Kevin Smith (72)

Kevin Smith is the Corps Director and Board President Emeritus of Carolina Crown, Inc.. He was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2014. Along with a group of drum corps alums and supporters, Smith formed the Charlotte Drum Corps Association (CDCA) in 1988 to run an annual competition in the North Carolina city. Soon after, members of the CDCA had the idea to start their own drum corps ensemble. Smith agreed to be the interim director of the corps until a permanent director could be found, though nobody ever was. With a background in risk management and a full-time job in insurance, Smith chose to run and grow Carolina Crown in a slow, gradual and calculated way. For 20 years Smith led the group, seeing the corps through its first DCI World Championship title in 1993 as a Division II unit, to its move up to DCI's World Class division with years of further growth and competitive success. He did all of this as a volunteer, in between raising a family and holding a nine-to-five job.