National Winner for This I Believe Essay Contest
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Written by: Caryn Goebel
Cadets' "This I Believe" Essay Contest wraps up this weekend
Pasadena, Calif. - Three essay writers have reached the pinnacle event in drum corps DCI World Championships in gorgeous Pasadena, Calif., - and will take the field with the Cadets in the Rose Bowl stadium for the next three evenings.
Bob Showalter, a father whose belief in commitment carries him through life; Anetta Campbell, a sister who never wavered in her loving support of Cadet Adrienne Winslow; and David C. Welch, a Cadet who credits the long-caring family of Maroon and Gold for helping to keep him alive.
These three winners were selected for their or a family member’s submission among scores of entries in the Cadets’ “This I Believe” Essay Contest. They will wrap up the season-long contest that welcomed fans to join in the excitement of the Cadets’ 2007 program, “This I Believe,” sharing their values and beliefs that guide them through life.
Showalter will kick off the Championship series, entering the field of competition with the corps tonight during Quarter-Finals competition. Campbell, sister of Cadets’ alumna Adrienne Wilson, will be the honorary member during Semi-Finals on Friday, Aug. 10, and Welch, also an alumnus, will wrap up the season, participating in the coveted Finals’ performance on Saturday, Aug. 12.
Below are their winning essays:
“I believe that The Cadets played a major role in me being alive today. Physically alive.
In 2004, I was in a business meeting. I wasn’t myself and was ordered to the Emergency Room. The person who sent me? A Cadet Drum Major.
Hours later, I was diagnosed with brain cancer, and this same Cadet Drum Major helped launch an attack to help find a medical team. The person who was able to reach thousands of people within days? The Executive Director of The Cadets.
I was told that the lemon-sized tumor in the center of my brain was inoperable. The voice that then kicked in? The Cadet Drill Designer who taught me that “it can’t be done” was a challenge, not necessarily a truth.
I met with numerous medical boards across the country. I was told that I had 5-6 years to live. Who then told me to drop everything and call neurosurgeon Dr. Patrick J. Kelly? A Cadet who twice threatened to beat me up for missing rehearsal.
I went into extremely dangerous brain surgery not knowing if I would walk or talk afterwards. Who was the assigned nurse who led me into surgery? A Cadet who marched third soprano in my age-out year. Unbelievable, but true.
Prayers were said for me at Holy Name Church in Garfield, NJ during my surgery. Who made this possible? A longtime volunteer for The Cadets.
After “tour de force” surgery that defied odds, I walked out of the hospital a week later. The person who traveled 5 hours to greet me? The same Cadet Drum Major who sent me to the hospital in the first place.
As I recovered from brain surgery and started chemotherapy, I received hundreds of e-mails and letters. The Cadets who reached out to me? Those from 1950 to present.
I was only the 41st patient ever to have this type of brain surgery by Dr. Kelly. Would I be walking and talking or even alive without the immediate support of fellow Cadets? There is a powerful case that the answer could well be “no.”
At the 2007 DCI Finals, I am at the height of my 24th round of chemotherapy and I am feeling like absolute dirt, but we learn how to deal with extreme physical challenges by being Cadets. There is no hyperbole or metaphor in anything we learn.
This is why I believe that The Cadets played a major role in me being alive today. Physically alive. Spiritually alive. And in the final words we say together before our last show, Amen.”
Credits
- Cadet Drum Major Doug Rutherford
- Executive Director of The Cadets George Hopkins
- Drill Writer for The Cadets George Zingali
- Cadet who found neurosurgeon Brian Wilkie
- Cadet volunteer who invoked prayers at Holy Name Church Marie DiDomenico
- Cadet Nurse Christina Tserkis Brown
- Cadet from the 1950’s Dave Shaw
David C. Welch
1984-87 Garfield Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps
“In our community, trials and successes are shared, and we are all the better for it. This, I believe.
I marched my first of three years as a Cadet in 1987. Those three years changed my life in ways that I continue to discover 20 years later. Not only did I learn the meaning of hard work and responsibility…I learned appreciation - appreciation for things large and small: a hard floor to sleep on, a cold drink, a soft breeze, and the comfort of being part of something much bigger than I ever imagined.
As all Cadets do, I worked hard each day of tour focused on being the best I could be. Back then, I thought mostly about my role in the corps and the show we practiced to perfection. With all my energy focused on the corps, it was easy to take for granted supportive peers, charitable volunteers, committed instructors and the administration. I also took for granted the enduring and unfailing love and support I received from my twin sister, Anetta.
Like so many loved ones who supported and shaped Cadets over the storied history of the corps, Anetta, with tenderness, quiet strength, and tremendous pride surrendered her time, bestowed her support, and lived every triumph and disappointment with me. She cheered me on during collect-call conversations; snuck away my laundry; and attended every championship. I could often hear her cheering right behind the contra section during retreat. Anetta doesn’t know this…but she eased the weight of my horn time and again, every day, all summer, for three years.
The years past have been a gift. They have afforded me mature eyes, a grateful heart, and patience earned by negotiating the balance between success and failure, happiness and disappointment, discovery and rediscovery. From this place I reflect on my experiences as a Cadet with gratitude, and embrace my role an alumnus. And in doing so, I want to demonstrate my appreciation for my sister, and for all the loved ones who have supported the corps over the years, by offering her up for your consideration as an Honorary Cadet.
My sister and I are making the trip to Pasadena from Ontario, Canada. More than anything, I would love for her to experience the pride I felt as a Cadet by having the opportunity to join the Cadet block while I, in turn, watch from the stands. She is the ultimate honorary Cadet and is most deserving.”
Adrienne Winslow
“I believe that commitment is the necessary requirement in life to be a contributing member of the human society. It is the inner motivation that keeps me moving forward in a directed manner. It provides focus to the purpose of my life. It is who I am and what I believe.
To me commitment is prioritized in these three ways:
My first commitment in life is my belief in God and my faith. Without this, there would be no direction of right and wrong. With out faith in eternal life, there would be nothing to strive for during my earthly days. There would be no positive focus in my life. My faith gives me the strength to endure the most difficult days without fear, it gives me the direction of knowing that I need to live my life by example to others, and it lets me live in harmony with others, whether or not I agree with them. It helps me to do the right thing rather than just doing things right.
Second is my commitment to my wife and family. When I got married, I made the choice to be committed to my wife, Susan, forever through “thick and thin”. She is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. She and I are one, have been for 28 years, and will always be. Our children are the lights of our lives! We are committed to always be there for them in everyway. In addition, we commit ourselves to all of our extended family!
Finally in priority of commitments, I am committed to my community, my work place, and what I do daily. I love to volunteer, and hope that by giving a little of my time may help to benefit the community in some small way. Each day may bring challenges at work, at home, or in my neighborhood, but by being committed to those in each environment, I hope that I am making each a better place.
By making the choice of commitment, I have made a positive choice for the rest of my life! So, there you have it, the “Big C Word” as I call it, what I believe: COMMITMENT!"
Bob Showalter
