Each year at the DCI World Championships, one drum major from each of Drum Corps International’s World and Open Class divisions is recognized with the Jim Jones Leadership Award.
Named for the founder and former director of the Troopers, Jim Jones Award recipients are recognized for their leadership abilities, as evaluated through an application and interview process run by DCI Hall of Fame member Gene Monterastelli.
2024’s World Class recipient was Boston Crusaders drum major Wes Booker.
This past summer marked Booker’s second as the Massachusetts corps’ drum major. He also served as an assistant drum major with The Cadets in 2022. Booker studies music education at the University of Texas at Austin, and helped lead the Boston Crusaders to the corps’ highest-scoring season ever in 2024.
According to Booker, the Crusaders’ 2024 membership, and the corps’ production, “Glitch,” made his summer one for the books.
“It was such a special show with such a special group of people,” he said. “I just loved performing it.”
The 2024 Open Class award went to Blue Devils B drum major Mason Khan. Khan, who studies nursing and human development at the University of California Davis, completed his third season of drum corps in 2024; Khan started his career with Vanguard Cadets in 2022, before competing with Blue Devils B in 2023 and 2024.
“I was quite surprised, because there are so many great leaders in Open Class,” Khan said of his reaction to winning the award. “I feel like everyone had a really good shot at the award.”
This summer, Blue Devils B returned to the DCI World Championships for the first time since 2022, and earned an Open Class silver medal. Blue Devils B also landed at 20th place in the Semifinals competition, an improvement from 2022’s 22nd-place finish.
According to Khan, winning the award marked the capitulation of several years of hard work in the drum corps activity.
“It means everything to me,” he added. “This is such a validation to everything I’ve poured into this corps, and how much I’ve grown as a leader and a conductor over the years.”