DR. RICHARD SANTO

Class of 1984

CADET / ADMINISTRATION / CORPS DIRECTOR / MENTOR

Cadet Years: Color Guard (1950-1951); Color Guard Captain (1952-1954)

Corps Director (1979-1982)

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HIS CADET STORY:

“Doc” Santo began as a guard member of the Corps during the early 1950’s.  As the Guard Captain, he also helped to travel ahead of the Corps to make sure that the facilities were ready and waiting.

 

But his major contribution came when his two boys (Eric and Tim) joined the Corps in the mid-seventies.  Doc assisted Corps Director “Doc” Cinzio in 1978, and then became Director of the Corps from 1979 through 1982.  This position was on a “volunteer” basis, while continuing to hold down a chiropractic business.

 

A gifted motivator and team-builder, Doc revamped the Corps after the 1979 season.  With the help of other staff members, he orchestrated the “Mississippi bus lift” to fill out the corp's membership and regain DCI top-12 status in 1980. He also began to introduce a new creative staff that would eventually lead to our first DCI World Championship in 1983.  He set the stage for a three-year plan (that actually took four years), where we placed 10th in 1980, 7th in 1981, 3rd in 1982.  He stepped away from the Corps after that season, but not before putting all the pieces of the staff puzzle together.