Right Eminent Grand Commander and Sir Knights of the Grand Commandery of Virginia:

What an amazing year the Drill Corps in the Commonwealth of Virginia has had. We have battled the elements starting in early January with Triennial Team Tryouts going through August. We were trying to find the shade in the summer during the annual GCOVA Drill School and competition and of course we traveled across the country to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Grand Triennial where we again competed on the National level to represent the great Commonwealth of Virginia. I am happy to also report that we have 10 new permanent members of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Virginia Drill Corps due to that representation in Salt Lake City.

The start of this amazing year was of course at the Grand Conclave 2024 where we held the Drill Competition which saw 4 teams compete in action against each other. It was at this event where the Triennial bug was planted for Virginia. This event while it was fun to compete in, and against each other, served as the jump off point for our entire Triennial run.

Next up was the annual School and Competition that took place June 15th, 2024 at Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia, where we saw an even larger turnout than the year prior of 24 Sir Knights. We were able to field 4 teams that day and I’m happy to announce that the winner of the competition for 2025 was Virginia Beach Commandery. This team consisted of Brian Rumley, Don Belanger, Jeff Paras, Richard Collins, David Rush, and Captain Roger Taylor. Congratulations Sir Knights, it was well deserved after seeing the amount of time and dedication you have devoted to this. To the winners go the spoils and you will be not only taking home the Fitz Allen Brown trophy, you will also take the home field advantage as now the state has to come to you to win it this coming year on August 16, 2025 in Norfolk, Virginia.

This leads us directly to the big event of the year, and Triennial, the Grand Encampment Drill Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. This year there were 11 members including 10 first time participants at the event. It was a long road to Utah and I’d like to take a moment to thank all the members of the Grand Commandery of Virginia. Without your continued support we wouldn’t be able to field these teams and represent you at these events. Thank you! While the scores didn’t come out as we had hoped, we did fulfill the obligation we made and were noted by some of the judges as having the best marching team in the field. To really emphasis that point, know that our Sir Knights were deducted only 1 point for timing during the entire competition which was the lowest of any group there.

With completion of the Triennial Drill Competition behind us, it is my honor to announce we have added 10 new Sir Knights to the rolls of the Virginia Drill Corps, forever.
• SK Joe Matthews
• SK Jeff Paras
• SK William Crosscup
• SK Dakota Burton
• SK Chris Stevens
• SK Jeremy Utt
• SK Richard Bateman
• SK Freddy Barnett
• SK Chuck Barbee
• SK Cole David

These 10 new additions, with our rugged veteran SK Joe Broce, all have, or will have, received their Triennial Drill bars, Drill Corps patches, and an accompanying certificate by the time this report is published. If you see these Sir Knights out and about talk to them about their experiences and about how you can help us go to California for the next Triennial and come back home with 1st place!

Continuing with our newest tradition, the Drill Corps has flown the flag of our current Grand Commander and will present it to him at the Grand Conclave during the Officer Installation as a parting gift from the Drill Corps to him for a successful year of service to the Sir Knights of Virginia.

The 2025 Grand Commandery Drill School and Competition are currently scheduled for Saturday, August 16, 202, in Norfolk, Virginia, however the location is TBD. More information can be found on the Grand Commandery’s website under Drill Corps when available.

The Committee would like to thank the Grand Line Officers for their dedication to the Corps this year. The only note for this is that we would like to see participation from the Grand Line Officer with oversight into the committee. Unfortunately, that did not happen this year and we hope that it will get back on track with the coming year.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of your Drill Team Committee.

Courteously,

Sir Knight D. Cole David | Chairman
Sir Knight Bill Reinhold, Past Department Commander
Sir Knight Joe Broce
Sir Knight Chuck Barbee

drillcorps@vatemplars.com