About Crown

Board of Directors

Brian Bambauer graduated from Miami University in Oxford, OH in 1990 with a B.M. in Music Education.  A native Ohioan, Brian began his professional career as the Junior High Band Director and assistant marching band director at Northmont City Schools, in Clayton, OH.  He then took a position as the Instrumental Music Coordinator for the West Carrollton City Schools in West Carrollton, OH from 1994-1997.  Brian's drum corps experience began with the Bluecoats from Canton, OH in 1988.  A member for three years, he played mellophone his rookie year and was Drum Major in 1989 and 1990.  Joining the instructional staff in 1991 as a visual tech, Brian then served as visual caption head in 1993 and 1994.  Brian joined Carolina Crown in 1997 as a visual tech, drill designer from 1998-2000, and began working full time for the organization as Director of Operations in 1999.  Brian continues to write drill for numerous marching bands, indoor percussion lines and winter guards, as well as consults and adjudicates throughout the southeastern United States.  Brian is currently a principal at Rama Road Elementary in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system and is pursuing his doctoral degree in educational leadership at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
 
Ben Brinson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and with a father in the military, lived in numerous places while growing up.  Ben is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelors Degree in marketing and a Doctorate in law.  Ben has been practicing law since 1979 and is a partner in the firm of Callaway, Neville, and Brinson in Claxton, Georgia.  Ben is also the Municipal Court Judge for the cities of Claxton and Hagan and the Chief Judge of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit Juvenile Court.  Ben's children (Larry Summerlin, Jeremiah Womble and Loraine Womble Slaughter) all marched with Carolina Crown starting with Larry in 1997, and ending in 2001 when Loraine was one of the Drum Majors. The first two years Ben volunteered to help at a few events.  It wasn't until the 1999 season however that he finally figured out that if he wanted to see his family and be able to understand what they were all talking about around the dinner table, he might as well join them at camps and part of the summer tour.  Since that time Ben has become a valuable asset to Crown in many areas, but is probably best known for his contributions in the Crown kitchen.  Ben has always loved to cook and looks forward to the challenge of taking his recipes and making them work for 100+ people.  He has spent countless hours planning and preparing meals for the corps during winter camps and spring training much to everyone's delight.  In addition to his meals, Ben has also been instrumental to improvements to the food truck over the years through his ideas and many contributions.  He may have joined Crown in the beginning to be with his family, but Crown is now a part of his family.
 
 
Andy Crews, originally from High Point, NC currently lives in Huntersville. He works for Discovery Place children’s science museum in Charlotte as Director of Creative Services, overseeing the design and production for all the museum’s varied graphic design needs.  Andy graduated from East Carolina University in 1985 where he was a member of the Marching Pirates for 4 years.  In 1988 Andy first became active by attending meetings of the Charlotte Drum Corps Association which later became Carolina Crown, Inc.  Over the years he has also been responsible for the design of logos, tour shirts, promotional ads and banners for many of the programs under the Carolina Crown umbrella.  Andy has served as a board member for several years and is currently Secretary on the Executive Committee. 

Martin Dickey is a native of Bristol, Virginia and graduate of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.  He earned his Masters degree from Southern Oregon University through the American Band College in Ashland, Oregon.  Martin recently completed his thirteenth year as Director of Bands at Fort Mill High School.  Before coming to Fort Mill HS, he taught at David Crockett High School in Jonesborough, TN.  Martin was named Director of Bands at Nation Ford High School, Fort Mill School Districts new high school, in the spring of 2007.  He is active as an adjudicator, clinician, drill designer, and consultant throughout the United States and Europe.  Martin is the President of the South Carolina Band Directors Association and has been a key participant in
the development of the current Partnership in Education relationship between Carolina Crown and the local schools in South Carolina.
 
Steve Dunn went to high school in Charlotte and played trumpet in the South Mecklenburg High School marching band.  He continued playing through college at Duke University, including a semester playing concerts in Europe with the Duke University Wind Symphony.  During law school at UNC-Chapel Hill, Steve played with the popular dance band “The Castaways.”  He currently works at the law firm Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Dunn representing employers in claims of discrimination, breach of contract, and other employment claims.  Steve has been a volunteer for NightBEAT and was voted onto the Carolina Crown board in 2005.

