Coachmen

The Coachmen drum & bugle corps was formed in 1975 by Jack Ross and Robbie Volkers, former members of the Green Hornets of Grand Rapids. They were a self-supporting unit.

The corps entered the field of competition in 1976 with appearances at the MI American Legion convention, placing 7^th, the Great Lakes circuit, where they finished in 6^th position in the “Class A” prelims and concluded the season with a 17^th place finish at the Key to the Sea “Class A” preliminaries. The following year, the Coachmen competed at the 1977 American International Open (AIO) “Class A” prelims and traveled to the 1978 DCI North championships, where they placed 16^th in “Open Class” competition.

In 1979, they returned to the DCI North “Open Class” prelims, placing 18^th and made their initial presence at the US Open “Class A” contest, finishing 18^th in the preliminaries. They expanded their regional championship exposure in 1980, competing in the “Class A” prelims of the AIO (20^th), the Key to the Sea (15^th) and the US Open (19^th. The 1981 season presented a few “firsts” for the unit, registering at both the prelims of the DCI “Class A” championships, finishing 23^rd and the Drum Corps Midwest circuit, placing 17^th in the “Open Class” division.

In 1982, the Coachmen resumed competition at the DCI “Class A” round, where they finished 27^th,, the DCM championships, placing 16^th and finally 11^th at the Key to the Sea “Class A” prelims. Due to a lack of membership, the corps went inactive for the 1983 season, returning to the field in 1984, a rebuilding year. From 1985 to 1990, the Grand Rapids corps performed at the DCI championships in the prelims of the “Class A” division in 1985 (17^th), 1989 (10^th) and 1990 (14^th) as well as the “A/60 Class” prelims in 1986 (11^th), 1987, when they qualified as a finalist, placing 6^th, 1988 (9^th). During that same span, they also participated in regional preliminary “Class A/60” competition at the Coast Guard Open, the US Open and the DCM circuit.

Over the next two seasons, the corps was renamed the Rapid City Express, under the sponsorship of the Coachmen Youth Organization. They competed at the 1991 DCI “Class A/60” prelims, placing 8^th and finished 5^th at both the DCM and US Open “A/60” championships. The next year saw the Express place 23^rd at the “Division III” prelims of the DCI contest and 15^th at the DCM championships.

In 1993, the corps reverted to its original name and continued to compete within the “Division III” class, with showings at the prelims of the Canadian Open (13^th), the US Open (15^th
and the DCM circuit (18^th). From 1994 to 1998, the Coachmen would appear in “Division III” activity at the DCI championships, placing 18^th in 1994, 22^nd in 1995 and 19^th in 1997 along with regional contests at the Canadian Open, the US Open, the Coast Guard Open, with a 6^th place finalist position in 1996, winning the 1996 IL State Fair title and a 4^th place finish at the 1998 DCM “Division III” finals.

They disbanded in 1999.

 From the 1979 US Open Program; History from DrumCorpsWiki, submitted by GrewvyG2@aol.com 12/22/09; Paul Legault (DCX)

CORPS 2 items

Coachmen

Coachmen,GrandRapids,MI,Patch1-MusicStaff(Site)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by UNKNOWN

Coachmen

Coachmen,GrandRapids,MI,Pin1-YellowBlackCoach(RCR)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

LOADING.....