Administrative Files

Scope and content:

Series 1: Administrative Files, 1977-2016, represents the bulk of written material in the collection. The series consists of correspondence, handbooks, and general administrative material pertaining to the Marching Royal Dukes. Also included are logistical files on various trips the Marching Royal Dukes participated in, both domestic and abroad.

Staff material represents higher-level management information that is used to operate the program from the top. Materials such as annual service reports, correspondence, drill, MRD Leadership Handbooks, press releases, and uniform orders represent such information. Such material represents accurately what information was to be conveyed and taught to student members and how the process operated on a yearly basis. These materials show how the MRDs operated from an instructor's position and how the program responded to internal and external influences in its management and teaching style. Examples of interesting staff material include letters from Congressman Bob Goodlatte and various other political representatives, and hand-drawn ideas for new MRD uniforms in the uniform orders material.

Membership material is represented in the series by folders such as the MRD Handbooks, Pre-Season Mailings, Music and Scores, and Band Banquet programs. These materials indicate important general information for the student members of the MRDs such as behavior policy, professional expectations, the learning process, and instrumentation section-related material such as music and section policies. Examples of interesting membership material includes: evolving complexity and integration of technological requirements such as the smart phone app DrillBook Next shown in the pre-season mailings, Band Banquet programs recognizing upper-classman membership in the band, and full instrumentation scores of traditional MRD pieces such as the JMU Fight Song, Get It On, Salvation is Created, the JMU Alma Mater, and Start Wearing Purple.

A bulk of the Administrative Files is made up by travel-related files. These files show the logistical planning and organizing that were needed to facilitate the MRD's travel needs. The travel files include itineraries, travel rosters, agreement forms, maps, brochures, trip-specific correspondence, and logistical material for the organization of such events. The folders that contain these are marked as Trip Files and include the travel to locations and venues, both domestic and abroad, such as Athens, Dublin, Macy's Thanksgiving Parades, Monaco, London, Governor's Inaugurations, and the Presidential Inaugurations of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Access and use

Contents