Jason Ford is a lifelong resident of Fort Mill, SC.   He played saxophone in the Fort Mill HS Band and served as Drum Major his senior year.  He earned his B.A. in English at Furman University and his M.A. in English at USC-Columbia.  Jason has served on the instructional staff of the Fort Mill Band since he graduated from high school.  He currently teaches AP English, Film & Fiction, and Humanities at Fort Mill HS.  Jason joined the Crown family in 1993 as host for a NightBEAT corps.  Since Crown moved its operations to Fort Mill, he has helped to host the corps in Fort Mill schools during winter camps.  In 1997 Jason was elected to the Board of Directors.
 
Joe Gulledge, originally from Wadesboro, NC, is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Pembroke and is in his 10th year as Director of Bands at Rock Hill High School (SC).   Joe serves the South Carolina Band Directors Association Executive board as the state Marching Committee Chairman and is responsible for the South Carolina State Marching Band Festival/Championships.  He currently resides in Rock Hill, SC with his wife Suzanne and children, Daniel and Katie and is an active adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast.  Joe marched mellophone and aged out with Crown in 1991 and has continued to be associated with Crown in various capacities including on the brass faculty in 1992-93.  In addition, through Joe's support Rock Hill High School is an active Carolina Crown Partnership in Education band that has served as host school for camps and corps attending NightBEAT. 

Jeff Kroh started in drum corps in 1961 at the age of seven with the Starlight Drum and Bugle Corps of Milwaukee.  There he learned how to play the French Horn.  He stayed with the Starlights until they disbanded in 1968 and then became a member of the Gladiator Drum and Bugle Corps of St. Francis, WI.  Jeff’s father was the corps director of the Gladiators.  In 1970 Jeff decided to leave the Gladiators so that he could march with the Racine Kilties and then on to the Madison Scouts in 1971.  He played the French Horn throughout his junior drum corps career.  His drum corps career came to an abrupt halt when he graduated from high school and began working full-time.  Jeff worked for American Motors from 1972 through 1974.  He then went to work for General Motors/Delphi Automotive where he held several positions including production worker, shipping and receiving, statistical engineering, welder, and manufacturing supervisor.  After a 27 year hiatus from drum corps, Jeff decided it was time to get back in the game and joined the Senior Kilties, still playing the French Horn and where he eventually served on their Board of Directors, as a drum major, and as a volunteer assistant director.  Jeff retired from Delphi in 2005 after 31 years of continuous employment.  He and his wife Nancy decided to move to Charlotte because of the milder climate (and Nancy found a good job there).  Jeff had been working at Golf Galaxy in Milwaukee on a part-time basis, and was able to work in the Charlotte store after he and Nancy relocated.  Jeff and Nancy wanted to stay involved with the drum corps activity.  They started volunteering with Carolina Crown.  They worked at camp registrations, housing two international students before and after camp, the golf outing.  Jeff actively sought out donations for the golf outing’s silent auction.  Jeff and Nancy have met some of their best friends who they expect to stay in close contact with for the rest of their lives through the drum corps activity.
 
Robert Krumbine serves as Vice President of Special Events of Charlotte Center City Partners (CCCP).  He is responsible for producing the award winning First Friday, "Off The Wall" summer film festival, as well as the Center City Green Market, Holidays in the City, First Night, and Housing Showcase.  In addition to Special Events, Robert was Executive Director of Charlotte ArtsFest, a new event that showcased the cultural opportunities of Charlotte.  Prior to his position at CCCP, Robert produced events such as Center CityFest and Uptown Scream for ARK Management.  In addition, he held the position of Sr. Entertainment Producer at Paramount Parks where he was responsible for major events such as Titanic the Movie on Tour, AAU Junior Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies, and Star Trek World Tour.  From 1990-1996, Robert owned and operated Robert Krumbine Productions, producing a number of major events including 600 Festival Speed Street, NCAA Final Four Street of Champions, and the grand opening of the Charlotte Convention Center. Robert graduated from the University of Miami (FL) in 1982 with a Bachelor of Music degree.  He resides in Charlotte, with his wife and two sons.  Robert also serves on the Board of Directors for YMCA – Gateway Village and the Board of Trustees for the Carolina Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
 
