Seven Jersey Surf Members earned scholarships for the 2022 season, illustrating the essence of “Paying it Forward” within the local drum corps community. 

Seven members of the 2022 Jersey Surf Drum Corps have received financial stipends from generous donors to help offset participation expenses as a part of the organization’s scholarship program.

Longtime friends and supporters of the Jersey Surf, The Audubon Bon-Bons Alumni, visited with the corps during the Memorial Day Weekend camp held at Holy Cross Prep Academy in Delran, NJ where they honored color guard co-captain Maggie Roosa (Windsor, SC) with their generous annual gift to a member of the organization. The Bon-Bons were founded in 1938 and were a local drum corps powerhouse for decades, continuing today as an alumni chorus comprised of former members of the legendary all-girls competitive field corps which ceased operations in 1977.

Bon-Bons alumna Carol Pennisi Terreri, accompanied by several other members of the group, addressed Surf members and provided a bit of perspective on the challenges faced by an all-girls drum corps prior to and during the founding years of Drum Corps International.

The gift from the Bon-Bons wasn’t the only honor bestowed upon Surf color guard member Maggie Roosa, who was also one of two recipients of the Doris Butler Memorial Fund award along with drum major Daniel Davis (Parsonburg, MD).

The Doris Butler Memorial Scholarship is presented annually by the family of the late Mrs. Butler, who had been involved for many years with the marching arts, inspiring her children to honor her memory and her legacy of generosity. Presenting the award on behalf of the family was Surf super-volunteer Terri Ives. “Because of COVID and the inactivity of the Jersey Surf, there was no award presented the past two years, so our family is pleased to be in a position to honor two returning Surf members this season. We were thrilled to select these outstanding young leaders for the 2022 presentation,” Terri said.

The Jersey Surf also had the pleasure of hosting a visit by seasoned drum corps veteran performer, instructor, administrator, board member and author Bob Cook, who presented four Jersey Surf members with tour fee assistance, funded through the sale of his book, My Seven Decades of Drum Corps Adventures.

Mr. Cook participated in the 1972 DCI World Championships in Whitewater, WI as a performer with DCI Founding Member Blue Rock Drum and Bugle Corps. He’s also been engaged with a  “Who’s Who” of other area groups including the Earls of Bucks, Lambertville Volunteers, Hawthorne Caballeros, Westshoremen, NY Skyliners and the Bridgemen Alumni (among others), shared a few anecdotes with Surf members before honoring 2022 Surf members Paul Butler (Middletown, DE), Jarel Rivera (Clermont, FL), Amber Humphreys (Sicklerville, NJ), and Rachel Kim (Dresher, PA) with scholarship checks and a copy of his book.

Rounding out the unique awards which underscore the Surf’s “Share the Love” philosophy, was a generous scholarship presented by the The Beverly (Mass.) Cardinals Drum and Bugle Corps Alumni awarded Ben Vieson (South Riding, VA) with a scholarship at the Beanpot Invitational in Beverly, MA.

“We are grateful to the Audubon Bon-Bons Alumni, the family of Doris Butler, Bob Cook and the Beverly Cardinals Alumni for honoring our members and for sharing a bit of their legacies with us,” said Bob Jacobs, CEO of The Jersey Surf. “The history and traditions of drum corps is shared by many great people and the desire to pass the baton to a new generation of performers is inspirational and appreciated with great humility.”