The Alexander Hotel in downtown Indianapolis was the site of the 2015 DCI annual winter business meetings.
A number of guest presenters were invited by DCI Executive Director and CEO Dan Acheson at the request of the DCI Board of Directors, to speak to World and Open Class corps directors Saturday morning as part of the second day of DCI's annual winter business meetings. Drum corps alum and commercial transportation expert Jim Fox, who serves as General Manager and Vice President of Pinnacle Express Trucking, delivered an in-depth and informative presentation regarding current Department of Transportation compliance requirements facing the corps. Every summer World Class drum corps can put more than 10,000 miles on their odometers while traveling in caravans consisting of motor coaches, tractor-trailers and other vehicles. Randy Dick, M.S., FACSM from "Athletes and the Arts" and Alyssa McPherson, MS, LAT, ATC, OTC, CSCS representing the Drum Corps Medical Project, discussed further expansion of the opportunities for sharing information and best practices on health and wellness topics in regard to the unique challenges facing DCI ensembles on an annual basis. "There's a lot of peer-reviewed science in the sports medicine world around what's good nutrition, how do you deal with jet lag, how do you address overuse and how do you optimize performance," Dick said. "Those are also key issues in the music, drum corps and dance worlds, yet people haven't quite figured out the best way to apply those variables to what they do. What we're trying to do is say, hey, we have the ability to know how these issues affect sports performance, and maybe some of this will also help improve performing arts athletes as well." An executive briefing led by Master Sergeant Billy Rulapaugh of the United States Marine Corps discussed career opportunities in the USMC music programs for drum corps members. Rulapaugh, who is a Crossmen alum, says that more than 70 percent of the current performers in the "Commandant's Own," the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, are alumni of Drum Corps International groups.