And I never said no. On April 5, 2018, allegations were made in published reports that the longstanding corps director, George Hopkins, sexually harassed or abused multiple members of the corps and staff over a period of years. In 1987, the corps won its fourth DCI crown in five years. Value of cutting back on your screen time, What the Tech? In her last season, she remembers a staffer being forced to resign after he was found to be sleeping with a member. Caren Blundetto-Frech John Hannigan, is there more than one child? and USBands, but I can no longer be treated as dispensable. Charges were filed against Hopkins in November 2018, months after Youth Education in the Arts launched an investigation after about a dozen women accused Hopkins of sexual misconduct. This is the resignation letter from the director of USBands (a YEA program that helps fund The Cadets) and reveals some interesting information. Many of the women who spoke to Philly.com said they felt empowered to come forward by the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct that has toppled powerful men in news and entertainment. After their third Finals appearance in 1980, the Cadets quickly regained the corps' former championship form. I get they try to model it like the military, and in the military, youre only as strong as your weakest link, Calhoun said. [10] On September 22, 2020, Hopkins pleaded no contest to indecent assault and was sentenced to two years probation[14] and fined $5,000. In 1969, the corps became coed. ACLU says it could take legal action over Saucon Valley School District rescinding approval for After School Satan Club, Big rig crashes from I-81 bridge onto street below in Schuylkill, 'He was a very humble guy': Reading High soccer coach remembers player killed in Route 33 crash, Eat, Sip, Shop: Refresh your ride at new Lehigh County store, selling high-quality car detailing products, Former Allentown Cadets director issues statement claiming innocence, Charges filed against former Allentown Cadets director, Investigation into YEA sexual misconduct allegations complete, Report clears former YEA interim CEO of wrongdoing, YEA! George Hopkins, the former director of the Allentown Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps who was accused of sexual misconduct by nearly a dozen women, pleaded no contest to indecent assault and was. Twelve women have told the Inquirer they were sexually harassed or abused by Hopkins over the nearly four decades he served as director of Allentown's famed Cadets, years during which he achieved rock-star-like status in the activity. 1 / Adagio for Strings / Medea's Dance of Vengeance, The Promise of Living (from The Tender Land) / Lincoln Portrait / Music for the Theater, Mvts. (YEA), the umbrella group that operates the Cadets and also serves 60,000 marching band . that title. The Cadets of Bergen County won DCI Championships in 1990, '93, '98, and 2000. During training, 150 members aged 14 to 22 rehearse for 12 hours a day, on their feet from morning to night. Cc: Youth Education in the Arts Board of Directors. Thank you again for the opportunity and best of luck. But with the end of 2015, other changes occured. [17], The Cadets was formerly part of Youth Education in the Arts (YEA! Charles Mura, Michael Koeph, and the Rev. Through his attorney, Hopkins said he did not know who Marie is, but denied her allegation. But, as Connell says, the problem is much deeper than a couple of creeps. A Chicago law firm has exonerated suspended Youth Education in the Arts employee Sean King. In response to a question from Anthony, Berry said the paper would hand over the full video recording for the judges review only, if that was the courts ruling. YEA! Cadets are in troubleGH loves it that way.He wants there to be no Cadets if something happens to him.Cadets are in trouble for the FUTURE!!! They dont eat lunch until their section is perfectly lined up by twos. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). 253 votes, 88 comments. Falk said the women were in agreement with the plea deal. Cadets Drum Corps Sep 1982 - Apr 2018 35 years 8 months . Mostly cloudy and drier, but a few scattered rain showers linger early, and perhaps a few snow showers at any point in the Poconos. George Hopkins resigned as director of the Cadets, an elite drum corps based in Allentown, Pa., after nine women accused him of sexual misconduct. All Rights Reserved. Anthony warned Hopkins that if he violated any conditions of probation, he could be sent to a state prison. Shortly after, more victims came forward, and the accounts of two of these women became the basis of the criminal charges brought in November 2018. You need complete concentration on everything you do because if you dont, you could get someone else hurt or you can hurt yourself, Calhoun said. If you forget to do a step-off, someones going to collide into you with a 20-pound tuba. Allentown Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps separated from YEA and became the nonprofit Cadets Arts & Entertainment Inc. in May, stating it had lost $1.5 million in sponsorships, donations, and ticket sales after the allegations against Hopkins were made public in the 2018 Inquirer account. Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, The Cadets was one of the thirteen founding corps of Drum Corps International (DCI), is a ten-time DCI World Champion, and is the oldest continuously active junior drum and bugle corps in North America.[1]. She said that one evening in 2008, Hopkins asked her to come to his Allentown apartment to do some work. DCI.org: For the uninitiated, give us a brief history of YEA!'s relationship with the Crossmen. In both cases, the women say after meeting with Hopkins on business, they were drugged and sexually assaulted. There is an interview with Beyer that is readily available to the public that will allow the Bergstrom to build his defense, Berry argued. Give us your full drum corps/marching music background. Their biggest resource in that effort may be the very people who are speaking out. Even snow plows and emergency vehicles were. I just felt like, Well, youre right. In July, he sued the organization for more than $580,000 in severance pay. I want to see what else is in that video that is dramatically different than what she told detectives two months later, Bergstrom said. "I just kept saying no, don't do this, I don't want to do this," said Marie, who said she went by her middle name at work. won with field programs that were, and still are, viewed as ground-breaking. The corps traveled to Chicago for Legion Nationals at the members' own expense. The Govenaires, an all-age/senior corps founded in 1927, retain the title of oldest continuously active corps. He's due back in court in February. The investigation into Hopkins conduct found he had little oversight from the Cadets board, giving him the freedom to throw things when angry in rehearsals, refer to women as little girls, and send inappropriate sexual emails on the organizations server. Tips to help protect your smartphone from thieves, Outlast Forces Lone Wolf Contestants to Embrace Team Dynamics for Netflix Competition, Diego Luna: Andor Ending With Season 2 Is Really Important for My Mental Health. The whistleblowers say they went public after receiving a feeble response from the Troopers legal team. Presidents of our country die Laura Masker-Holland and VP takes over and our country still goes on. You need to make sure that you are taking care of them. Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk said the woman in the 2008 allegation decided that not pursuing these charges are in her best interest, and we support her in that.. They wanted to shed a light on his behavior and for him to have a criminal record, he said. Philly.com reported the alleged misconduct ranged from lewd comments and groping to rape. This is our director.". The judge set a Dec. 17 hearing on the defenses motion to dismiss the charges. It wasnt rape and it wasnt sexual assault, Bergstrom said. The Inquirer is telling me I need to go to another source, and there isnt one, he argued. CEO while denying the allegations. The judge did question how the defense would know if the witness impeached her own testimony on the stand, if it didnt know ahead of time what she may have said in an earlier interview. All that was claimed to have happened didnt happen. The judge opined that this situation is very different than, say, a defendants statement to police, a full copy of which would be made available to the defense by the prosecution. Former Allentown Cadets director George Hopkins has settled a civil claim with the Cadets parent organization, Youth Education in the Arts, regarding compensation. Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Casper Star-Tribune. The Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps perform during Drums Along the Rockies at Cheney Alumni Field in July 2018. Not someone who wants to be an assistant. On Wednesday, he told Lehigh County Judge James Anthony that the Inquirer has refused to provide the full video. Prosecutor Matthew Falk, the offices chef deputy district attorney, said Beyer, the woman in the allegation dating to 2008, decided that not pursuing these charges are in her best interest, and we support her in that. The victim in the 2010 assault has asked not to be named. Please subscribe to keep reading. George Hopkins 260 Followers Life long member, teacher, and administrator of Drum Corps (from 1968-2019). Hopkins was also charged with sexually assaulting another woman in Allentown; that charge was dropped as part of an agreement that led to Thursdays plea. Never marched in high school band. The corps felt that not only were they having their creative potential as artistic performing groups stifled, but they were being financially starved. Drum and bugle corps perform intricate routines that incorporate music, marching, dance and color guards. Since the assault in the apartment occurred in 2010, before a recent amendment to Megans Law, Hopkins is not subject to sexual offender registration. There was an error processing your request. has taken furt, Two former Youth Education in the Arts employees accused George Hopkins of sexual assault. wondering if he would be able to field and/or finance a corps, and ended 1983 His credentials, his experience, his talents, his imagination, and his intellect are formidable. The charges stemmed from alleged incidents involving two women. Chapter 5 Staff changes and letters to the board of directors . 