DCI Announces Hall of Fame Inductees

Drum Corps International is proud to announce the DCI Hall of Fame Class of 2002 Inductees. These five gentlemen were selected by their peers in a process of voting among prior Hall of Fame inductees and the current DCI Board of Directors. The five inductees are Clarence Beebe, Salvatore Ferrera, David Gibbs, Emile “Moe” Latour and Sie Lurye. All five inductees will be honored at the DCI World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, this August. David Gibbs David Gibbs is no stranger to anyone in drum corps today. His work as director of the Concord Blue Devils has led the corps to multiple DCI World Championships. A member of the organization since being a marcher in 1974, David played soprano and was then appointed drum major. Upon aging out, he became a part of the corps’ visual staff and went on to design some of the corps’ most memorable visual programs. In 1991, he became only the third corps director in Blue Devils’ history. Along with Hall of Fame member Wayne Downey, David has been with the corps through all 29 years of DCI Membership; including its ten DCI titles. He has won DCI titles as a marcher, a staff member and director. David’s scope has reached beyond the corps. He has established the Diablo Youth Symphony and oversees all the programs within the Blue Devils’ organization. He has also served as Chairman of the DCI Board of Directors. David is known well for his visible contributions to the activity, but it may well be his behind-the-scenes contributions that earned him his upcoming induction into the DCI Hall of Fame.Moe Latour Emile Latour, known to all as “Moe,” has been actively engaged in the drum corps community for over 50 years. He served as director of the Blue Raeders and went on to serve as tour director for a number of corps including Blue Stars, Phantom Regiment, Star of Indiana, and, for the last 14 years, The Cadets. He is regarded by many to be a living “icon” of the activity, one to whom others turn to for advice. To a number of tour directors today, Moe “wrote the book” on touring, figuring things out or himself so others wouldn’t have to. Moe joined the management staff of Southern Rebels in 1968. He then became director of a new New Orleans corps, Blue Raeders, in 1972 just as DCI was entering the picture. That year, under his directorship, Blue Raeders made finals at the very first DCI Championship, a feat only Star of Indiana has replicated as a first-year corps. Moe came on board with the Blue Stars in 1974 and stayed until 1982, actually taking a sabbatical from work in Louisiana to spend time with the corps from Wisconsin. With the corps, he developed many of his insights into touring with a major DCI corps, insights that have been shared with anyone who would spend the time to listen. To his most recent corps, The Cadets, Moe has been much more than just a tour director. He is reported to be a “sounding board,” a “father,” and a “senior advisor” to the director, the staff and the members. While Moe’s work wouldn’t be considered by some to be glamorous, his unique ability to take care of the details has allowed many others to not sweat the little things, making all look better in the process.Sie LuryeIn early fall of 1953, Sie Lurye began his commitment to the youth of America with the Alamo Rangers of American Legion Post 885. He was appointed the Post’s Child Welfare Program Chairman. In 1957, Sie was appointed the corps manager with his vision of a “competitive unit” and, he never looked back. The birth of the Royal Airs occurred in June of 1958 in Chicago’s Humboldt Park. Sie worked hard to expand the corps and incorporate neighborhood youth. His unbridled passion for and commitment to the youth of America was characterized by tremendous personal, professional and financial sacrifice. Sie, a former professional prizefighter, meant more to the drum corps activity and the Chicago Royal Airs than his title of “corps director”. He was a frequent critic of the American Legion National Rules Congress, the body that made the drum corps rules. He supported change within the activity. Without Sie’s direction and leadership, there would not have been a “Big Blue” and the drum corps activity would not have advanced to the Combines and later, Drum Corps International.Sie strongly believed in the value of drum corps as a youth activity. He was everyone’s father and big brother. He truly cared for the corps and the activity. He was 100% corps and 100% for the kids – his kids, regardless of race, color or creed.Salvatore Ferrera In 1948, Salvatore Ferrera was a member of Boy Scout Troop #111. When Don Warren founded The Cavaliers out of the troop, Sal was in the corps’ first-ever drum line. In the early 1950s, he aged out and showed he had some unexpected talent as a brass instructor and arranger, also becoming the corps’ program coordinator. Under his creative leadership, the corps won its first National Championship in 1957. Prior to this time, National Championship corps came almost exclusively from a small area around New York City and northern New Jersey. Sal’s work helped open the crack to making drum corps truly national, and ultimately international. Under his creative guidance, The Cavaliers remained a serious contender for the National Championship during the next 14 years, winning eight National Championships between 1957 and 1970. During this time, he helped open the door to increasingly more sophisticated musical programs, nationally known as being at the forefront of moving the activity forward artistically. Sal was known for his ability to take “street kids” with no musical training what-so-ever, teach them the basics of music-making, and turn them into consummate performers. There are many stories of his tireless efforts to teach individual brass players. In later years, Sal served on The Cavaliers’ Board of Directors and represented the corps on the DCI Board of Directors through much of the 1970s. Don Warren, founder of the corps and the only president the corps has ever had, states that it was Sal and his instructional team that made the “Green Machine” National Champions and leaders in the activity.Clarence Beebe Clarence Beebe became interested in scouting in 1932, shortly after the death of his wife. To help him deal with his grief, he became a scout Committeeman for Troop 20 in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1937, a group of Madison businessmen saw a performance of the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, and thought it would be good for Madison to establish such a unit. They convinced Clarence to become both Scoutmaster of Troop 20 and Executive Director of the new corps. With second-hand equipment and a lot of desire, the Madison Scouts were formed in 1938. The corps was principally a parade corps in the early years, but these formative years were interrupted by World War II. C.H., as he was known to most, put his corps to work in the war effort. Members contributed over 6,000 hours of service to the U.S.O.; running errands, providing first aid, taking care of the cloak room, and waiting the snack bars. C.H. stayed in touch with all the members who went off to fight in the war, writing them long letters about life in Madison, the corps’ efforts, and reminding them to remember what they learned in scouting the corps. The lessons must have paid off…not a single member of the corps lost his life in the war. After the war, C.H. turned his efforts to rebuilding the corps, raising the funds to take the group to the Sixth World Scouting Jamboree of Peace in Maisson, France in 1947. This resulted in tremendous publicity and good will in Madison, and helped him recruit new members. In 1954 and 1955, the corps traveled to the VFW National Championship and took second both years, establishing itself as a major drum corps power. C.H. was highly thought of by the entire city of Madison. When he passed away in 1968, his funeral procession was the longest of any ever seen in the city. His principles guide the Madison Scouts to this day.