Jim Lawrence is originally from Queens, NY and moved to Kernersville, NC due to a corporate transfer in 1987.  He has worked for Kraft Foods for 25 years currently assigned as a Customer Business Manager.  He was introduced to Drum Corps at age 6 as a snare drummer with the Miraculous Medal Orbits where he marched for 13 seasons and then marched with the Hawthorne Caballeros for 2 seasons in '77 and '78.  Jim holds a BBA degree from Bernard M. Baruch College and an MBA degree from Wagner College.  His daughter Erica is a pre-med junior at Guilford College and his son Matt is a rising junior at Bishop McGuinness HS.  Jim's interests include basketball, tennis, and he is considered a certified Drum Corps Nut. 

Jamie Lawson is originally from Draper, Virginia and currently resides in Cloverdale, Virginia.  He is a graduate of Fort Chiswell High School and Radford University.  He was employed by Pulaski County Public School system.  While employed in Pulaski County he was the Dublin Middle School Band director for five years and served as the Band Director of Pulaski County High for three years.  Mr. Lawson is currently employed by the Botetourt County Public School system where he is the band director at Read Mountain Middle School. He is currently serving as secretary for VBODA district six.  Jamie has volunteered with Crown on tour as a driver, cook, and souvenir salesperson.
 
Bill Loelius was born and raised in Secaucus, NJ until a job transfer brought him to Charlotte in 1986. While in NJ he marched in the percussion sections (tympani, quad, and snare) of the Meadowlarks from 1972-1976 and the Royal Brigade from 1977-1980.  Bill holds BBA and MBA degrees from Montreat College, and he has a diversified business background in sales, marketing, management, procedural auditing, and financial analysis.  Bill is a principal partner in the Winston-Salem based firm, Receivables Outsource Solutions LLC, which provides specialized commercial accounts receivable management services for Fortune 1000 companies.  In addition, he directs all sales and marketing activities for Cube Six Inc., developers of ServMan Software.  Bill’s professional background includes 23 years with The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation where he was responsible for managing D&B operations in the Carolinas for over 10 years.  Bill is also an adjunct professor at Strayer University and The Keller Graduate School of Management.  His teaching background includes various courses in business administration, credit & collections, marketing and strategic management—both in the traditional classroom and online.  He has also created and presented a number of continuing education classes in credit and finance for the Institute of Management Accountants.  Bill is a member of Morningstar Lutheran Church, and he is active in the following professional business organizations: Turnaround Management Association, National Funding Association, Charlotte Economics Club, Piedmont Credit Club (president 2002-03) and Greater Greenville Credit & Finance Association (president 2004-05).  Bill is the percussionist for NC recording artist, Stevens Mill, and he also plays drums in the Morningstar Praise Ensemble.  Bill is married to Kathie and has three sons (Billy, Luke, and Max).  Bill was one of the founders of the Charlotte Drum Corps Association (which we all know today as Carolina Crown Inc) and he has been a continual board member since the organization was formed in 1988.  Bill served as president of the organization from its first year in 1988 through 1994, again in 1996, and he has been the sitting board president since 2002.  
 
Greg Lowe is originally from Wilkesboro, NC, and currently lives in Salisbury, NC.  He is employed by Belk Stores Services, Inc in Charlotte as a Systems Development Project Leader (aka Software Developer).  He marched in High School band and was introduced to Drum Corps at age 12 when he attended his first show.  Greg earned his bachelors degree in computer science from Appalachian State University, and marched in "North Carolina's Band of Distinction" for his last 2 years of college.  He has worked as a counselor for United Music Enterprises summer percussion/color guard camps and has taught several local high school drum lines in Western North Carolina and Virginia area while in college.  He was a member of a 21-piece, indoor drum line in Durham, NC called "Percussionistic" in 1986.  Greg and his wife Dawn have four children; Carmen and triplets Shelby, Chaney & Jocelyn!  His hobbies include golf, tennis and music of all kinds.  Greg became involved with Carolina Crown in 1990 when he attended his first meeting with Doug Madar, who was another Belk employee at the time.  As a result, he was immediately "drafted" to serve as Crown's First Tour Coordinator from 1990 through 1997.  He has also served as a CrownEVENTS committee member since 1991, and is now the systems administrator for Crown's event ticketing service, CrownTICKETS.  Greg was honored as the 2004 Carolina Crown Volunteer of the Year.
 
