Kay Teer Crawford

Kay Waweehie Teer Crawford grew up in Granger, Texas, before her family moved to Edinburg in the Rio Grande Valley. Her family lineage included Cherokee and Comanche ancestry. In 1930, after making the Edinburg High School cheerleading squad while many classmates did not, Crawford sought a way for more students to participate. She created a school spirit group that blended cheer presentation, military-influenced marching, coordinated high kicks, and band music—the Edinburg High School Seargenettes, an early documented model for the school dance and drill-team discipline.

Crawford carried that work into a long career as an educator and choreographer. She taught at Santa Monica College, UCLA, and USC, linking formation design, rhythmic precision, physical training, costumes, and large-scale spectacle in her instruction. She wrote *The World of Drill Team* and founded and edited *Let's Cheer*.

In 1967, Crawford established Miss Drill Team USA. The organization held its first pageant in 1968, drawing 268 participants. Her choreography expanded well beyond school fields. She trained 1,268 drill-team performers for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, directed participants in the 1986 Statue of Liberty rededication, and organized 287 performers for Pope John Paul II's 1987 Mass at Dodger Stadium. She also produced halftime work for major American football events and led teams in parades and international appearances.

By the time of her death on August 29, 2001, in Redondo Beach, California, Crawford had helped turn a localized school spirit format into an organized performance and competition network. Miss Dance Drill Team USA continues to identify her as its founder and frames its present educational mission as an extension of her work.