Greetings and Happy Autumn 2022!

What a whirlwind the year 2022 has been so far! And we still have a ways to go! The year started with lots of planning for the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, the world class DCI Capital Classic show, the start-up of the Mandarins Music Academy in the Elk Grove Unified School District, and the resumption of Bingo with the lifting of COVID restrictions. Also, the Mandarins Alumni Association became a viable entity. The Mandarins of Sacramento, Inc. organization was a very active beast!

As I mentioned before, the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps season was a huge success on and off the field. Navigating through the pandemic and maintaining our 10th place finish was a task managed well by Corps Director JW Koester and his administrative team.

The DCI Capital Classic show on July 8 was a first on many levels. It was the Mandarins’ first hosting of a DCI World Class show. It was the first time we have held our show at Hornet Stadium at Sac State. It was the first time we worked with a marketing firm to coordinate the PR and marketing of the event. And it was the first time the Mandarins Alumni Corps performed our own production at the Capital Classic! Special thanks to the DCI Capital Classic planning team under the leadership of Mark MacRae. A gracious thank you to alum Ron Lam and his team at the Trifecta Management Group for donating their time, talent, and efforts. And we can’t forget the leaders of the Alumni Corps: Kim Wong, Joyce Fukuchi, Kalei Cablay, Adam Grant, Shekar Khedekar, Ben Prima, and Chris Langton.

A heartfelt thanks to Co-Directors Ryan Lee and Jim Tabuchi and the administrative team of the Mandarins Music Academy for putting band instruments in the hands of over 800 elementary school students last spring. That number has grown to over 1100 this fall! We are so proud to give the Gift of Music to and help change the lives of many students.

A huge shout out to Cindy Froom, our Bingo Director, and her dedicated staff for surviving the devastating conditions of the pandemic and keeping our Bingo program alive. I can’t say enough about the giving spirit of the staff who make sure the Mandarins are a viable non-profit. And I want to acknowledge our regulars Tina, Reba, Char, Billy, Faithy, Raven, Donna, Yumiko, Eric, and Eve. I know I’ve missed many…and we thank ALL of you!!! I can’t forget to mention the Bingo Committee members Paul Daschka and Joe Fong. BTW – come out to play Bingo on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays!

Watch for more events coming up as we celebrate the Mandarins 60th Diamond Anniversary in 2023! Planning is underway for the Diamond Anniversary Gala, the Mandarins Golf Tournament, and a larger Alumni Corps to perform at the DCI Capital Classic. But we need help with the planning. The Mandarins Alumni Association and the Diamond Anniversary Planning team including Kimi Chow, Milt Gee, Melissa Stockbridge, Darryl Yee, Scott Jow and Jeannie Fong need your input! Contact one of them to find a way for you to help.

Daniel Fong
President and CEO