An Update from The Cavaliers Organization
The mission of the Organization is to inspire life-long learning through a unique culture that fosters leadership and excellence in education, the arts, and responsible citizenship. Our organization seeks to empower individuals who value inclusivity, comradery, and personal excellence. We provide a unique culture and set of experiences that help young people develop the leadership skills required to have a positive impact on their community and equip them for personal and professional success.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(ROSEMONT, Ill.) — The Cavaliers have not been idle during the long break caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and cancellation of the 2020 season. Our annual organizational retreat weekend was held in late November and we have been busy bringing the goals that arose from the retreat to fruition. More exciting news will be happening over the next several weeks and months as restrictions diminish and we can once again gather as a community. Here are a few of the results of our efforts to build the infrastructure at the top of the organization to ensure a strong future.
Culture Committee
The mission statement at the top of this release is not only what we strive to become, but the culture that has been part of the DNA of The Cavaliers for the past 73 years. The primary responsibility of this new standing and permanent board level committee is to ensure an organizational culture and operating environment that is focused on diversity and inclusion across all performance units; the safety, health and welfare of the participants in those programs; and ensuring that our policies, handbooks, and actions enable and support our mission and goals. “The entire board is excited by this expanded focus that we feel will benefit our students, educational staff, and management team as well as allow us to deliver greater value across all of our programs and to our partnerships in the Rosemont and Chicagoland community.” stated Board President Chris Hartowicz. “Change starts at the top and actions speak louder than words. To that end, we are proud to be expanding and evolving the makeup of our board of directors to add even more strong, diverse voices that provide the diversity of ideas, perspective, cultures, and generations that we believe are necessary to allow us to build upon the cultural and community-oriented legacy established by our founder Donald W. Warren. These changes and the new members we have added to the board ensure that The Cavaliers are building strong leadership far into the future and are representative of the communities around us.”
Ellen Huxtable has been added to the Executive Committee and will serve as Secretary of the Board of Directors. In that role, Ellen will chair the newly formed Culture Committee. Ellen is a graduate of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University and a parent of a FMM, Nathan Huxtable.
In 2020, The Cavaliers AP&E, Inc. added the following individuals to the Board of Directors.
Barbara Bolender is a corporate HR leader and licensed attorney specializing with over 15 years of experience in the casino/hotel business, along with past experience in retail, manufacturing and government environments. She specializes in labor relations, employee relations, labor and employment law, change management, mergers and acquisitions, performance management, executive coaching, human resources operations, culture building, organizational development, recruitment, retention, compensation and benefits.
Dr. Alan G. Micco is an otolaryngologist, specializing in ear disorders at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is also a professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Micco’s son Alex is a FMM of The Cavaliers.
Jeff Gill has been with Visa since 1993 and has held a variety of Management, Engineering, Architectural and Finance positions and was a member of The Cavaliers guard in 1986.
Elijah Mondy is the owner of multiple radio stations and was the first African American member of The Cavaliers in 1966.
The board position dedicated to the Cavalier Alumni Association (CAA) President has changed after the recent CAA election. We welcome new CAA President Brandon Barrometti to the board. Brandon is currently the Director of bands at Centerville (OH) High School and has a long history with The Cavaliers as member, drum major, and on the brass staff.
At the recent January Board of Directors meeting, the following individuals were added. All are former marching members of the Corps.
Ric Talbut brings a lengthy history of financial management and operational efficiency to the board as well as being on the board and instructional staff of the Southern Knights Performing Arts in the UK.
Fernando Pullum operates the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center in Los Angeles in addition to being an accomplished studio musician.
Graeme Mason is a software engineer with Epic, a global leader in electronic health records, and has worked on projects for MD Anderson Cancer Center and Cambridge NHS Trust in the U.K.
McGrath To Step Down As Cavaliers Program Coordinator
The Cavaliers would like to say thank you as one of their own steps away. Program Coordinator David McGrath has decided to relinquish his role to spend more time with his family and band program. Executive Director Monte Mast said, “David has been a driving force behind the resurgence of The Cavaliers. He took some veteran designers and paired them with some new voices to create the stellar team we have today. Maybe his biggest legacy is creating the tight knit collaboration between the design and instructional teams and working closely with all of the other support and administrative teams to strengthen the culture of The Cavaliers. David is a great personal friend and colleague, and he will remain a resource for The Cavaliers because I will still call on him as my daughter is a freshman in his band program.” David is currently the Director of Bands at Klein Cain HS, formerly at Kennesaw Mountain HS and Kell HS in Georgia and Plymouth Canton Educational Park in Michigan. Artistic Director Daniel Wiles will assume the role on an interim basis for the 2021 season.
About The Cavaliers
The Cavaliers were founded in 1948 from Boy Scout Troop 111 by the late Don Warren. One of the most successful drum and bugle corps in history, The Cavaliers have won 20 national championships, including seven Drum Corps International world championships, since 1992.
The Cavaliers provide a variety of life-changing educational and performance programs for young people that go beyond music and performing arts to build personal accountability, excellence, teamwork and camaraderie. Programs include GearWORKS, Cavaliers Indoor Percussion, Chromium Winds, Crystal Lake Thunder and Midwest Connection.
A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, The Cavaliers Arts, Performance & Education, Inc. is sponsored by the Village of Rosemont, Ill.