Brandon Wallace Chosen by Corps Members
At the end of each summer tour, Corps Members select the annual recipient of the Outstanding Corps Member award, also known as the Joe Fong Memorial award.
Brandon Wallace received this distinguished honor in 2022. Brandon stated, “Being voted for the Joe Fong award by my peers means the world to me. Last summer I had the pleasure of marching with the 2021 recipient, Amanda Lopes. She was an amazing leader and represented everything that a Mandarin should be. I strived to be as good of a leader as she was and I’m extremely proud to have been voted to be the 2022 recipient.”
Brandon joined the Mandarins in 2018, having learned about the corps through his older brother Alex, who marched 2015-17. Alex and the Mandarins’ Visual caption head encouraged Brandon to audition.
As a Brass Section member and also Horn Sergeant, Brandon has learned a lot about musicianship. He said, “I’ve also learned what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. I learned about the family that could be made through DCI and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Brandon has many memories about his Mandarins Experience. “Something I will always remember is my final retreat with the Mandarins. We set another record- breaking score by breaking 90 for the first time in corps history. I had 6-year vet Reznor Weist on my right and another 6-year vet, Austin Willems on my left. The emotion and excitement I felt through even just the three of us is easily the most happy I’ve been in my drum corps career.”
Now that Brandon has aged-out, he will continue his education to become a History teacher. He’ll also teach Visual at University City, Chula Vista, and Mira Mesa high schools in San Diego. Brandon hopes to be able to teach drum corps, as well.
