was elected as Secretary. There is still a vacant position on the board (Director At Large) since there were not enough candidates to run for all positions. The new board will review the constitution and decide a suitable method for filling this position. Our new Executive consists of:

• Len Perrin, President
• Bill Kane, Executive Vice President
• Henry Beben, Secretary
• Brian Byrne, Treasurer
• Peter Burton, Director at Large
• Ron Chong, Director at Large

Many thanks to the members of the previous Board for all of their work over the last year. Congratulations to Len Perrin and Henry Beben who were elected and many thanks to Carol Munro and Ric Brown who, while unsuccessful, expressed their willingness to serve and their commitment to the corps by choosing to run in these elections.

Proxy Forms in Acrobat Format:

	Amendments to the constitution
	Elections to the Board

Proxy Forms as pictures (bigger files)

	Amendments to the constitution
	Elections to the Board

There are four components to the day's program.

1. General Corps' business will include final reviews and reports from the President, Treasurer, Business Manager, and Show Director. Time will be allotted at the conclusion of their presentations for your questions and answers.
2. All members in good standing will be entitled to vote for the 2 Proposed Constitution Amendments below:
   • Submitted by Paul Thompson on July 24, 2007
     • Beginning the Elections of 2008, candidates who run for any Executive Office (President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer) and who are unsuccessful may then submit their names as candidates for the position of Director at Large.
     • Rationale:  We want to encourage those with the most talent and experience to contest these executive positions and not forfeit the opportunity to serve on the Board
   • Submitted by Ric Brown on August 8, 2007
     • Beginning the Elections 2008, the Board of Directors consist of the following:
       • President/Director
       • Assistant VP/Director
       • Secretary/Treasurer
       • Business Manager
       • Director at Large
3. All members in good standing are entitled to vote for the positions below:
   • President/Corps Director for 2008 & 2009
     • the candidates are Carol Munro and Len Perrin
   • Executive Secretary for 2008 & 2009
     • the candidates are Henry Beben and Ric Brown
4. We will conclude the day's events with a rehearsal

• Funeral:   Wednesday, Aug 29 at Divine Infant Catholic church in Orleans.
• Viewing:  Tuesday at the Kelly Funeral Home from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
• Contact:  wife is Mary Jane
  Address:  643 Chemiere Way
                 Orleans, ON, K4A 1R8
• email still being monitored:  vdecloux@rogers.com

1. Henry Beben is nominated for the position of Secretary (July 31)
2. Len Perrin is nominated for the position of President/Corps Director (August 15)
3. Carol Munro is nominated for the position of President/Corps Director (August 18)
4. Ric Brown is nominated for the position of Secretary (August 18)
5. Peter Burton is nominated for the position of Director at Large (August 18)
6. Ron Chong is nominated for the position of Director at Large (August 18)

Proposed Amendments to our Constitution

1. Submitted by Paul Thompson on July 24, 2007
   • Beginning the Elections of 2008, candidates who run for any Executive Office (President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer) and who are unsuccessful may then submit their names as candidates for the position of Director at Large.
   • Rationale:  We want to encourage those with the most talent and experience to contest these executive positions and not forfeit the opportunity to serve on the Board
2. Submitted by Ric Brown on August 8, 2007
   • Beginning the Elections 2008, the Board of Directors consist of the following:
     • President/Director
     • Assistant VP/Director
     • Secretary/Treasurer
     • Business Manager
     • Director at Large

• the June 14th Thurs rehearsal will happen, but at St Mike's, NOT at the Legion.
• Thurs June 14th: Jamie will conduct a special Brass Ensemble on Thursday June 14th at St Mike's from 7:00 till 9:30 pm.  All interested drummers will also have exclusive use of the East Music Room if they choose to use the facility.
• changed "Instructions" to include times & location for this weekend's marching camp.

• changed "Instructions" to include times & location for this weekend's marching camp.
• the Acrobat files for our current songs have been removed from "Music Downloads" and "New Music Downlaods". Please print your parts for these numbers from the Scorch files which will be kept current.

