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

The annual Drill School and Competition have been completed and I am pleased to present to you the mid-year report of the Drill Corps.  As we have stated before, Drill Team activities support several of the Swords of Progress; primarily Membership Enhancement and Ritualistic Improvement.  Both of which are addressed in the Grand Commandery Drill School and Competition.  Since 2007, the Virginia Class ‘E’ Team consists of a Captain, four Marchers, and one optional supernumerary member who must stand for inspection. The team members do not have to belong to the same Commandery but must individually hold membership in a Virginia Commandery.

This year we had an amazing turnout of 21 Sir Knights from around the Commonwealth.  We were able to form 4 teams, which allowed all Sir Knights present to not only earn their Drill Bar for the year, but to compete.  The Drill Corps can’t thank the Grand Commander, the Grand Line, and all the Sir Knights of the state enough for helping to make this a priority and premiere event this year.  One of the biggest notes I made during the competition is the amount of Sir Knights who were completely new to this and/or hadn’t done this in some time.  For the past few years, we’ve had representation from Fredericksburg and New River, but this year we had only 1 Sir Knight returning from either of those teams.  However, we did have representation from Stevenson 8, Luray 19, Alleghany 23, Winchester 12, Old Dominion 11, Virginia Beach 36, New River Valley 32, DeMolay 4, and Bayard 15.  Out of the 21 Sir Knights present all but 3 were first timers and had never seen the routine prior to the day of the event.

As noted, we were able to field 4 teams this year; Virginia Beach Drill Team: Captain Chip Winston, Marching Knights David Rush, Charles Abatsis, Brian Rumley, and Rich Ellis, Supernumerary Jeff Paras.  Luray Drill Team: Captain JD Davis, Marching Knights Geoff Hoyt, Scott Truax, Scott Fielding, Dennis Parmater, Supernumerary Dennis Haas.  Southwest Region Drill Team: Captain Cole David, Marching Knights Chris Stevens, William Crosscup, Matt Reedy, Emmett Dalton, Supernumerary Richard Bateman.  Last but not least, the Misfits Drill Team: Captain Cole David, Marching Knights Richard Bateman, Glenn Bryant, Dennis Haas, and Jim Hogg.  

New River Valley had won this event for the last 3 years, however with their absence as a team this year we knew there would have to be a new group of Sir Knights taking home the Fitz-Allen Brown Memorial Trophy.  The winner of the Fitz-Allen Brown Trophy for the 2024 Chivalric year is: the Southwest Region Drill Team, which is made up of Sir Knights from Bayard, DeMolay, and New River Valley.  Congratulations Sir Knights!

As the Grand Commandery Drill Competition winner, they are the recipients of the Fitz Allen Brown Memorial Drill Trophy and are named the Grand Commander’s Honor Guard, to serve during the Grand Conclave as needed.

It was a tight race for the remaining 3 spots however as the teams were separated by a total of 15 points.  In 2^nd place, Virginia Beach Drill Team; in 3^rd place the Misfits Drill Team, and in 4^th place Luray Drill Team.

All teams underwent Personal Inspection and performed the drill routine. Each team member also earned a Roanoke 2023 Drill Bar.  Based upon the fantastic turnout and renewed interest in the Drill Corps I fully expect to exceed these numbers again next year.  We have many Sir Knights inspired to perform these routines around the state and we have some fantastic Captains emerging to help lead them.  Due to this I think it is safe to say that next year we will see some fantastic performances by the Grand Commandery of Virginia at this school and competition.

As of today, there are three Sir Knights have achieved temporary membership in the Drill Corps.  They are SK Jeremy B. Utt, Charles Barbee, and Cole David.  Following this school and competition, we now have 20 Sir Knights who have added to their temporary membership profile.  Each Sir Knight who participated needs to ensure they are tracking the Drill events they are participating in as well as providing that information to the Drill Corps chairman.  Once the Sir Knight achieves his service for temporary membership, they will be acknowledged at the Grand Commandery Award Banquet at the Grand Conclave.  Your Drill Team Committee remains firmly convinced that the Virginia Commanderies and Districts that support drill related activities are helping to build as well as retain our Knight Templar Membership.  Therefore, we highly encourage everyone’s participation.

The 69^th Triennial Conclave will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah with the Drill Competition commencing on Saturday, August 17, 2024.

Currently we are working toward producing a D Drill Team which will take time and effort to identify the Sir Knights that will be taking part in that competition.  I will be working with Right Eminent Past Department Commander Bill Reinhold to help identify members for the roles required.  There is also a possibility of holding another school session to help this selection process leading into January of next year when we will start holding our practices for the Triennial D Drill Team.  I will be looking to our current active Drill Corps members first as they are our more experienced Sir Knights, but we will need the help of the Sir Knights to fill the team as a D Team requires 9; 1 Captain, 6 Marching Knights, and 2 Supernumeraries.  There will be more information on this as I am able to speak with SK Reinhold and identify a time and location that works well for us.

Also, if unaware, any Sir Knight competing at a Triennial event becomes a PERMANENT part of the Drill Corps.

This year along with any duties the Grand Commandery may require at the Grand Conclave for the Honor Guard, I would like to see the return of a Drill Team Competition.  The intent would be for each District to provide a team and stand competition.  This would count toward temporary membership in the Drill Corps and provide a fun way for Sir Knights to interact and learn at the same time.  There would not be a school attached to this however, and it will not replace our annual school and competition.  This would simply be for bragging rights to the district and another way to practice prior to the Triennial that would be approaching in August of that year.  The Honor Guard could still also perform their Drill routine if wanted, however if we do go with this option of a competition, I would prefer to only do it to save some time and keep everyone on the same routine.

The 2024 Grand Commandery Drill School and Competition are currently being scheduled.  With the winning team in the Southwest Region, they are looking to again host the event in Roanoke, Virginia at the Kazim Shrine Center.  Once we can clear a date with some folks, we will lock the calendar date in with Kazim and get that information out to everyone so we can get as many people there as possible.

The Committee thanks the Grand Commandery for its continued support of competitive drill and strongly encourages local drill programs throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of your Drill Team Committee.
Courteously,

Sir Knight D. Cole David,
Chairman, Drill Team Committee
drillcorps@vatemplars.com