2018 Instructor Summits See Record Turnout
Published December 10 2018

Recently, CWEA held two Instructor Summits as part of a renewed focus on education within the circuit. Both events saw a significant increase in attendance from previous years and were an overwhelming success!

The Color Guard Instructor Summit was held on November 17 at Northwestern High School. We began the day with a panel discussion on the Ins and outs of Running a Program with Jed Garvey (Dobyns-Bennett HS), Emma Boyce (Etude) and Cody Crawford (CWEA President). The panel discussion evolved into a helpful exchange of ideas from instructors and directors in the room about different ways to approach situations within their own programs. We continued with an interactive session on Building a Successful Movement Program with Brian Winn (Etude) and Christine Clayton (CWEA Judge Coordinator). After a catered lunch where directors talked with each other and exchanged ideas in an informal setting, Christine Clayton presented a session on interpreting recaps and strategies to maximize your critique time. We closed with a session on Choosing Class Appropriate Material, led by Tim Landess (CWEA Judge Coordinator) and Brian Winn.

This past Saturday, the Percussion/Winds Instructor Summit was held at South Pointe High School and featured a broad range of topics. Victor Perez and Brady Hartness (both of Dorman HS) opened the clinic with a presentation on Designing and Teaching for the A Class. Following the success of the clinic at the Color Guard Summit, a panel discussion on The Ins and Outs of Running a Program was led by Torey Riser (Ninety Six HS) and Cody Crawford which focused on season timelines, budgeting, group management and more. After lunch, Mike Leitzke (CWEA Judge Coordinator) presented an overview of the Percussion/Winds adjudication process which featured an interactive session allowing clinic participants to “be the judge.” Megan Budway (Civitas) closed the clinic with a helpful overview session on Electronics and Technology, which featured a basic introduction to MainStage.

“I can’t be happier with the success of these clinics this year,” said CWEA President Cody Crawford. “My biggest takeaway from these events was that everyone walked away with some new piece of information to take back with them and make their groups better – from the younger Novice and Regional A class directors to the more experienced Open and World class groups, everyone learned something.” When asked about the possibility of future events, Cody remarked “We are already planning for the next sessions – we hope to expand on our educational offerings to instructors and directors in the coming years!”

CWEA would like to extend a special thank you to Brian Winn and Mike Leitzke for their assistance in the planning and development of these clinic session. Both Brian and Mike ran with these ideas which were first discussed at the Summer Board Retreat and saw them through to the finish. CWEA would also like to thank Will & Elise Archie of Northwestern HS and Brian Turner (Civitas) for serving as gracious hosts for these sessions!

Materials from the clinic will be made available to all instructors via the circuit website at a later date. Please check back for more details.