• Thurs May 31st: Jamie will conduct a special Brass Ensemble on Thursday May 31st at St Mike's from 7:00 till 9:00.  All interested drummers will also have exclusive use of the East Music Room if they choose to use the facility.
• Thurs June 14: This rehearsal has been cancelled as the Legion is unavailable
• Thurs June 21: This rehearsal has been cancelled as the Legion is unavailable

• Notice: The Don Valley Parkway will be closed this weekend.
• We have two new members of the corps: Terry Sweeney's son, Shannon, who will be playing Baritone and Terry's stepson, Jamie Filipchuck, who'll be playing Mellophone. Welcome, Jamie and Shannon!

Dress Rehearsal

Now that we have our uniforms, we need to take them out for a test run!

This Sunday, May 6, part of our rehearsal will be devoted to "The Wearing of the Green"

This will allow us to ensure that all Members are wearing our uniform properly, will give you a chance to wear our uniform, thereby eliminating any unforeseen problems at our first performance of the season and affording us the opportunity to get properly prepared for "And the Bands Played On".

This will be treated like any other performance, so you are required to bring your complete uniform, including uniform shoes (Dinkles) and black socks.  Before hand, make sure that your uniform is fitted properly – including sleeves and cuffs properly sized and lightly pressed, as per the instructions given by Henry and Phil when you were issued your uniform.

Hopefully, this will iron out any bugs in our performance and will take care of any unforeseen problems, which normally occur on "Opening Night".

When Simcoe comes around, we'll be ready to crank up the WOW factor!

Brian Hogan & Dave Burgess, Drum Majors

• After a long fight with cancer, Teresa Zuraw, the wife of Baritone player Don Deschambault, has passed away.
• The funeral will be tomorrow, Weds May 2nd, at 2 pm in Orillia
• Visitation will be held at the Simcoe Funeral Home, 38 James St., E., Orillia on Tuesday, May 1st from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Wednesday May 2nd from 12 noon until time of funeral services at 2 p.m
• Simcoe Funeral Home
  38 James Street E.
  Orillia, On.
  705-327-0221
  1-866-399-6499
• Google map to the funeral home
• We offer our condolences to Don and to his and Teresa's families.

• Housing for DCA Alumni Spectacular
  • hotels in Rochester are almost full
  • if you're driving on your own and staying over, book your room now or you may be staying a long way away
  • The booking agent is Joanne at DePrez Travel Bureau. Phone (877) 478-2111, ext 205

• Tom Mellors has joined the corps and is playing snare. Tom is a former Jolly Jester and Royalaire. Welcome, Tom!

• changed Music Downloads and "New" Music Downloads to include drum parts for Opening and "When You're Smiling"

• updated the Alto part and the score for "When You're Smiling"

• The Baritone 2 and 3 parts for "When You're Smiling" have had minor changes made in Bar 4.
• The Acrobat files and the Scorch files for the Score, and the baritone 2 & 3 parts have been updated.

• Brian Hogan and Dave Burgess have both been appointed as Drum majors for our corps. Congratulations, Dave and Brian!

• The family will receive friends at the ARMSTRONG FUNERAL HOME, 179 Clarence Street, Port Colborne on Friday from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. Phone: (905) 834-3483
• click here for a map and to obtain directions to the funeral home
• A vigil will be held Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at the Funeral Home.
• A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2007 at St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church in Wainfleet (just outside Port Colborne). Here's the address:
  • St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church
    Highway #3 Wainfleet ON, L0S 1V0
    Phone: 905.899.3423
• If so desired, memorial donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation

• Last night Dave Byrne passed away. Dave was the brother of Alumni Corps member Brian Byrne and a former member of the Toronto Optimists. Funeral arrangements will be announced when they have been finalized. We offer our condolences to Dave's family, to Brian and to the other members of the Byrne family.

• Keith Oehm who served on the Lancers and Cadet Lancers executive and instructed their horn lines passed away last night due to a massive heart attack. Dave Burgess said "Mr. Oehm was a great man and personal favourite of mine. My family and I are both shocked and saddened by this."  We offer our condolences to Keith's family.
• Mr Oehm is resting at the Ward Funeral Home: 109 Reynolds St (corner of Church and Reynolds), Oakville, ON. (That is one block NE of Trafalgar and Lakeshore Rd.)
• Visitation: Sat 2-4 and 7-9, Sunday 2-4.
• Service is on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Holy Cross Evangelical Church, 3455 Lakeshore Rd in Burlington (just west of Walker's Line).
• Donations may be given to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

• changed "Brass & Percussion Goodies" (under Members) to include some new links on Playing and Breathing for brass players
• changed "Brass & Percussion Goodies" (under Members) to include an Acrobat file with bits and pieces of playing and breathing info for Brass players (about 1.5 megs)
• changed " Contact Info for Corps Members" (under Members) to include a list of names, by section.