2; Steve Vickers, ed. That might be because people are running their faucets to keep pipes from freezing. George Hopkins. The Casper Troopers perform during Drums Along the Rockies at Cheney Alumni Field Friday evening. Stuart Evan Rice said in an interview this week that he told Dan Acheson . money, and members. Crews were actively searching for people who were trapped, but having a hard time getting to them. participation in 2018 Summer Tour", "Cadets to forgo west coast portion of 2018 tour", "Ex-director of Allentown drum corps enters plea in sexual assault case", "Former Allentown Cadets band leader pleads no contest to indecent assault; judge calls him 'disgusting', "Drum corps seeks $1.5 million from former director after sexual misconduct scandal", "George Hopkins, YEA settle civil suit regarding compensation", "The Cadets Announce Independent Not-For-Profit Youth Organization", https://cadets.org/cadets-announce-move-erie-pa, https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/48381432/erie-sports-center-to-become-permanent-home-for-the-cadets-drum-corps, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Cadets_Drum_and_Bugle_Corps&oldid=1139537566, The Sinfonians by Clifton Williams / Give it One by, Advance of the Sponges by HIGGINS / Left Bank Express by Pete Jackson / Pieces of Dreams by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman / Echano by Chuck Mangione / Strawberry Soup by, Rocky Point Holiday by Ron Nelson / In Nomine Patris, Almighty Father, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, God Said, De Profundis, Part 2 & A Simple Song, Maria, Rumble, Prologue, America, I Have a Love, & Tonight, Jeremiah Symphony, Overture to Candide & Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide), I Dreamed A Dream, At the End of the Day, Look Down, On My Own, Attack on Rue Plumet, Bring Him Home, One Day More & At the Barricades, In the Spring, When Kings Go Off to War; Ballet Sacra & On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss, Dance at the Gym, Mambo, Cha-cha, Cool, Prologue/Rumble, A Boy Like That, Tonight & Finale, The Reivers, Born on the 4th of July, Blowing Off Steam (from Far and Away), Swing, Swing, Swing (from 1941) & Land Race (from Far and Away), The Promise of Living (from Tender Land) by Aaron Copland / Tulsa: A Portrait in Oil by, Tapestry Of Nations, Prologue, Chaos and Meaning, The Sage of Time & The Promise, History Repeating by Alex Gifford / White Rabbit by, Rumble, Prologue, A Boy Like That-I Have A Love, Cool & Tonight, Symphony No. Bergstrom reiterated his position that he cant effectively prepare a defense without access to the full interview. Watch this report from Action News at 4:30pm on April 6, 2018. Calhoun ended up pulling a hamstring, but wasnt sent to a clinic for treatment. It carries the same weight at sentencing as a guilty plea. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. On November 13, Hopkins was indicted in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania for sexual assault, based on accusations of two women who are former employees of YEA. The decision to leave wasnt easy, especially since the messaging within the organization encourages members to deal with the hardships or be seen as weak. established a hotline for calls to report concerns or complaints.[11]. (CAE). The charge to which Hopkins pleaded no contest stemmed from one victim who said she was sexually assaulted in 2010 at age 26, and who provided her account to The Inquirer in 2018. How to do some spring cleaning on your smartphone, What the Tech? Hopkins needs Help From George Hopkins . 93 (Mvts. Morning Call reporter Laurie Mason Schroeder can be reached at 610-820-6506 or lmason@mcall.com. Hopkins, 63, was accused of sexual assault and harassment by numerous women in a 2018 Philadelphia Inquirer article, and was criminally charged in connection with two alleged incidents later that year. The judge did not issue a ruling from the bench on Bergstroms motion. With no 2020 drum corps season, Cadets Arts & Entertainment focused its attention on establishing clear policies, strict safeguards and strategic committees that meet regularly to help guide The Cadets forward. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. The group keeps up a grueling practice and travel schedule, performing throughout the United States. After roughly a month of trying to leave, Calhoun said he finally did it in July, cutting his touring season short. Newspapers publish newsworthy items all the time, and they cant be dragged into court every single time a defense attorney wants to know what other information is out there, Berry said. 10 in E minor, Op. Hopkins did not testify Thursday. On Friday, October 6, 2017, 10:08 PM, XXXX XXXX XXXX@XXXX.com wrote: This letter is to inform you of my resignation as Director of USBands, effective immediately. Value of cutting back on your screen time, What the Tech? They sleep on hard gym floors, take water breaks on the run and get an average of one. Four months after the director of Allentown's famed Cadets drum corps, George Hopkins, resigned amid a sexual misconduct scandal, the spotlight has now turned on another, smaller corps Pioneer of Milwaukee.

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