Author: FSUMCA Board of Directors

Nominations are now being accepted through Thursday, October 14, 2021, for the Marching Chiefs Alumni Board of Directors and Associate Director for Activities. Please note that the Association Director for Activities is an Executive Officer position, and Executive Officers are typically Tallahassee residents in order to facilitate planning for the organization. If you are interested in running for a general position on the board or interested in running for the Associate Director for Activities, please contact Bonna Larson at Bonna.Larson@gmail.com. Please specify which position you are seeking and provide a short bio to be placed on a ballot. Sample bios can be found on the FSUMCA website. Please reach out to Bonna, any current Board member, Officer, or fsumca@gmail.com with any questions.

Message from the Executive Director Happy Thursday, Alumni, and I hope this message finds you well. With the promise of a good year of football we are on the precipice of doom and gloom, but I know all of you are out there still cheering on our Seminole Football team, and I know you will be this weekend as we have a home game against Louisville. Now onto the important matters: Homecoming is exactly one month away! I hope you’ve stopped to take the time to register for the event, but if you haven’t, please go to the MCA Homecoming Page to use the Eventbrite link and do so now. This year we do have a hard registration cut off of next Thursday, September 30 at 11:59pm, so I strongly recommend if you haven’t registered, please do. We cannot accept any requests after this date. Don’t have a uniform polo yet? You can order your polo from the FSUMCA Store. The deadline to order a polo is Sunday, October 10th. You will only be allowed entry to the stadium, march on the field, etc. with an MCA polo. FSU Band Alumni Association or FSUBAA polos are not valid, and you will NOT be allowed to participate unless you purchase an FSUMCA polo. All current FSUMCA polos are valid. Color Guard shirts are now available for purchase through the FSUMCA Store.  Sheet music is available now…mostly. This year I am having to wear multiple hats. Not only am I your Executive Director, but this year I am also the Musical Director for Homecoming. I’ve picked out some great tunes that are simple for us to work up, and I’ve also created a YouTube playlist so you can listen to them and “practice” before Homecoming! As I said at the Tampa Noles Block Party, Big8 please read the music before we get to the event…I will really need you to keep the tempo of the new tunes! The Homecoming sheet music can be found in our MCA Dropbox for you to print (you may need to adjust the size so it will fit in a flip folder).  We do not have the Homecoming Tune yet, but as soon as Dr. Dunnigan sends the music to me, I will add it to the MCA Dropbox, and we will send out a subsequent email. The combined selection will be the Bob Thurston arrangement of Boys of Summer. The tune was popular during Bobby’s championship years of 1993 and 1999. The Marching Chiefs will do the 1993 selection River of Dreams by Billy Joel as an opener, we will do Boys of Summer together, and then play the Alma Mater together. Have any other questions about Homecoming? Please check the Homecoming site for all your questions or email us at fsumca@gmail.com. Lastly, I want to stop and thank everyone on the Board and their volunteers for their help in getting us ready for Homecoming. These people attend meetings with FSU and vendors, get the stadium ready, and do all those little things behind the scenes to make it easier for the membership to have a wonderful time for no money while also juggling their personal and professional lives. If you see a Board member, please stop and say thanks. If you’re interested in helping this year, please contact Leslie Mille (lrm1973@gmail.com). There is always something that can be done. See you at Packet Pickup on October 22nd!MCATDT and Go Noles!!Michael Staden

Hi everyone, I hope this message finds you well and enjoying your summer with family, friends, and family by choice. We have a special opportunity that I hope you would like to be a part of. Former Marching Chief and current VP of the Tampa Bay Seminole Club, Amanda LaFoe (Flute, ‘05-’06), has asked the MCA to put together a pep band as part of their Tampa Noles Block Party, which starts at the Italian Club and includes other participating bars in Ybor City on August 14th. The Block Party is the Tampa Noles’ largest scholarship fundraiser for students in the Tampa Bay area.  This is a ticketed/wristband, 21+ event. If we participate in the pep band, we are given a free ticket/wristband to join the festivities that begin at 2:30pm. Our part will be to play tunes at the Italian Club for the VIP meet and greet starting at 1p and then for the start of the official event at 2:30p. We’ll play the school songs and depending on the instrumentation, some other Chiefs and simple band songs.  I know there are a lot of people who aren’t able to attend Homecoming, but this gives us an opportunity to have a small “reunion” of sorts and also be a part of an awesome event.  If you would like to participate in the pep band, I am including a link to a sign-up sheet. The event can only accommodate up to 30 people, so first come, first serve with proper instrumentation. The deadline to sign up is Friday, August 6. No exceptions! If you don’t want to participate in playing but still want to come to the event I am including the link to purchase tickets..but why would you want to do that when you can play and get in for free!! Note: we are only coordinating a pep band for this event. Family members, friends, etc. will need to purchase tickets to attend the event. We are not able to grant special permissions for family members or others. Again, this is a 21 and up event, so keep that in mind. Remember to be discrete. If you are a band director in the area and would be able to help provide instruments for those who do not have their own, please answer those options on the form.  I hope we can get together and help a former Chief make her event the best it can be. I know I’m coming down to help make it happen.  Thank you for taking the time to read this message and have a great day…if you want to. I hope to see you there on August 14!! Here are the links: Sign-Up Sheet for the Block Party: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdopmaIw5w1nSYZz1KeRCN_OKTp0xoa9wcshiyF3SCWF58zuQ/viewform Tampa Noles Block Party tickets for non-players: https://www.eventliveus.com/purchase/event/2251110?fbclid=IwAR0BCCyoziV3jtyIprcmWY_AHQS3Wa2ZooZEANohLHPJlKXZLgC_L3OhhNs MCATDT!! Michael T. StadenExecutive Director – Florida State University Marching Chiefs AlumniFSU Marching Chiefs Alumnihttp://www.fsumca.com/