Doug Madar works for Paul Simon and Co., a gentlemen's clothier located in uptown Charlotte.  He has two grown children, one whom was a charter member of the Carolina Crown.  He is also a very proud grandfather.  When he is not volunteering with Crown, Doug is very active in the American Legion.  Doug himself is a charter member of the Carolina Crown Board of Directors and has served on the Finance Committee. He is currently a Carolina Crown Executive Committee member.  He has chaired NightBEAT and/or has been the board member liaison with DCI for NightBEAT since the show was established in 1988.  He has also been a highly regarded member of the DCI Tour Event Partners Advisory Committee.  Doug was honored, along with fellow board member Carol Srdar, as a 2001 DCI Volunteer of the Year.
 
Dr. Larry Marks is Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  His responsibilities at UNCC include conducting the University Symphonic Band and Chamber Winds, in addition to teaching courses in conducting and music education.  Larry also directs the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble, an honors band sponsored by UNCC featuring top high school students in the region from both North and South Carolina during the winter months each year.  He is also the main UNCC contact for Crown's initiative to allow Crown members to be able to earn credit at UNCC for marching with the corps.  Prior to his arrival in Charlotte, Larry served as Associate Director of Bands at the University of Missouri, where he conducted the Symphonic Band and Athletic Bands, including the 300-member Marching Mizzou.  Larry is a frequent guest conductor and adjudicator, having served as a clinician for marching and concert bands throughout the United States and Canada.  He is also been a guest conductor/clinician for Crown's Middle School Honor Band program.  A native Californian, Larry taught at the high school level for fifteen years, producing national prominent bands.  His doctoral studies were completed at the University of Southern California in 1994; with Masters and Bachelors degrees being earned at the University of Illinois and San Jose State University respectively.
 
Tim Martin was born in Rochester, New York into a drum corps family with over 60 years of marching experience.  Both Tim's parents marched. His father was a Corps Director of The Rochester Crusaders and Phoenix Sr. Corps both in the Rochester area.  His oldest brother David (Boots) Martin a renowned soprano soloist and arranger is in the DCA Hall Of Fame.  Tim has two other brothers both are DCI\DCA world champions.  Tim and his wife Karen met during his marching career.  Tim marched as a lead soprano and soloist for The Cadets of Greece, The Auburn Purple Lancers, and The Anaheim Kingsmen in DCI, and in The Phoenix and Rochester Crusaders in DCA. His marching career and involvement in drum corps spans over 40 years.  Tim moved his family to Charlotte ten years ago from Savannah, Ga.   While in Savannah, Tim founded a youth soccer organization "Costal Georgia Soccer Club" that grew to be the largest in the state.  He also rallied both public and private support for a first class soccer complex in Savannah and was honored as "Georgia Volunteer of the Year" for his accomplishments. Tim and his wife have three son's Shawn, Ryan and Kyle.  Ryan and Kyle are both brass players in their school bands.  The entire Martin Family has been volunteers at NightBEAT.
 
Ray McCrary is a retired IBM Customer Engineer with 30 years of service.  He took early retirement in 1994.  After retiring, Ray worked as News Director for WIFM Radio, Elkin, NC where he and his wife of 30 years Mary live.  They have two children – a son "Mac" McCrary, a professional geologist and "Ebea" McCrary Hobgood, a former member of Carolina Crown's color guard, who is an Archaeologist and Anthropologist.  Now, Ray and Mary have two grandchildren – Chadwick McCrary Hobgood, age 2, and Caleb Alvin McCrary, age 2 months.  “Spoiling” the grandchildren is now a primary task for Ray and Mary.  Ray has been involved in broadcast radio off and on since 1953, and is currently working as a broadcast engineering consultant and computer consultant (when he feels like it and it doesn't interfere with the drum corps season and fishing).  Ray is a published writer of magazine articles and two-newspaper "op-ed" columns, and is currently working on a science fiction novel.  Ray and Mary first discovered drum corps "accidentally" in August 1985 on PBS, and have been "hooked" ever since.  They have volunteered for many aspects of the organization including camp and tour support staff, fundraising, NightBEAT, various fund-raising projects, and many others.  Ray now spends many of his days as a retiree driving down to Ft. Mill and helping out in the office, searching for new equipment trailers, getting our van serviced or whatever else we ask him to do!  For their efforts, Ray and Mary were honored as 2001 Carolina Crown Volunteers of the Year.
 
