Remembering Steve Vickers by Gary J. Dickelman https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9 For 55 years, Steve Vickers shared the story of drum corps through Drum Corps World. Please post a memory, a tribute, or a photo for the special issue planned for October. Click the + button, add your name (and connection to Steve, if you'd like), write your message, and attach a photo if you have one. If you have several photos, feel free to make a separate post for each. Photo credit: If someone other than you took the photo, please include the photographer's name. Permission: By posting, you give Drum Corps World permission to publish your words and photos online, and in our archive. Posts are reviewed before they appear here. Please share by October 15, 2026. en-us 2026-09-30 18:53:11 UTC 2026-10-03 20:00:41 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads-usc1.storage.googleapis.com/6383452345/2cd5219e5d98edee348f5f4f39eb02c9/GOLDLA_Sports_Network.png Gary Dickelman support1092 https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079363645 Steve,

This past year we talked almost every day about the next issue, the next idea, the next thing Drum Corps World could become. You trusted me with your life's work before either of us knew how soon that would matter.

People keep asking how anyone fills your shoes. The honest answer is that no one can. You spent more than 50 years making sure this activity's story got told, and you carried it in a way only you could. What I can do is keep walking the road you built, one issue at a time, and keep asking myself what you would think of each page.

Thank you for the friendship, the patience and the faith. The presses are still running, my friend.

Gary

]]> 2026-10-01 18:58:44 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079363645 Tim Root https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079420739 Steve trusted me to write for Drum Corps World back in hteh 80's when I moved to California from Connecticut and was always saying yes to my stories I send to him from the Florida Brass. Miss you Steve.

]]> 2026-10-01 20:08:38 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079420739 Tom Michalski https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079424901 I knew Steve thru the great Moe Knox .Always enjoyed stopping in Madison when working for Ocean Spray and buying Steve Dinner in exchange for a History lesson .Will miss the great Publisher Steve Vickers

]]> 2026-10-01 20:14:25 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079424901 Brian Tolzmann https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079429847 I began writing for Drum Corps World in the fall of 1985.  As a longtime subscriber to DCW I felt like I had known Steve for years.  (By the way….how many remember that Steve came up with the idea of the “riverboat gambler” uniforms that were introduced by the Dubuque Colts in 1977?)  I had spoken with Steve several times prior to 1985, when I was still on the staff at Drum Corps News, and first met with him as a DCW staff member at the Drum Corps Midwest contest in St. Louis Park, MN on July 5, 1987.  (The Madison Scouts topped Steve’s beloved Sky Ryders in that contest.) My six-week-old daughter attended her first drum corps show that night, and Steve was thrilled to meet her and my wife.

     Move forward the 41 years that I was on Steve’s staff and you can imagine how many times we connected.  Each time was a treasured moment that I will continue to hang onto.

     Steve now has the best seats in the house.  Thank you Steve for preserving all the thrills of drum corps for us all.

]]> 2026-10-01 20:21:54 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079429847 Bill O'Connell Des Plaines Vanguard https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079434394 More than being a publisher, Steve loved the Drum and Bugle corps movement from yesteryear to today.

As the author of the monthly Des Plaines Vanguard newsletter, Steve and I regularly stayed in touch. He loved the Vanguard from his days competing against us as a Hutchinson Sky Ryder and regularly posted articles from our newsletter into Drum Corps World hoping that other corps would follow suit. Most recently Steve posted an article about Vanguard drummer and Pulitzer Prive winning journalist Mike Royko. Deservedly so, Steve's dedication to the world of drum corps was rewarded by induction into the DCI Hall of Fame. He will be missed.

]]> 2026-10-01 20:28:25 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079434394 Lee DeLoach https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079477477 I never met Steve personally, but did talk to him on the phone a few times when placing orders for things like the historic auction or cds. I was 18 when I received my first issue of Drum Corps World back in 1986. I read it religiously every issue, and in my own crazy addicted way, kept every issue up until it went digital in 2011. I still have all of them and go back and look at them frequently. Without Steve’s hard work with the magazine all those years I don’t think I would have become as big a fan of the activity as I became. Since we didn’t have the internet back when I first subscribed, DCW was my only outlet for info. I can’t thank him enough for all he contributed to the drum corps activity. Rest in peace Steve.

]]> 2026-10-01 21:42:57 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079477477 Alan Thompson https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079484145 I first met Steve 39 years ago, in 1987, on my first ever trip from the United Kingdom to the DCI Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.


He “persuaded” me (not that it took much persuading!) to become the UK distributor for the Drum Corps World printed magazine in the late 1980s — something I did for probably 10+ years.


