After a year of inactivity in 2006, the Troopers have returned for the 2007 Summer Music Games Tour eager to please fans new and old. DCI.org's Michael Boo interviewed several people at the DCI Kalamazoo event on June 30 about the corps' return. Here's what they had to say.



Chris Poglitsh from Indianapolis marched as a member of the Bluecoats from 1988-1991 and was a Bluecoats staff member in 1992. He is a personal friend of the Troopers' corps director Fred Morris.



Fred is the first staff member I met at the Bluecoats. He was a cymbal instructor and worked on the souvenir wagon for a number of years.



I'm tickled to see Troopers come back so strong. I sat with someone I marched with and we both got goose bumps when the corps hit it's traditional sunburst drill move. The corps has such a strong history. Right now, we're standing next to the Sheep Wagon, a souvie wagon that was built in 1893 as a covered wagon. You just don't see that sort of thing in other corps. I'm so excited to see them come back.



Ted Gilbert helps run the Troopers' souvenir operation.



This is my 22nd year with the souvie wagon. I didn't expect that the corps would come back like this. I'm also on the Troopers Board of Directors and was concerned we wouldn't actually make it back. I'm so very, very pleased that we are back and back so strong and am especially pleased that the crowds love the corps' performances.



I think the biggest thing that has allowed the corps to come back so strong is the combination of our executive director, our corps director and the staff our corps director has put together. They are a wonderful staff that is committed to fielding a top-notch drum corps.



For some time we didn't have all that many horns and now we have 64 horn line members, which is the result of dedication of the horn instructor beating the bushes for horn players. He went out to find kids who wanted to march as members of the Troopers in their comeback year, our "awakening year."



This is our first really big show, but every show is a big show to the Troopers. When they hit the sunburst tonight, a lot of things went through my mind. The corps always did the sunburst when my kids marched. People who haven't yet seen the corps during a season come up to the souvenir "Sheep Wagon" and ask if the sunburst is in the show. It is a traditional move of the Troopers and I'm so pleased it's in the show and that they're performing it well.



Rebecca Steinke marched as a member of the Troopers in 1987 and now lives in South Carolina.



It's awesome to see the corps come back so strong. I was in awe of them on the field. It was relief and satisfaction to see them come back and once again be "America's Corps." I'm so excited right now. Everyone I was sitting around was on their feet. They were clean and strong just as I remembered.



Greg Sebestian is from Cambridge, Ontario.



It's nice to see Troopers come back so strong. Having read several reviews, I expected them to be good, but this surprised me. They are not only large, they also have a mature sound that is surprising.



Troopers' director Fred Morris is credited among many for the corps' impressive turn-around.



We recruited heavily for these kids. Besides Wyoming, we have members from Idaho, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, a few other western states and even some states as diverse as Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Mississippi.



We planned a program that was easier than what we now have, but it came to life when we saw the higher-than-anticipated talent level. That made us gear the show for the talent and we've been ramping it up every week. There are still some new flags and a new ending to be added. I think the music is accessible and the crowd leaves whistling something.