A new advisory board is stepping up and marching into Drum Corps Europe (DCE). Richard Lems, Antoin Peeters, and Peter Hornix have joined Drum Corps Europe’s new advisory board, and more members may be on the way.
A chance meeting last year between DCE Chairman Rob van Koningshoven and Lems, a former marching musician, inspired the establishment of a new advisory board. “[Lems] was willing to help us, but he doesn’t have the time to be a board [of directors] member,” van Koningshoven says.
Members of DCE’s former board of directors resigned in 2017. This advisory board will operate differently from the former board of directors. There have been no formal meetings, and van Koningshoven doesn’t foresee any. Instead, individual board members will be consulted as projects and issues come up.
DCE doesn’t have a selection procedure or a number of members in mind for the advisory board. Members thus far have been people who’ve simply expressed interest in helping.
Van Koningshoven believes that the advisory board will bring in more differing viewpoints. “If you are outside the organization, you get a lot of perspective of what’s going on in the activity,” says van Koningshoven. “Talking with [Lems] and discussing issues with him helps us to keep a widened perspective on what’s going on in Europe and also to look into different [solutions] for things we face on a daily basis.”
Van Koningshoven believes that advisory board members have the passion and drive to step up when they’re needed. “I think in general these people are very connected with drum corps,” he says. “The reason they do this is they want to help the drum corps activity … to grow and be a better organization.”