At its December meeting, the Minnesota Brass Board of Directors nominated two candidates to become new members to the board. Brief introductions of Marissa Moeller and Tom Reimer are below.

As outlined in the bylaws of the organization, the board’s nomination needs to be ratified by a vote of the full membership. The ratification process will follow the following timeline and process:

January 22: Candidates will attend the January board meeting and be available to meet any members interested in speaking with the candidates.

January 25: The ratification process will be conducted online with details posted on the website and organizational facebook page. The online form will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight CST.

Marissa Moeller

Marissa Moeller has been a performing member of Minnesota Brass since 2013, after learning about the corps from a classmate at the University of Minnesota who took her to a rehearsal.

She was a member of the U of M Marching Band while in college, during which time she learned “valuable
interpersonal skills for a group of 320-plus.”

Moeller currently works as a dental hygienist, during which she spends a fair amount of her time educating patients as well as communicating with a variety of individuals on a daily basis. She served in 2017 and 2018 on the board of trustees for the Minnesota Dental Hygienists’ Association as the metro-area Trustee. Her work involved planning continuing-education events and networking with other hygienists around the state.

Marissa’s top priorities as a board member would revolve around membership growth and retention, a firm development of values and enhancing members’ experience, regardless of with which ensemble—winter guard, drum line, Minne-Brass or the summer corps—they choose to perform, experiencing a challenging, yet rewarding, program.

”Being a member for the past six years does make me emotionally invested in the corps, but I hope to approach a board position with what is best for the group as a whole, to ensure the longevity of Minnesota Brass.”

Tom Reimer

Tom Reimer’s 20-year association with Minnesota Brass began in 1998 when he joined as a performing member of the percussion section. He continued to perform with the corps in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2012, and he was on the instructional staff from 2007 to 2010.

Formerly the Percussion Department manager for Dynasty USA, Reimer is now Judge Coordinator for the Minnesota Percussion Association and has served as a percussion judge for WGI, MPA and Youth in Music. He also currently serves on the educational staff of Shadow Drum & Bugle Corps of Oregon, Wis. He is married to Shadow Director Rebecca Compton Allen, also a former performer with MBI.

Tom’s goals while serving on the MBI board of directors include finding short- and long-term performance opportunities for the organization, as well as expanding both alumni and volunteer involvement with MBI. He values “tenacious” recruiting efforts and “steering the organizational culture toward positiveness.”

“The perspective I’m most excited to share with the organization is that I’ve seen the activity from several different vantage points. In addition to being on educational staff with Shadow, I also do some administration, recruiting, fundraising, etc. Working for a manufacturing company allowed me to see behind the curtain of drum-corps-as-business. And my role as MPA judge coordinator requires me to attend board meetings, where I have seen the organization evolve greatly over the last decade.”

The Minnesota Brass, Inc. board of directors hired Katy Matuzak (formerly Bensen) to serve as executive director of the organization at its meeting on Dec. 17. Her predecessor, Jeremy Semler, is no longer with the organization.

Matuzak has served in numerous leadership capacities over the past five years and has been a longtime performing member and leader in the organization. She currently is director of MBI Indoor Percussion and served as co-director of the drum and bugle corps in 2017. She can be reached at director@mnbrass.org.

The summer Drum Corps 2019 season launches on Wednesday, February 6th, with openings in brass, percussion and color guard.

You now have a new way to help support Minnesota Brass AND enjoy delicious wings! Visit participating Buffalo Wild Wings, and 10% of your tab will come back to our organization! Just mention you are there to support MBI, and your server will take care of the rest.  Be sure to keep checking back as we partner with more locations.

Locations:

• B-Dubs Express: 7529 France Ave S, Edina, MN 55435 (Team A)
• Buffalo Wild Wings – Savage: 7551 Egan Drive, Savage, MN 55378 (Team A)
• Buffalo Wild Wings – Coon Rapids: 3395 River Rapids Dr, Coon Rapids, MN 55448
• Buffalo Wild Wings – Plymouth: 3505 Vicksburg Ln N, Plymouth, MN 55447 (Team M)
• Buffalo Wild Wings – Crystal: 5590 West Broadway Ave, Crystal, MN 55429 (Team A)