It comes as no surprise that managing a 330-strong marching band is not a one-person job.
Someone has to pick the music, write the drill, order the t-shirts, buy new drumsticks, send the broken instruments for repairs, sort the sheet music, organize busses for away games, keep track of all expenses, ensure that band students won’t get ticketed for parking in the MVC parking lot, update the band’s Instagram, organize service events, send the uniforms for cleaning and—oh yeah… Make sure that the band sounds good, I guess.
Dr. Polly and Chad tackle many of those behind-the-scenes tasks and more—more than any of us ever really know. But thankfully, they have the help of a thirteen-strong officer team who divide and conquer responsibilities and love just about every minute of the work they do.
The 2018-2019 Officer Team at band camp.
Officers are chosen at the end of every school year, and once they’re chosen, they hit the ground running. In the spring, they help select the drum majors and field leadership. Over the summer, they plan out the upcoming season, getting organized before band camp starts (and the turf turds hit the fan, so to speak). The 2019-2020 officers are already getting geared up for August, thinking about the name tags, the annual speech to the rookies, the audition sheet music, and much more.
Each member of the team has a specific role. Below are summaries of each position that don’t cover everything that each officer does throughout the season but that offer insight into that officer’s role in the MVs.
· Executive Officer (Drew Robertson-Gouge) – This officer serves as the official manager of the band who organizes the officers and works closely with Dr. Polly and Chad.
· Personnel Officer (Hannah Beard) – This officer coordinates aspects of band camp and travel, updates the personnel database, and serves as the ambassador of the MVs.
· Service Officer (Anna Bohlmann) – This officer is in charge of all service events and also helps with many other organizational tasks throughout the season.
· Treasurer (Courtney Martin) – This officer maintains a system for accepting funds and a detailed list of expenditures.
· Instrument Supply Officers (Christian Loop and Beth Streff) – These officers keep inventory of all university-owned instruments and manage instrument distribution.
· Operations Officers (Karen Small and Nicole MacCrate) – These officers manage the transportation and setup of equipment prior to rehearsals and performances, coordinate uniforms, and keep inventory.
· Online Content Officer (Alana Hassett) – This officer is responsible for the band’s presence on social media, creating content and promoting the band’s events and service projects online.
· Public Relations Officers (Alex Springer and Ashley Deans) – These officers are responsible for creating pressbooks, graphics, and flyers for the band and managing publicity for band events.
· Librarians (Arlyn Smith and Noelle Baxter) – These officers organize and distribute all printed music and maintain the music library inventory.
Band members choose to interview for officer positions because they love The Marching Virginians and want to serve the band in an even larger capacity. Officer positions are a great way to get even more involved with the MVs and help out with the seemingly endless list of tasks each season. (You also get popsicles.)
The 2019-2020 officer team is beyond excited for the upcoming season. When asked what they’re most excited about, they had many different answers.
What are you most excited to do as an officer?
“Get to meet EVERYONE at band camp!!” – Drew Robertson-Gouge (Executive Officer)
“Help show high school students considering Virginia Tech that the MVs are an incredible group.” – Ashley Deans (Public Relations Officer)
“Give back to the organization that has given me the best college experience I could have asked for.” -Beth Streff (Instrument Supply Officer)
“Build a better relationship with the community and our past!” -Alex Springer (Public Relations Officer)
“Serve The Marching Virginians and give back to the organization that has provided a lot for me.” -Nicole MacCrate (Operations Officer)
“Promote the incredible spirit and excitement of the MVs online and show off my favorite organization to the world (or at least to our 6,000 Facebook followers!).” -Alana Hassett (Online Content Officer)
“Serve this organization in a more logistical aspect than in previous years. I am eager and excited to help plan events and help them run smoothly!” -Hannah Beard (Personnel Officer)
“Help you all make some music! —Truly give back to an organization that has done so much for me.” -Arlyn Smith (Librarian)
“I'm most excited to organize Craig Country. I loved going two years ago and think it's a great service event for the MVs. Since it got rained out last year, I'm excited to hopefully be able to go again and play a part in making that happen.” -Anna Bohlmann (Service Officer)
“Serve the MVs at higher level than ever before (but also serve under Drew lol).” -Noelle Baxter (Operations Officer)
“Be involved with planning different events for the group.” -Courtney Martin (Treasurer)
“D R I V E T H E T R U C K.” -Karen Small (Operations Officer)
To learn more about the Executive Officer’s role in the MVs, check out this article about last season’s XO, Mackenzie Knox.
To learn more about our awesome 2019-2020 officer team, check out our Officer Spotlights on Facebook!