Florida Wave

The Florida Wave drum and bugle corps was originally formed in the fall of 1928 as the Miami Boys and sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Miami, under the direction of Scoutmaster Hayes Wood and by 1930, Robert T. Fennell, serving the Dade county municipality.

In the early years, led by musical director Caesar LaMonaca, the corps participated in many events including the National convention of Exchange clubs, the Lions International conventions, a concert for President Hoover and the 1934 World’s Fair. In October of 1934, the parents of the membership voted to reorganize as the Greater Miami Boys drum corps, withdrawing the corps’ affiliation with the Junior Chamber. The unit traveled throughout the nation, taking part in all Miami civic programs. In fact, once on a 32-day tour, it paraded and gave concerts in 15 states. Interestingly, although the corps’ name was “Boys”, girls actually marched every season of their existence.

On March 30^th, 1948, the corps was faced with a fire in the Dade county armory, when instruments and uniforms were destroyed but managed to reorganize within the next month, in time to meet their performance obligations by May, including appearances in Cuba in 1946, 1948 & 1950. In 1951, the corps entered the field of competition and participated in the American Legion (AL) National championships, under the sponsorship of the Harvey Seeds AL Post 29, placing 8^th in the finals. After remaining active over the next 3 years that included new uniforms of white with orange trim and featured an Eisenhower jacket, an orange silk sash and a shako, the Miami group returned to the 1955 AL Nationals, finishing in 21^st position in the preliminary round. That year also marked the corps becoming a chartered organization in the state of Florida and the passing of their leader, Bob Fennell.

In November of 1956, a small group of parents reorganized the corps and was crowned the 1957 AL state champions, a title they relinquished very few times up until 1972. In 1958, the unit was renamed the Vanguards, chosen since they were the oldest junior drum corps in the state, sporting a new uniform of black pants with a white stripe, white shoes and gloves, red satin blouse with 7 black stars on a white “V”, along with a pearlized grey shako with a nine-inch white ostrich plume. That year saw the corps compete in the AL Nationals, once again placing 21^st in the prelims and successfully earned a 4^th place finish in the 1960 AL Nationals. Under the sponsorship of the VFW District Post 5 of Miami, participated in the 1961 & 1962 VFW Nationals, positioning 14^th & 19^th respectively in the preliminaries. Over the next 2 seasons, under the sponsorship of the Pan American Airways AL Post 140 of Miami, the corps finished 7^th & 4^th in the finals of the 1963 & 1964 AL National championships.

Between 1965 to 1972, the Vanguards made 2 final appearances in the VFW Nationals, placing 25^th & 32^nd in the 1965 & 1970 prelims and secured a finalist position in the AL National contests twice, placing 5^th in 1968 and 9^th in 1971, participating in the preliminaries in 1966 (22^nd), 2^nd (1967), 19^th (1969) & 24^th (1972).  After a shortened 1973 competitive season, the corps went inactive in 1974 and reorganized in the fall of 1976 as the Florida Vanguard, led by Lee Shields. The corps re-introduced itself to the competition field in the 1977 DCI Midwest and DCI North regionals, placing 21^st & 15^th in the prelims. The next year, the unit competed in the 1978 US Open & American International Open (AIO) “Open Class” regionals, finishing in 18^th in the prelims & 9^th in the finals respectively, before competing in their first DCI “Open Class” championships, placing in 30^th position.

They continued their progression the following season with a 7^th place finish in the 1979 AIO “Open Class” finals along with 12^th place & 16^th place finishes in both the US Open & DCI Midwest prelims. The corps concluded the year with a “Top 25” ranking in the DCI contest, finishing 24^th and earning a DCI Associate membership. The 1980 season proved to be more of a competitive challenge, managing 24^th, 18^th & 22^nd positions in the DCI Midwest, US Open & AIO preliminaries, closing out the year with a 43^rd place finish in the DCI “Open Class” championships. The next season was a rebuilding and reorganizing one for the corps, including a name change to “Florida Wave”, a new division, “Class A” & a new director, Steve Rondinaro, future Hall of Famer and famed director of the Squires of Watkins Glen. That year, the Wave hit the scene with an 8^th place finish in the AIO finals and 20^th position in the DCI “Class A” preliminaries.

From 1982 to 1984, the corps competed primarily in the “Class A” division, crowned the 1982 & 1983 US Open and 1983 & 1984 DCI Midwest & Key to the Sea champions, culminating with the coveted 1984 DCI “Class A” title. They also made appearances in “Open Class” action, including the 1982 DCI Canada regionals (19^th - Prelims), the 1983 & 1984 AIO (6^th & 4^th - Finals), the 1983 Drum Corps South championships (7^th), the 1984 DCI Midwest (21^st - Prelims) & US Open (9^th - Finals). The unit ranked as a finalist in the 1982 DCI “Class A” championships, placing 3^rd followed by a 16^th place finish in the 1983 DCI “Quarterfinals” & a 20th position in the 1984 DCI “Semifinals”.

Over the next 6 years, the Florida Wave competed as an “Open Class” contender that included the following “finalist” highlights: the DCI South regionals (1985 - 1990), Drum Corps East (1986 to 1988 & 1990), US Open (1986 & 1990), DCI Canada (1987), DCI Midwest (1987 - 1989), DCI Mid-America (1989 - 1990) & DCI East (1989). In the DCI championships, the corps ranked as a “Semifinalist” from 1985 to 1988, placing 21^st, 19^th, 13^th by a mere 6 tenths of a point & 16^th, a “Quarterfinalist” in 1989 (18^th) & finished 17^th in the 1990 preliminary round. The group began the 1991 summer with a tour on the DCE circuit, returning to the “Class A” division but was unable to finish off the competitive season upon their return. A few fun facts, Gino Cipriani, future Hall of Famer, joined the corps in 1979 at the ripe young age of 14 and the Florida Vanguard laid claim as the first corps to use one guard member twirling a flag and rifle at the same time.

Members (73)