Each year, in conjunction with Drum Corps International’s summer-concluding events in Indianapolis, one corps director from the World and Open Class levels is honored with annual Director of the Year honors. The award winners are voted upon by their fellow corps directors.
The two Director of the Year recognitions for 2021 were presented to Boston Crusaders’ Chris Holland and Gold’s Donald Flaherty.
Dr. Bernard Baggs Leadership Award
This year’s recipient of the Dr. Bernard Baggs Leadership Award (World Class), Holland also serves as the DCI Board of Directors chairperson, and is the chief operations officer and executive director for Boston Crusaders and its parent organization, Inspire Performing Arts.
Holland performed with the Boston Crusaders in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has generally remained involved with the corps ever since. Becoming director in 2015, he has seen the corps through a major competitive resurgence in DCI’s World Class ranks; the Boston corps surged into the Top Six in 2017 and has remained a mainstay among that group ever since.
Holland was appointed to the position of chair of the DCI board of directors in February of 2021, and has played an invaluable role in the strategic planning of the 2021 DCI Celebration Tour, which brought the DCI community back to life after a year hiatus in 2020.
“The fans of DCI, they kept our dream alive of returning back to the field,” Holland said. “The payoff for the corps members really started when we moved in this summer, and it culminated this weekend in Indianapolis.”
Dr. David Kampschroer Leadership Award
Recognized with 2021’s Dr. David Kampschroer Leadership Award (Open Class), Gold director Donald Flaherty led his corps all the way from San Diego to Indianapolis as part of the 2021 DCI Celebration Tour. Flaherty has been with Gold since founding the corps in 2005.
Flaherty’s corps has become a top-tier Open Class competitor in recent adjudicated seasons, earning Open Class bronze medals in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, the corps was one of just a handful of Open Class organizations to make the trip to the DCI Celebration in Indianapolis, and traveled further than any other corps to be a part of the season-ending festivities.
George Bonfiglio Chairperson’s Award
Along with its Director of the Year awards, DCI recognizes one individual each year with the George Bonfiglio Chairperson’s Award — named for the former 27th Lancers director — awarded to an individual within the drum corps community who has displayed unparalleled leadership, service and effort on behalf of Drum Corps International.
2021’s award was presented to DCI senior director of events, community and corps relations, Sue Kuehnhold. An employee of Drum Corps International for the past quarter century, Kuehnhold played a pivotal role in planning and implementing the COVID-19 safety protocols and testing on this summer's DCI Celebration Tour.
Kuehnhold’s efforts in developing corps safety regulations were crucial in creating a viable drum corps tour for the summer of 2021.
“Sue has been a vital member of our team for more than two decades, and her efforts in creating a stage for the 2021 season were nothing short of incredible,” DCI CEO Dan Acheson said. “Without Sue’s dedication, there would not have been a Celebration Tour this summer.”