2025 Administrative Team
Executive Team
Lou is back for his second stint as the Director of the Buccaneers. He previously served in the role from 2017 through 2022.
Lou started his drum corps career as a member of the Archer-Epler Musketeers from 1980 to 1984 and has been a member of the Reading Buccaneers since 1985. He marched in the brass line and served in several administrative positions prior to becoming Director. Lou is a 2005 inductee into the Buccaneer Hall of Fame and was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 2018.
Lou also served as Treasurer of Drum Corps Associates from 2014 through 2016.
Lou Tierno - Director
Entering his 11th season with the Reading Buccaneers, Rich Strang is excited to continue his work on the Executive Committee as Assistant Director in 2025. Rich marched tuba for the Buccaneers in 2009, 2016, and 2017. He served as Webmaster in 2017, Business Manager from 2018-2022, and Director from 2023 and 2024.
Outside of the Buccaneers, he was a Visual and Music Technician at Central Bucks West from 2015-2018, and he has been teaching Hatboro Horsham's Marching Band and indoor units as Visual Technician and Caption Head since 2019.
Rich Strang - Assistant Director
Returning for her 7th year with the Reading Buccaneers, Danielle Marone is serving as Treasurer for the 2025 season!
Dani brings a wealth of colorguard knowledge from her previous experiences. She marched with the RBCG in 2010-2013, with Blackwatch in 2013-2014 and 2017 and with Jersey Surf in 2008. Dani taught colorguard at Somerville High School and is currently the Guard Director at Spring Ford High School. Dani graduated from Somerville High School, earned her Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management from University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is currently working towards her Masters’ degree in Human Resources from West Chester University.
Danielle Marone - Treasurer
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Andrea Gwyn is returning for her 21st season with the Reading Buccaneers.
She will be serving as the lead Drum Major for her 17th year. Previously, Andi marched trumpet and mellophone in 1987 and 1990.
Andi has served as the Secretary at the Reading Buccaneers from 2015-now. She also marched with the Garfield Cadets in 1988 and 1989. She took some time off to make two more Buccaneers who marched with her in 2012-2017. Andrea came back in 2011 and has been on the podium ever since.
Andrea Gwyn - Secretary
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Returning for his 10th year as a Buccaneer, Matt is excited to continue serving the Buccaneers as Business Manager.
He is an alumnus of the Buccaneers marching four seasons on Tuba and previously serving as quartermaster.
Outside of the Buccaneers, Matt works as an Engineer developing critical technologies for Emergency and Public Utility vehicles, while also maintaining a schedule as a mentor at his Alma Mater (University of Delaware) and drill writer/ visual technician at multiple schools across the Mid-Atlantic region.
Matt Elizardo - Business Manager
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Megan Fox (she/her) is returning to the Reading Buccaneers in a new role on the Social Media Manager as a Photographer! Megan was a marching member of the Reading Buccaneers from 2016-2019, 2022-2024 and was also Membership Manager from 2023-2024. In 2024, Megan suffered from an injury that caused her season to end in June, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to help during the summer.
During her time off the field, Megan picked up a camera and started taking action shots of the corps members and once again fell in love with her passion of photography.
Outside the Buccaneers, Megan is a third-grade teacher in the Reading School District and is the Assistant Band Director at Boyertown Area Senior High School, where she also was a visual technician from 2017-2024.
Megan graduated from Kutztown University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and earned a master’s degree from Wilkes University in Instruction Technology.
Admin Team
Returning for his 11th season with the Reading Buccaneers, Ben is serving as the Website Manager for the 2025 season.
Ben marched with the Reading Buccaneers from 2015-2019 and 2022 in the tuba section. Ben has worked with multiple marching ensembles in a variety of roles including Downingtown West High School (Tuba Tech), Abington High School (Music and Visual Tech), Hatboro-Horsham High School (Wind Tech), and Pottstown High School (Percussion Tech). Ben graduated from North Penn High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from West Chester University.
Ben Mair - Web Manager and Media Team Member
Mikayla Vangelo - Fundrasing Coordinatior
Returning for her 3rd year with the Reading Buccaneers, Mikayla Vangelo is excited to be continuing her role as the Fundraising Coordinator for 2025.
Mikayla began her drum corps career with Cadets 2 in 2016 and 2017, marching tuba. She returned to the activity in 2023 and 2024 to march tuba and Mellophone with the Buccaneers.
Mikayla is currently the Band Director of the Northern Lehigh Bands. She graduated from Easton Area High School and earned her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and her Master of Music in Teaching and Tuba Performance from the University of Delaware.
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Lois Tierno - Support Staff Coordinator
Lois Tierno joined the Reading Buccaneers in 1985. She was a part of the guard in 1985 and 1986. Since then, she has served on the Executive Board as Secretary, Treasurer, and Support Staff.
Lois has been a part of the Marching Arts since she was 13 years old. She marched with the Archer-Epler Musketeers from 1980-1984. She marched indoor guard from the age of 13-21 years old. Additionally, Lois taught fife and drum corps for Chaplin Dale Fife and Drum Corps. Lois’s favorite part of drum corps is the members and getting to know the members.