• This year we have three candidates for the position of Drum Major: Bob Cunningham, Brian Hogan and Dave Burgess.
  • Barry Bell knows Bob so you can get the scoop from Barry
  • Brian currently plays Baritone in the Alumni Corps
  • Dave, who's already been out to a few rehearsals, is a former Drum Major of the Optimist Lancers
• Nils Winters will be playing Quints with Gaelen
• Judy Davidson (Jan Forsythe's sister) and Leo Thompson (Paul Thompson's brother and a former Contra player from the 70's) are volunteers who have already started to assist the corps
• The Alumni Corps extends a big WELCOME! to Bob, Dave, Nils, Judy and Leo
• and Ted Wilson has moved back to Contra from Alto!

• Santa's come early! and a uniform design has been chosen
• details will be announced on Sunday, Dec 17th
• please come on Sunday and you will be measured for your new uniform
• many thanks to Henry Beben and Phil Hennings for their excellent , and speedy, work
• changed "Upcoming Performances", under "Alumni Corps", to include new performances

• last Thursday (Nov 30) Bogo Avsec had surgery to remove his prostate. The surgery was successful and Bogo is now home and doing well
• John Shearer, while still recovering from his knee replacement, is back attending rehearsals
• Ted Wilson has also returned from his convalescence and has moved from Contra to Alto

November 21, 2006

Important Communication to All Members of the Optimists Alumni Drum Corps
From Len Perrin - President
 

On November 5th the Board created a committee to investigate and recommend a uniform. Henry Beben and Phil Hennings are the members of that committee. Their goal is to create the best possible uniform and do so at an affordable price.

In the two weeks since the committee was formed:

• they have determined that there are eight potential manufacturers in southern Ontario
• they have personally visited each of them
• they have discovered that only two of them are capable of producing our uniform
• they are awaiting cost estimates from these two companies

As a result of their research, they also decided to explore companies in the United States. So far

• they have contacted three companies in the US
• they plan to visit the largest manufacturer in the US by the end of November

When they have completed their investigation and have prices, they will submit their report to the Board.

• Changed the Photo Gallery to include an Alumni Corps theme as default. Also set up a theme for Toronto Optimists and another for Seneca Optimists (look for "Choose a theme" on the photo gallery page).
• Randy Cochrane gives the corps the flag which the Toronto Optimists Colour Guard received for winning the 1968 Circuit Guard Championship.

• Phil Hennings presented our Music Director, Jamie Oatt, with a memento that Phil had created.

Phil making presentation
to Jamie

Phil's handiwork

• Today, John Shearer had knee replacement surgery. There were a couple of small surprises but the surgery went well. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing John for a few weeks. The doctors told him that he needs some time to recuperate and, while he strenuously disagrees, John has decided to follow the doctor's orders.
• Below you'll find a couple of photos of John's surgery (click on the photo for a larger view), as performed by Dr Pat Buttigieg and her assistants: Brian Byrne, Vern Reid, Paul Thompson and Rick Shearer! (OK, so it wasn't his real surgery!)

• Len Perrin, President
• Bill Kane, Executive Vice President
• Paul Thompson, Secretary
• Brian Byrne, Treasurer
• Peter Burton, Director at Large
• Jim Dwyer, Director at Large
• Carol Ann Munro, Director at Large

Many thanks to the members of the previous Board for all of their efforts over the last year. Congratulations to those who were elected and thanks to those who cared enough to run in these elections but were unsuccessful. If at first you don't succeed, ....

• On Oct 15, John Petti, who plays baritone, joined the corps. Most recently John played with Toronto Signals. Back in the mid-60s he marched with De La Salle Oaklands. Welcome, John.

• On Friday, October 13 Mr. Nick Ferraro passed away. Nick was the brother of Rose, George Wright's wife, and the brother of Vince Ferraro, a former member of the Toronto Optimists. We offer our condolences to Vince, Rose, George and to the members of the Ferraro family.