Keith Miller is from Charlotte, NC.  He was in the Myers Park High School Band, the Appalachian State University Band for 2 years and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Band for 2 years.  Keith currently works for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as a Network Development Consultant and lives in Indian Trail, NC with his wife Melanie and two children.  At age 16, Keith was a charter member of Carolina Crown in the 1990 euphonium section.  Keith has worked on the NightBEAT committee since 1998, served as show chairman, and is now a member of the CrownEVENTS committee.  He has also been on Crown's Board of Directors since 1999 and serves as vice president of the Executive Committee.  Keith was honored as the 2003 Carolina Crown Volunteer of the Year.
 
Barry Morgan is currently serving his fourth term as Solicitor General of the State Court of Cobb County (GA), where he has been since being appointed by Governor Zell Miller in March of 1998.  Prior, Barry served as Chief Assistant Solicitor General, and as an Assistant District Attorney for the Cobb Judicial Circuit. Before becoming a prosecutor, Barry served twelve years as a high school, middle school and elementary school band director with the Cobb County School District.  As a band director, Barry served at Wills High School in Smyrna, North Cobb High School in Acworth and Assistant Director at Sprayberry High School in Marietta during his time in law school.  Currently Barry volunteers as the Jazz Band Director at Kennesaw Mountain High School.  Barry holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Georgia State University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence Summa Cum Laude from the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia. During his career as a music educator, Barry was a member of The Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA), MENC, NAJE, GAJE and NBA, and served as a District Representative to the GMEA board.  A founding staff member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corp, Barry has remained active in the Drum Corp community as an instructor and fan.  Barry has served as an adjudicator for the band activity since 1978 in contests across the southeastern United States after completing training with the Marching Bands of America Judges group in 1980.  Barry continues to serve the music community as a lecturer on Legal Responsibilities of Music Teachers for Bands of America and GMEA and the 59th Annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.  As the circle has come to be complete, Barry and his wife Sara are active band booster members for the Kennesaw Mountain High School Band where their son plays trombone (he also plays baritone in Carolina Crown), and the McClure Middle School Band where their son is a percussionist. 

Rena Morton is originally from Chicago, IL and now lives in Charlotte, NC.  She received her Bachelors of Music Education from Western Illinois University and graduate studies from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona State, University of Phoenix, and Vandercook School of Music.  She is currently employed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a Family Advocate at Winding Springs.  She taught elementary, middle school, and high school bands for 28 years.  She was the first female band director to be hired in Washington School District (Phoenix, AZ).  She has been a Percussion Consultant for several high school bands in Ohio, was the first female “roadie” for Coyle Music in Columbus, OH, and managed a music store for Martin Music in Pueblo, CO as well as teaching band at John Neumann Catholic School.  Rena has helped with registration at the winter camps, screened and sold a few t-shirts and gone on tour with Crown working in the food truck and helping orientate and nurture our new volunteers.  She has also worked at NightBEAT, FirstBEAT, and BandBEAT. 

Bryant Rankin is the Executive Director of Client Services for MarketSource, Inc. based in Alpharetta, GA. He now lives in Fort Mill with his wife Stephanie and two children, Alison and Matt.  Bryant has been a percussionist for more than 30 years and aged out of the Blue Knights in 1984.  He continued as a staff member for several years after aging out.  After that he was a long time volunteer doing many things including bingo and helping with their Drums Along the Rockies show.  Bryant was voted onto the Crown board in 2005 and is a member of the Sponsorship Committee.
 
Mekel Rogers grew up in Charlotte, NC.  He was a drum major and french horn player for the Myers Park High School Band.  He then attended Appalachian State University, receiving a Bachelors Degree in Music Education.  He is currently the Director of Bands at Weddington Middle School in Matthews, NC.  He has also served as an adjudicator for various marching band, concert band, and color guard events throughout North and South Carolina.  Mekel's interests include golf, photography, books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, British television, astronomy, and writing prose.  He currently lives in Monroe, NC with his wife and daughter.  Mekel's experience with Carolina Crown began in 1990 as one of the sixty-one founding members of the corps.  Since marching with the corps, Mekel has served on the Crown Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the NightBEAT Committee.  Mekel also assisted the organization in organizing an annual Middle School Honors Band event for Union County.
 
