Congratulations to Jeff Sacktig on your appointment to the D.C.I. hall of fame!
Jeff and his brother, winter guard program director John Sacktig, were pivotal, along with Garfield Cadets/Cadets of Bergen County guard legend April Gilligan, in the success of New York Crimson Kings Drum, Fife, & Bugle Corps winterguard winning back to back NJA “A” Class championships in 1991 and 1992, and a W.G.I “A” Class Bronze medal in 1993.
The Crimson Kings winter guard program was a powerhouse, particularly in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. At that time, the guard line won many awards and championships including:
- Best Rifles April, 28,1990 EMBA
- 1990 Belleville NJ. Veteran’s Day Parade Best Color Guard
- Garden State Championship 1991- intermediates, First place: Best color guard
- 1991 NJA Class A champion CK winter guard
- 1992 NJA Class A champion CK winter guard
- Crimson kings Color Guard 3-7-1992 2nd Place (no specific event notated on trophy )
- 2nd Annual Shore Spectacular :1st place open Class April 24,1993
- 1993 WGI “A” Class Bronze Medal winner Crimson Kings Winter guard
- 1994 Shore Spectacular Hosted by Atlantic Wave of Central Region H.S. 1st Place Independent World Class
- Crescendo Winter Guard Competition: 1st Place Independent World Class 1994
- Winter Guard competition B.R.H.S. March 25, 1995: 2nd place
The guard line continued to be successful from that time onward and is now under the instruction of Matthew Miller, experienced instructor, and performer with O2 color guard, a finalist at world championships
Congratulations and thanks! =)
Jeff Sacktig
For two decades, Jeff Sacktig has been the brain behind the complex visual formations that the Cadets bring to the football field each summer.
An East Coast native growing up in a family of drum corps performers, Sacktig began his career at the young age of 9 in the very same group (The St. Mathias Blue Max) that his father marched with in the 1940s. Becoming a member of the Cadets in 1986 and in later years joining the staff, he had the opportunity to first write the corps’ drill formations in full in 1995.
Coming from an outstanding lineage of drill designers the likes of DCI Hall of Fame members Ralph Pace, George Zingali and Marc Sylvester, Sacktig has built on the legacy of his predecessors while adding his own unique style to what people instantly identify when the Cadets take the field each summer.
“Throughout his career he has been authentic in his approach and admired as a genius with his mathematical approach to visual design,” 2009 DCI Hall of Fame inductee Jay Bocook said. “Jeff’s drum corps designs are among the most respected and copied in the last 20 years.”
Helping lead the Cadets to four DCI World Championship titles and numerous medalist placements, longtime Cadets director George Hopkins notes that among Sacktig’s most notable contributions to the lexicon of drum corps drill designers are his endings.
From breakneck rotating blocks and intersecting lines, Hopkins says: “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to Jeff and said, ‘This is where you will write the greatest ending of all time,’ and he does it again and again and again.”
“Jeff Sacktig has inspired a generation of designers with his signature style,” Bocook added. “He is a true professional, and his passion for drum corps is lifelong and genuine.”