Each year at the DCI World Championships, drum majors across Drum Corps International’s competitive divisions are recognized with leadership awards.
Named for the founder and former director of the Troopers, the Jim Jones Award — presented to one World Class and one Open Class drum major each season — recognizes recipients’ leadership abilities, as evaluated through an application and interview process administered by DCI Hall of Fame member Gene Monterastelli.
Additionally, a member of the All-Age Class receives the annual Butch Anderson & Walt Winkleman Memorial Trophy for Best Drum Major, named in honor of two former New York Skyliners drum majors who are in the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame.
2025’s World Class Jim Jones Award honoree, Mattie Kleespies finished her junior drum corps career this summer in the same corps that gave her a start in the activity — the Blue Stars.
“Receiving the Jim Jones Award is such a gratifying way to close out four formative and meaningful years with the Blue Stars,” Kleespies said. “This honor serves as a reflection not just of my own growth as a leader, but also the unwavering support of my staff and teammates who’ve challenged and believed in me each season.”
Kleespies, a Texas native, joined the La Crosse, Wisconsin corps for the 2022 season, filling the role of field conductor. Since then, she’s been the corps’ head drum major.
An example of consistent leadership over three years with Blue Stars, Kleespies recently finished her degree at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating within the top four percent of her class. In September she’ll enter the workforce as a quality manager with a healthcare software company.
“Earning this award feels like a collective victory,” Kleespies added. “One that belongs not only to me, but to the corps for their camaraderie and trust, and to the mentors who have generously invested their time into my journey as a leader.”
The Open Class award recipient, The Battalion’s Linda Segura, has held her current role with the Utah ensemble for three seasons. In Segura’s time with the corps, The Battalion has achieved some of its strongest competitive seasons ever, including all-time high scores and placements this summer, and a first-ever Open Class medalist finish.
Segura attends East Texas A&M University, studying music education and corporate management, and has been involved in the school’s marching band program as both a color guard member and baritone performer since starting in 2023.
“I am in absolute shock,” Segura said, after learning she’d been selected for the award. “A good friend of mine won the Jim Jones Award, and he is just an amazing person, so it’s an honor to be following in the footsteps of his legacy, but also pushing forward and forging my own.”
In the second season of DCI’s All-Age Class, the Butch Anderson & Walt Winkleman Memorial Trophy for Best Drum Major went to the Bushwackers’ Hunter King.
A 2023 Bushwackers member, King returned to the corps in 2025 after a season with Crossmen last summer.
“All I wanted was to get back to the corps,” King said. “I really feel like I got the chance to do that, and the fact that I could then win this award, and make them proud, is all I really wanted.”
“It means the world,” they added. “It’s truly an honor to lead this corps.”
