The Sacramento Mandarins is pleased and honored to announce its 2019 Hall of Fame Inductees. Please join us in congratulating Raymond Mar, Janet Wong (posthumous), Daniel Fong, Scott Jow, and Les Wong. These five inductees will join the Mandarins’ founders, who were inducted in our inaugural class of 2018. This year’s inductees will be recognized at the annual Mandarins Birthday Bash celebration, which takes place on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Tickets are now available through the Mandarins Marketplace.
Raymond Mar was the longest-serving corps director for the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, serving for an incredible 31 years (all volunteer) beginning in 1983. Under Ray’s leadership, the Mandarins achieved national recognition, including 8 DCI Division II/III World Championships and 2 Spirit of Disney awards. He also served as Vice Chairman of the DCI Division II/III Advisory Committee, advising new corps on setting realistic goals and building their organizations. In 2013 he was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame. Ray continues to serve as Director Emeritus and advisor for the corps.
Janet Wong joined the Mandarins in 1983 with her son and began volunteering as Booster Club Manager on the Mandarins Administrative Staff. In 1988, she volunteered to serve as Bingo Manager — a position she held long after her son aged out and until her death in 2014. Her dedication to fundraising enabled the Mandarins to provide a championship drum and bugle corps program throughout all the DCI divisions.
Dr. Daniel Fong has been involved with the Mandarins for over 40 years. He first joined the Mandarins in 1973 as a member of the brass section and earned the Joe Fong Award for Outstanding Member in 1981. He went on to serve as brass arranger for nearly 30 years, helping lead the Mandarins to eight Division II/III World Championship titles. For many of those years, he also served as Brass Caption Head and was a co-founder and instructor of the Mandarins Brass Academy. He is currently co-director of the Mandarins Health and Wellness Team.
Scott Jow has dedicated 50 years to the Mandarins organization, joining the drumline in 1969 shortly after the corps’ name changed from the Ye Wah Drum & Bugle Corps. After ageing out, he continued in a wide variety of roles ranging from instructor to historian to kitchen volunteer and even corps director. He is currently public relations manager, promoting the Mandarins by creating engaging media content.
Les Wong began his time with the Mandarins as a member of the percussion section. was part of the percussion staff when the Mandarins began rebuilding in the early 80’s and continued on staff for over 25 years. He soon took over as percussion caption head and arranger, and demonstrated his deep commitment and dedication by commuting regularly from San Jose and going back to school to further study music theory. Alumni fondly recall their years under Les’ guidance and mentorship both on and off the field.