Hi everyone, I hope this message finds you well and hopefully recovered from the activities you had (safely and socially distant) with the Super Bowl. Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for being the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. As a Saints fan it was difficult to swallow, but at least the champion is from the NFC and it’s a Florida team. Now, onto some housekeeping matters… Normally, the Chairman of the Board would announce the results of the Board of Director and Associate Director elections, but since Bonna was running, it’s up to me to make the announcements. I would like to welcome back to the Board, Bonna Larson, Natalie Blackwell, and Candace Rich. I would also like to welcome the newest member of the Board of Directors, Frank Maggio. With his ties to the Seminole Alumni Association, and also being a past president of the Sarasota Seminole Boosters, I know he will bring a fresh outlook and new ideas with how can move the Board forward in the coming years. Please look forward to a welcome letter from me in the coming days. For the membership, I would like you to place the following dates on your calendar. The Spring Game this year is on April 10. If you haven’t been to Doak in a while and would like to see our Seminoles finish their spring practices and the Marching Chiefs as they go through their Drum Major tryouts, this is an excellent opportunity to come back home to Tallahassee. Also the schedule for FSU Football has been released, and we will be playing UMass for Homecoming on October 23. In the coming months we’ll find out about the capacity limits of Doak and whether the Chiefs and Alumni will be able to take the field or if at least we’ll be able to be in the stands. Please be on the lookout for upcoming messages from the Board or myself regarding the fall.  In sad news, in the past few months, we’ve lost members of our Marching Chiefs family: saxophone player and former FSU Band Alumni Association Executive Director Barry Davis, Royal Flush member and Tau Beta Sigma sister, Allison Walker-Lavette, and most recently Screech Squad member and Kappa Kappa Psi brother, Kenneth Turner. Please keep your thoughts and prayers for their families and friends. They would appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to read this email.   Have a great day…if you want to. MCATDT!! Michael T. Staden Executive Director – Florida State University Marching Chiefs Alumni FSU Marching Chiefs Alumnihttp://www.fsumca.com/

Nominations are now being accepted for the Marching Chiefs Alumni Board of Directors. The following current board members are re-running for their positions: Bonna Larson Candace Rich Natalie Blackwell Lucas Bhuvasorakul (Executive Officer, Associate Director For Administration) We currently have one additional open general board position. Please note that our Executive Officers’ Positions typically are Tallahassee residents in order to facilitate planning for the organization. If you are interested in running for a general position on the board, live in Tallahassee and are interested in running for the Associate Director for Administration position, or would like to nominate someone, please contact Bonna Larson at Bonna.Larson@gmail.com.

To our loyal Marching Chiefs Alumni, We hope that you are healthy and safe during this unprecedented time in our lives. COVID-19 continues to impact so many facets of our lives. Therefore, it is with great disappointment that we announce that  Marching Chiefs Alumni Homecoming activities have been canceled for November 2020. The University is not able to accommodate block seating for the Marching Chiefs Alumni this year, and there is still continued uncertainty around size restrictions for large gatherings.  Though we will not be able to gather in person, we hope that you will continue to engage with us on social media in our official Marching Chiefs Alumni Facebook Page, the unofficial Facebook group, Instagram, and Twitter. It is important that we continue to stay connected and share our memories! The students in the Marching Chiefs need our support and encouragement more than ever before. Marching Chiefs Alumni Homecoming activities traditionally have led to significant contributions to our scholarship funds. If you are able, we ask that you please consider donating to these funds to ensure the students continue to have life-changing experiences and opportunities.  Please continue to take care of yourselves. We’ll be planning the next epic Homecoming as soon as we can. Perhaps 2021 will truly be the “Year of 1000 Chiefs!” MCATDT!

We hope that you are healthy and safe during this unprecedented time in our lives. COVID-19 continues to impact so many facets of our lives. Therefore, it is with great disappointment that we announce that  Marching Chiefs Alumni Homecoming activities have been canceled for November 2020. The University is not able to accommodate block seating for the Marching Chiefs Alumni this year, and there is still continued uncertainty around size restrictions for large gatherings.  Though we will not be able to gather in person, we hope that you will continue to engage with us on social media in our official Marching Chiefs Alumni Facebook Page, the unofficial Facebook group, Instagram, and Twitter. It is important that we continue to stay connected and share our memories! The students in the Marching Chiefs need our support and encouragement more than ever before. Marching Chiefs Alumni Homecoming activities traditionally have led to significant contributions to our scholarship funds. If you are able, we ask that you please consider donating to these funds to ensure the students continue to have life-changing experiences and opportunities.  Please continue to take care of yourselves. We’ll be planning the next epic Homecoming as soon as we can. Perhaps 2021 will truly be the “Year of 1000 Chiefs!” MCATDT!