JEFF SACKTIG

Class of 2008

CADET/INSTRUCTOR/DESIGNER/CONSULTANT/MENTOR/VOLUNTEER/DONOR – 33 years

 

Cadet Years: Brass/Soprano 1986-1989, Cadet of the Year 1989

Cadet Visual Staff 1990-1991

Cadet Visual Caption Head 1993-1994

Cadet Visual Designer/Caption Head 1995-2001, 2003-2015

Staff Member of the Year 2011

Cadet Design Team Consultant/Mentor 2020-2023

Cadets2 Visual Designer 2012-2016

Cadets Winter Percussion 2016

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HIS CADET STORY:

Jeff’s parents met in drum corps in the mid-1940’s and Jeff’s Dad competed against the Holy Name Cadets.  Jeff has 6 other sibling who all have been involved in drum corps at some point and it was only natural that Jeff started his journey in drum corps at the age of 9 years old as a soprano player with a local church drum and bugle the St. Matthias Blue Max in Ridgewood, Queens, NY from 1977-1983.  

 

Jeff moved on to march with a “senior” corps, the Long Island Sunrisers as a soprano player from 1983-1985.  It was the next step as his local corps folded and 2 of his siblings were in the corps.  At 15 years old, Jeff was the youngest member of the corps.  The Sunrisers were a top DCA corps at the time and Jeff was fortunate to be with the corps as they won the championship in 1983.

 

As his talents and interests grew Jeff wanted to march with a touring “junior” corps.  The next chapter in his drum corps journey brought him to the Garfield Cadets where he was a soprano player from 1986-1989.  He was excited to meet talented people from across the country and travel throughout the summer.  Jeff was a soloist all 4 years he marched and was the Cadet of the Year in 1989.  Jeff was fortunate to be a member of the corps when they won the DCI Championship in 1987.

 

After ageing out and spending 4 great years as a member the Garfield Cadets/Cadets of Bergen County, Jeff’s career with the Cadets was just getting started.  He taught the corps the very next year in 1990 as a member of the Brass and Visual staff.  He continued to teach the corps on the Visual staff in 1991, 1993-1994, Visual Caption Supervisor those last 2 years.  Then Jeff became the Visual Designer for the corps the next 20 years from 1995-2001, 2003-2015.  Jeff also was the Visual Designer for Cadets2 (C2) from 2012-2016, the corps was the DCA champion in 2016.  He also was the Visual Designer for Cadets Winter Percussion (CWP) in 2016, WGI Independent World Finalist.

 

After the summer of 2015 Jeff stepped away from the Cadets for a few years for personal reasons but was always there to lend a second set of eyes or support if needed.  And he returned to the corps in 2020-2023 as a consultant and a member of the Design Team and mentor to the Visual Designer.

 

In 2020, Jeff established a scholarship program at the Cadets for a deserving color guard member in the name of his late partner Michelle Owens who is also a member of the Cadet Hall of Fame and taught the guard from 2003-2008.  Michelle was revered by the members she taught.

 

Jeff is extremely proud of his 33+ years history with the Cadet organization.  He bled maroon and gold for many years.  It was the center of his world and he gave his whole being to it.  He grew up and learned a great deal from those that brought the corps to the pinnacle of the activity and he was honored to take the baton and continue that legacy of creativity and excellence and bring it to a new level.  And in his last 4 years with the corps, and its final existence, Jeff was extremely proud to pass the baton onto another Cadet designer Jon Bilby (another Cadet Hall of Famer too) that he taught in the late 90’s and had him as a member of his visual staff.

 

Some of Jeff’s accolades with the Cadets:

-- Marching member of the 1987 DCI World Champion

-- Cadet of the Year 1989

-- Brass and Visual Staff of the 1990 DCI World Champion

-- Visual Caption Supervisor of the 1993 DCI World Champion

-- Visual Designer of the 1998, 2000, 2005 and 2011 DCI World Champion

-- Staff Member of the Year 2011

-- The corps never placed below 5th place during Jeff’s tenure has the visual designer.  And place in the top 3, as a medalist, 15 out of the 20 years he wrote for the corps.

-- Visual Designer for Cadets2 (C2) the 2016 DCA World Champion.

-- Visual Designer for Cadets Winter Percussion (CWP), Independent World Finalist.

 

Outside of the Cadets, Jeff is an active visual designer and consultant for drum corps, marching band, indoor percussion, winter guard and winds groups.

 

Currently Jeff is in his ninth year as the Visual Designer for Carolina Crown.  Other drum corps Jeff has written for include the Crossmen, Magic of Orlando (2002 DCI Division 2 Champion and Division 1 finalist), Capital Regiment, Cadets2, Atlanta CV and Yokohama Scouts (Japan).  His contributions to drum corps and pageantry overall, are well respected.

 

Having taught and designed for many groups through the years Jeff is fortunate to have worked at the highest level is all areas of pageantry.  Some of his most notable groups are Vandegrift HS, Bands of America Grand National Champion.  Paramount Winter Guard, WGI Independent World Champion.  Dartmouth HS Indoor Percussion, WGI Scholastic World Champion.  Cleveland HS Winds, WGI Scholastic World Champion.  Cadets2, DCA World Champion.  And The Yokohama Scouts, Drum Corps Japan Champion.

 

Other honors include:

-- DCI Hall of Fame 2015

-- World Drum Corps Hall of Fame 2018

-- WGI Hall of Fame 2024