Al Boyd, 1928 - 2008

After a tough fight with cancer, our pal, Al Boyd, passed away at home on Thursday, July 24, 2008.

Al was an integral part of our band for many years -- he had a very strong business sense, and was our best "bird dog" for promoting and contacting our fans. Without fail, Al would be on hand (well in advance of an event) to re-organize the stage, making sure that the rhythm section was prominently displayed, that the trumpets had enough room, and that the saxes would not be whacked by the slide wielding maniacs that sat behind them.

Al believed in personal service, and while he was in the band, he would diligently map out seating arrangements for our dancers, and often would hand-deliver the tickets to our patrons. We all learned valuable lessons on "client service" from Al. Al was the chief liaiason to our venue partners, and ran a disciplined ship in regard to hall rentals, banquet arrangements, and advertising. His professional background in commercial printing was a great help to us -- he knew the value of "spreading the word" through posters and personal telephone calls, he had a tight grip on budgetary matters, and his method for reserving and mapping out seating arrangements has been adopted by the others who have followed in his organizational footsteps.

A group like the Trocadero Orchestra is hard to manage, but with Al's dedication, he helped make the Trocadero Alumni Orchestra a high-quality, professional organization.

... and he was a darn decent trombone player, too!

We will miss him, and every time we have a "setup crisis", we'll remember 'what would Al do?"