Steve was so passionate about the Drum Corps activity and over many years actively encouraged me to send him news stories and photos from Drum Corps United Kingdom events. In doing so, he really helped to promote the Drum Corps “WORLD”.


I’m so pleased I got the chance to catch up with Steve at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis just seven weeks ago at this year’s DCI Championships. Despite his obvious failing health, he told me how excited he was to be there and to be able to watch the Corps live again. He had been so disappointed at being unable to attend the 2025 event — possibly the only year he ever missed!


Rest in Peace, Steve.


]]> 2026-10-01 21:57:15 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079484145 JoAnne (Marilyn) Parente https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079574284 Whether during my junior corps days (marching member and Public Relations Director, Saints, Fords NJ) or my stint as PR Director for DCA in the early 1980s, Steve was always generous with his time, patience, feedback, and advice. While my direct contact during those times was limited, it will be forever treasured. As a member of the larger winter guard and drum corps communities, I am grateful for his work over the years. May those who follow his example be graced by the heritage he leaves behind.

]]> 2026-10-01 22:14:34 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079574284 Renee Soper https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079603733 Steve was a good customer of Hy-Vee at our Madison East store. I have volunteered for the Madison Scouts and I always enjoyed our conversations about the Scouts and Drum Corps in general. Steve was always keeping me up-to-date on all of the Corps and I appreciated that as a Drum Corps fan. I never participated in the activity, nor did any of my family members but that did not matter to him. He just loved talking about Drum Corps! My condolences to his family. I will miss our conversations and when I attend shows I will think of him and his dedication to drum corps.

]]> 2026-10-01 22:59:31 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079603733 David Borck https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079618999 have known Steve for over 50 years...first meeting when I was a new judge doing Kansas shows for CSJA. We stayed in touch over the years .. meeting at some shows, corresponding about drum corps. His love for the activity was well known and boundless. He always wanted to give publicity to the 'small corps' not just the big boys. He was always cordial, thoughtful and energetic. He was a real gentleman and will be missed by the drum corps activity and all who knew him. Godspeed, Steve.

]]> 2026-10-01 23:11:25 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4079618999 Tim Hinton https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4080257220 Steve Vickers worked tirelessly to support the drum corps community and was always wonderful in all interactions with me and the Marching Roundtable podcast. Steve appears on five podcasts and videos at Marching Arts Education, including "Old School DCI Night" where he and many others talked about early drum corps, and also on "Ten Shows That Could Have Won" where he and Michael Boo talked about great moments in DCI history. There is also a podcast where he talks specifically about Drum Corps World. I hope you'll follow the link above to find these conversations with Steve, or simply search for "Vickers" at MarchingRoundtable.com

]]> 2026-10-02 06:59:45 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4080257220 Jeff Ream https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4080888446 I knew who Steve was long before I met him. I read my Dads copies of DCW for years. When I marched I remember buying them at shows. I then got my own subscription before I eventually wrote for the paper, later digital paper and the History Book. Steve’s work is part of the story of my life. Even better was getting to meet and know him. A kind, caring man so passionate about drum corps. His warmth, humor and passion can never be replaced.

]]> 2026-10-02 15:48:54 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4080888446 André Thériault https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081109906 C'est vers 1965 que j'ai eu un premier contact avec Steve Vickers. Il m'a permis de publier des textes en francais sur les groupes du Québec. C'est avec tristesse que j'ai appris son décès et au nom de tous les membre des Amis du Drum Corps Québécois (Friends of Drum Corps Quebec) Je voudrais transmettre à ses proches nos plus sincères condoléances.

]]> 2026-10-02 19:51:07 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081109906 François Deschacht Ostend West-Flandres Belgium https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081125699

As a former director of Drum Corps Belgium in the 1980s, reading Drum World was a breath of fresh air for Belgian drum corps fans. It gave us a glimpse into the drum corps world across the Atlantic. Steve spontaneously published news from Belgium and drum corps scene.

Later, I met the amiable Steve Vickers on the European continent during a drum corps championship. Every meeting with him was an inspiring experience.

When my wife, volunteered first and than later I, with the Madison Scouts, I had in Madison some wonderful conversation with him about the drum corps community, and Belgium in particular. Steve was an influencer before his time. His passing is a great loss to the drum corps activity.

]]> 2026-10-02 20:14:46 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081125699 Gary Dckelman https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081988938 Steve once marched with the Sky Ryders. This is one of his most favorite clips of the 1982 production.

]]> 2026-10-03 20:00:40 UTC https://padlet.com/support1092/s0242nhk9l3xdujjdtg9/wish/4081988938