At its recent meeting, Minnesota Brass’ Board of Directors nominated four candidates; Becci O’Kane, Chris Judd, Emily Ruetz, and Kaitlyn Barrett to become new members to the board.
As outlined in the bylaws of the organization, the boards’ nominations need to be ratified by a vote of the full membership.
Here is the timeline and process to be followed:
October 28 – The candidates will attend the board meeting and be available to any members interested in interacting with them.
November 1-8 – The ratification process will be conducted online, with details posted on the website and organization’s Facebook page. The online form will be open from 6:00am CST November 1st – 11:59pm CST November 8th for members to cast their vote.
Click below to vote!
Here is a little bit about each candidate
Becci O’Kane
Becci O’Kane has been involved with the Minnesota Brass since the early 2000’s. She was a part of the colorguard for 15 consecutive years, where she was captain from 2010 – 2017 . She was a part of the MBI Wintergaurd staff & on staff for MN Brass SoundSport. While her educational background is in Accounting, Finance, and Project & Business Management, being involved in the Arts is her passion. Becci is also involved in another arts non-profit called the Haunted Basement. She also is the Director of a high colorguard program. In her free time she loves to sleep and curl up on the couch with her dogs.
Chris Judd
Originally from San Antonio TX Chris Judd made his way to Minnesota to further his education by receiving a degree in Music Business and Composition from McNally Smith College of Music. Chris has been involved with drum corps and indoor percussion ensembles for over 15 + years. He is an alumni of Minnesota Brass Indoor and Jersey Surf. He spends his time educating and consulting music ensembles throughout the state of Minnesota such as River Valley Percussion Theater and Eastview High School. Chris spends his days in Sales working with Albrecht Sign, writing music and traveling. He drives to bring motivation, passion and innovative elements that contribute to the building blocks of music and performance.
Emily Ruetz
Emily has been involved with Minnesota Brass since 2014. She performed with the summer drum corps, SoundSport group, and the winter drumline from 2014-2016, and 2018-2019. She has taught the front ensemble at Irondale HS and MBI Indoor. Emily is the Programs Associate for the National States Geographic Information Council. She looks forward to learning more about and getting involved with the Board.
Kaitlyn Barrett
Kaitlyn Barrett began her career in the marching arts after joining the Osseo High School marching band in 2007. She competed with Osseo in both the summer marching band and winter color guard programs from 2007-2012. After graduating she performed with the Govenaires Drum and Bugle Corps from 2012-2014, as well as Eclipse Winter Guard in 2013. She has taught various places including Synergy Winter guard and Champlin Park High School. She became a member of the Minnesota Brass family after earning a spot In the MBI Winter Guard 2014 cast. She marched four seasons culminating as a captain of the 2017 MBIWG team as they became WGI Independent A Silver Medalists. She also marched 2015-2017 with the summer Drum Corps. She is currently the color guard director at Minnetonka high school. Minnetonka was awarded the AA class title of Best Color Guard in 2019. Kaitlyn is also a full time student triple majoring in Vocal Performance, Theatre, and Business Management. She brings with her a passion for excellence, a dedication to membership, and a heart for all things MBI.
