The Oregon Crusaders holds a deep-seated philosophy of Education Through Performance. Our purpose, engrained in the by-laws of our organization, is to provide education through performance in the areas of percussion, brass, dance and visual ensemble artistry.
We believe that through the group’s achievement of artistic and performance excellence, and through the addition of a leadership curriculum that draws upon some of the leading leadership training methodologies used in corporate America, the organization provides the educational, cultural, interpersonal, physical and emotional growth necessary for our young people to become leaders.
It is with this philosophy that we have created Oregon’s Major League Team in marching music.
OC employs some the most talented design and instructional professionals in the country, designing the programs that over 160 talented performers convey through a powerful, athletic and artistic performance.
The original Oregon Crusaders was founded in 1971 by two brothers – David Jones and Ron Jones, ages 15 and 16, respectively – who had previously participated in the Seattle Sentinels and then the Imperial Cadets. They wanted to have a Willamette Valley drum corps and originally wanted it to be named the “First Militia Oregon Crusaders” after the historical First Militia of Oregon, but only “Oregon Crusaders” stuck as a name. They attended West Linn High School, had the strong support of their parents and drew 40 kids that first year, mostly from West Linn and Oregon City. That 1971 corps was drumline and colorguard only (David was Oregon State rifle twirling champion in 1971), with David as corps Director (age 15) and Ron as composer, arranger and drill designer. Unfortunately, their bus broke down in Roseburg, Oregon on their way to their only competition that summer – an indoor colorguard competition to be held in Watsonville, California. They had to cancel their only planned competition, and thus ended the very first year of the Oregon Crusaders. But David and Ron bounced back in 1972 and with the help of their father secured a large donation from the Dickinson’s Gourmet Preserves company, now owned by Smuckers. The Dickinson’s chairman – Mr. Phillips – had a son who joined OC as a baritone player, and helped to provide a donation that bought two buses that season. Painted blue to match their blue uniforms with its white cross, and in the spirit of the newly renamed “Dickinson’s Oregon Crusaders”, the buses were named “Pacific Mountain Strawberry” and “Willamette Blackberry”. By 1973, the group had grown and merged with the Imperial Cadets to field a 115 member corps. But by 1974 the groups split and OC went its own way once again. In those early days OC was one of the first drum corps to do extended touring beyond the NW region, traveling to Alberta, Calgary, Edmonton and Northern California.
David and Ron have both been involved with OC since those early days, with David’s son Scott performing with the 2004 corps in the front ensemble and Ron lent his compositional skills to the 2003 show. Ron Jones married Laree Kenzel, a Milwaukee, OR student and an OC member, and has since become a music celebrity, with 3 Emmy nominations and a Grammy nomination for his compositional work which includes The Family Guy, Star Trek the Next Generation and Ducktails, among many others. See his IMDB Page. Ron performs with the renowned Influence Jazz Orchestra, and is the founder of Compose Yourself, a worldwide music education company and currently reside in LA with his wife Laree. David is the VP of a large premium travel service based in Texas and continues to follow OC with great interest (Both David and Ron attribute their career choices to their early drum corps experience… Ron with composition and Dave with getting the buses from point A to point B).
As the years went by and Ron and David aged out, the corps went dormant, but the designation “Crusaders” was again picked up by Rick Wise who, in the fall of 1999, re-founded what was then called the “Southern Oregon Crusaders” based out of Medford, Oregon. Bill Perkins relocated the corps to the Portland Metro area in 2000 and officially renamed the corps the “Oregon Crusaders” after the original Clackamas-based corps. Interestingly, Bill marched in the Sunsetters when Ron and David Jones were starting the original Oregon Crusaders.
In the modern era of OC since 2000, OC has won the Division III championship (2004) and in 2006 received fourth place in the Division II Drum Corps International World Championships for their show “Echo”. In 2007 the corps was “re-founded” once again, this time by Dr. Phil Marshall, Jeff Bush, Travis Moddison and Mike Quillen, and built a whole new staff and style with their show “Gates”, garnering a 5th place finish. Success continued in 2008 with their show “Inner Connections”, placing 4th in the newly combined “Open Class”, and again OC placed as a DCI Open Class Finalist in 2009 with their show “Equilibrium”. In 2010, OC received its highest placement ever (2nd place, Open Class), and their highest score in corps history (94.0) for their show “Dance of the Flames.”
In 2011, the corps again drew upon the creative talents of Todd Zimbelman, Travis Moddison and JC Caceres, and added some new talent with Mike Stevens and Charlotte Morrow as they embarked on their ambitious 2011 program entitled “The Blue Hour”. Marching 114 members, the corps nearly captured the Open Class title with the highest score in its history (94.7), and received high brass, high visual performance, and Mike Quillen received the Director of the Year award. The corps then went to Indy, where for the first time it competed in World Class, beating three teams, achieving 18th best overall hornline, and getting a score of 75.15.
In addition to the summer Drum and Bugle Corps, Oregon Crusaders runs the OC Indoor winter drumline program, founded by Jeff Bush and now led by Mike Stevens. OCI received the gold medal in WGI (PIA) in 2009, and the bronze medal in WGI (PIO) in 2010. In 2011, they were granted World Class status, and advanced to the WGI finals with their innovative show The Red Shoes, which combined a world class colorguard component with their world class drumline. In 2012 they are presenting their program “Shine.”
The Oregon Crusaders is funded through the donations of kind individuals, the fees paid by our marching members, and through other fundraising activities. Our budget is over $400,000 a year and we greatly appreciate your contributions as we continue to grow.
Contact Information
General Information
Email: Information@oregoncrusaders.org
Phone: 503-701-7528
Director (Mike Quillen)
Email: Director@oregoncrusaders.org
Phone: 503-475-3592
Tour Director (Tom Strecker)
Email: Boosters@oregoncrusaders.org
Phone: 503-791-6598
Mailing Address
22700 NW Gillihan Rd.
Portland, OR 97231
PO Box:
Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps
PO Box 80308
Portland, Oregon 97280
Non-Profit Tax ID: 93-1285710