Sam Roper was a Percussion Major at Georgia State University.  He marched drum corps with Spirit of Atlanta in 1991 & 1992, and was their Tenor Section Leader.  He taught Escape, WGI indoor drum line in 1995, as well as several High Schools throughout Georgia and the Carolinas.  He also has judged contests all over southeast including the TN State Championships.  He began his professional career as the Tennessee/Carolina's Sales Rep for Great Southern Percussion from 1994-1996.  In recent years, Sam has built a highly successful career in restaurant management.  After a short stint in the Charlotte, Sam and his wife are now residing back in the Atlanta area. 

Joe Rosemond's performing arts career is quite varied and expands over more than 20 years. While obtaining his Bachelor of Science degree at East Carolina University he marched in their band; was the band captain; and even designed their visual program one year. He began his drum corps career as a marching member of the 1980 Spirit of Atlanta. This experience led him to clinician and designing jobs at many area schools including Rocky Mount SHS, A.L. Brown HS, Myers Park HS and Mount Pleasant HS, as well as adjudicating throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. During the 1980's, Joe was also the Executive Producer of the Cabarrus Youth Theatre in Concord and the Cultural Arts & Special Events Supervisor for Cabarrus County Parks & Recreation Department. Beginning in the 1990's, Joe began his work with the Crown organization as Contest Director of our drum corps shows (NightBEAT, FirstBEAT, Southern Gold Classic), a role that he continues in today, and was the organization's Director of Development for two years. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2004.  Joe now resides in Hillsborough, NC where he works for Johnson Controls Inc on the GlaxoSmithKline account in Research Triangle Park.
 
Kevin Smith started his drum corps career at age 8, marching 13 years as a soprano in his hometown corps on Long Island.  Being in corps was a family affair, as his father was the director, his mother volunteered and both of his brothers marched.  After “aging out” Kevin taught the corps' brass line for several years.  In 1977, Kevin graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Civil Engineering.  While teaching the corps that summer, Kevin and his wife Moe, whom he met years earlier marching in the corps, were married in the middle of her "age-out" season.  When Kevin's father retired as director, Kevin took over for a year until being transferred out of state by his employer.  Kevin and Moe later transferred to Charlotte, and got involved with the start-up of what is now Carolina Crown Inc.  In late 1989, Kevin became the brand new Carolina Crown's "interim" director, and has been in that position ever since.  Moe has worked for Kevin as the corps' office manager since 1997, and also volunteers many of her "off-hours" sewing flags, working fundraisers, and doing whatever else needs to be done.  Kevin and Moe have two daughters, Danielle and Nicki, neither of which marched in the corps as competitive swimming was their "drum corps".   Kevin was awarded DCI's Volunteer of the Year award in 1998.
 
Carol Srdar is originally from Portland, Oregon and currently lives in Matthews, North Carolina.  She retired in May of 2005 from Family Dollar Stores where she was a buyer for Beauty Products for 4500 stores.  Carol and her husband Kerry became involved with Crown almost immediately after moving to the Charlotte area in 1988.  Kerry loved Drum Corps as a spectator, and would soon become the corps' assistant director.   Very sadly, he passed away in 1991.  Carol however has continued her steadfast support of Carolina Crown.  Carol loves golf, so she tied that together with Crown in 1998 to develop and host the Carolina Crown Annual Golf Tournament. Over the years, she has single-handedly raised over $750,000 for the organization with this event.  These monumental efforts were recognized in 2000 as Carol was named Carolina Crown’s first Volunteer of the Year and in 2001 by her sharing a DCI Volunteer of the Year Award with fellow-board member Doug Madar.
 
