Ron Stiff was a member of the NBTA committee for a long time. He was involved in the running of corps and became very involved in the military side of things and not a lot would get past him. In 1995 when we started First Impressions we competed in the Colour Guard section at Nationals and won which meant we were going to represent England at the World Championships in Italy 1996. Ron came and helped out at training and was a big help to us especially where the Honour Guard was concerned. Easter soon arrived and off we went to Italy, the performance, the experience and the whole trip was one of the most memorable weeks of my life. Yet again, Ron was a treasure, he supported us throughout the trip and we will never forget him for that.
Sadly, shortly after Ron died, we were all devastated, but we were asked by his family to perform an Honour Guard at his funeral and what an honour! Then at Nationals we had to perform our winning routine and Jo sang "Wind beneath my Wings" as a tribute to Ron.
Ron was very particular about Military Strut and I can remember him judging me when I was young and I was scared! However Ron would be pleased to know that I teach my girls military strut the way he would have done.

First Impressions have been awarded the 'Ron Stiff Memorial Trophy', for Military Strut on 3 occaisions.