Steven Sugar resided in Seattle, WA until a number of job transfers brought him via Los Angeles to Charlotte in 2000.  While in Seattle, he marched in the horn section of the Seattle Cascades from 1972-1979 and then wrote and taught total corps, color guard and marching band movement periodically over the following 10 years.  Steve holds BA and MA degrees in Economics from the University of Washington.  He worked for Bank of America for 21 years.  His range of experience includes working for the Mortgage Company 17 years in Finance where he was primarily focused on forecasting/planning of financial results for a wide range of business lines as well as significant analytical support.   He also worked in Marketing Operations where he was responsible for deployment of a web based marketing platform across the enterprise.   Steve and his wife Holly, daughter Lauren and 3 cats (Ashley, Salem and Winston) transferred to Long Island just over 2 years ago. Steve recently transferred back to Bank of America and he and his family will be moving to the Wilmington, De area soon. Steve continues to be active with marketing and sponsorship for Crown. 

Gwen Tant was born and raised in Florida.  She is a proud Gator graduate of the University of Florida, where she spent four years in the Gator Band.  The drum corps bug bit in 1980, leading to three years of membership in first the 27th Lancers in 1982, then the Spirit of Atlanta in 1984 & 1985, marching in the color guard.   Gwen judged for the WGI- sanctioned Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit in 1988 & 1989.  Marriage to CrownEvents chair Steve Tant brought her to Charlotte in 1989.  Gwen has worked alongside her husband in the sign business since then.  Gwen began volunteering at NightBEAT the next year, taking on the task of tabulating scores.  The Tants have two children, 15-year-old Cathleen who became a Fort Mill High student this year, and 7-year-old Ryan.   

Steve Tant is originally from Raleigh, NC and attended East Carolina University.   His drum corps experience includes marching soprano in the Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps in 1981 & 1982.  Steve has been a supporter and volunteer with Carolina Crown since 1989. Steve has been a key member of the NightBEAT committee, involved in show management and corporate sponsorship.  He recently took over as Chairman of the CrownEvents committee.  He is also very active with our CrownTickets operation.  He has been a member of the Carolina Crown Board for many years.  Steve was honored in 2002 as Carolina Crown’s Volunteer of the Year.  In addition, at DCI Championships in 2006 Steve was recognized as a DCI Volunteer of the Year.  Steve and his wife Gwen (also a drum corps veteran) own Advantage Signs.  They have two children, Cathleen and Ryan, who will hopefully be bitten by the drum corps “bug” at some point.  The Tants will soon reside in the home of Carolina Crown; Fort Mill, SC.
 
James Turner originally from Lincolnton, NC now resides in Rock Hill, SC. He is currently the director of bands at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill, SC. James previously directed bands at Lincolnton High School, Lincolnton Middle school and Cherryville High School.  As a student, he marched in the Lincolnton High School band as well as Appalachian State University, where he attended college. James has been following drum corps for 20 years. He started volunteering with Crown in 1999 and became a board member in 2000.  He has served as a driver on tour and has also assisted with souvenir sales. He is an active member of the Executive Committee and as of 2006 has been the corps housing coordinator for Crown events.  James was recently honored by receiving the 2006 Carolina Crown Volunteer of the Year Award.
         
Terry Valentine began her over 20-year drum corps career during high school when she joined the brass line at Suncoast Sound.  After her marching years, she was part of a small group of Suncoast alumni and faculty that started Magic of Orlando in 1990.  She spent several years on the Magic administration team before finally taking over the reins of the corps as its Director.  In 2001 and 2002, Terry was a key member of Crown's administrative team, and continues as a consultant to the Crown administration team.  Terry is an officer of WorldPass Travel Group. LLC and heads up their GET Travel Sports and Events division.  Get Travel creates events in addition to marketing and coordinating youth group trips to Walt Disney World as well as several other domestic and international destinations. 
 
Charles Wilkerson's hometown is Charlotte, born and raised there.  He is the owner of Steele Creek Printing, a printing company in Charlotte.  He was a very active with the Olympic High School Band (a Crown Partnership in Education band) serving as past booster President, VP and Treasurer.  He also held the position as Chairman of the Trojan Classic a Marching Band contest hosted by Olympic High School.  Charles has been involved with Crown since 1997 when his son (Matt) marched in the Contra line.  He has helped out where ever he could through the years, most notably serving on the Crown Events committee.  Through his Steele Creek Printing business, Charles has donated (or provided reduced prices on) many of the Crown organization’s printing needs. Charles currently serves as chairman of CrownEvents’ new BandBEAT project, an EC member and Treasurer.