Mike Lark - Quartermaster
Starting his 2nd year as Quartermaster, Michael Lark has been a long-time member of the Buccaneers starting 26 years ago. Michael was a member of the Tuba Line from 1998-2005 and then again in 2009.
After taking some time off to raise his family and continue his Military career, Michael returned to the Buccaneers as a mellophone player. In 2022 and 2023, Michael got to live a lifelong dream of sharing the field with his son Steven. This year marks the start of his 13th season on the field as a Buccaneer and ends his 22-year career in the United States Army. He is excited to serve as the Quartermaster going into the first ever DCI All Age Season.
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Returning for his third year with the Reading Buccaneers, Joel Ignatovich is excited to be returning to the Trumpet Section. He is also serving in his second year as the Knack and Discord Manager. Joel has marched with the Reading Buccaneers from 2020-now.
Previously, Joel has marched with the Hawthorne Caballeros 2017-2019 as a Trumpet and Solist. He also marched with the Skyliners in 2015 and 2016 as a Trumpet and Section Lead. Joel has served as the Assistant Band Director at Burlington Township High School from 2019-now. Joel is a Cloud Security Engineer. Joel graduated from Holy Redeemer High School and received his Associates Degree in Computer Information Systems.
Joel Ignatovich - Knack and Discord Manager
Tiago Forin is serving as the Membership and DEI Manager for the Buccaneers this season. Tiago is returning to the Reading Buccaneers for his seventh season. He previously marched high brass in the Crossmen from 2000-03 and the Glassmen 2004-05. He is an alumnus of Florida State University and Purdue University where he specialized in civil engineering and engineering education. Previously he served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor for the corps He is excited for the start of this new role and helping future Buccaneers feel at home. He currently works as a lecturer at Rowan University.
Tiago Forin - Membership and DEI Manager
Matt's drum corps career began at the Buccaneers in 2007 as a member of the 50th anniversary hornline on trumpet. He has performed with the corps yearly since then, except for his age-out season in 2012 when he toured with the Glassmen.
Matt has further served the Buccaneers in several roles including horn sergeant, Membership Manager, and Alumni Corps brass technician; in 2017, he was honored with induction into the Buccaneer Hall of Fame.
Matt Heckman - Recruiting Manager
Kristi Strang is excited to be returning to the corps once again. as the merchandise manager, and Michelle is returning as the merchandise assistant. Kristi has no prior marching experience within the Buccaneers, but she did march Tuba in the PSU Blue Band and came to The Buccaneers to run the merchandise last season to support her husband Rich Strang, as the director.
Michelle marched Tuba in The Buccaneers from 2016-2019 and returned last season to help her mom with the merchandise. Come stop by the merch stand and say hello if you get the chance.
Michelle (left) and Kristi Strang - Merchandise Managers
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Jack Hopey - Media Manager
Jack Hopey (he/him) takes on the newly created role of Media Manager and Team Lead for the 2025 season. He will act as the main photographer and videographer, as well as managing and educating this talented team of creatives.
Jack has been involved in the Marching Arts Media world since 2017, working with world class corps like Pacific Crest, The Cavaliers, and the Madison Scouts. His marching career includes 2016 with the Jersey Surf on euphonium and 2022-2024 with the Reading Buccaneer Baritones, where he also managed the section Instagram page.
Jack graduated from Slippery Rock University with a B.S. in Digital Media Production and currently works at Ursinus College as their Digital Communications Specialist and with the North Penn Marching Knights on their visual staff.
His favorite movie is The Emperor's New Groove (2000).
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Lily Basalik - Media Team Intern
Lily Basalik (she/they) will be joining the team this year as Media Intern. Their main responsibilities will be graphic design and managing the TikTok account, but Lily will also gain experience in photography and videography working alongside Jack.
Lily has never worked with a drum corps media team before but hopes to continue the path in the future! They have been the head graphic designer and social media manager for their school yearbook for over a year, as well as the graphic designer for their high school marching band.
Their marching career consists of 4 years of high school marching band (4th in progress), and the 2024 Reading Buccaneers season on baritone. Lily will be graduating from Greencastle Antrim High School in 2025 and intends on going to college for film studies and digital media for their BFA.
Lily is a fan of all movies, but recently watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and loved it.
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Logan Bruner (he/him) is joining our new Buccaneer Media Team as a Social Media Manager with a focus on recruitment efforts and section pages.
Logan has marched 5 years of DCA as well as the inaugural season of DCI All-Age. After his fourth season with the Tubas of Reading, he made the difficult decision to retire from the competitive field. He loves the Buccaneers and wants to stay involved with the corps any way he can.
Logan Bruner - Media Team, Social Media
Meg Fox - Media Team, Photographer
Megan Fox (she/her) is returning to the Reading Buccaneers in a new role on the Social Media Manager as a Photographer! Megan was a marching member of the Reading Buccaneers from 2016-2019, 2022-2024 and was also Membership Manager from 2023-2024. In 2024, Megan suffered from an injury that caused her season to end in June, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to help during the summer.
During her time off the field, Megan picked up a camera and started taking action shots of the corps members and once again fell in love with her passion of photography.
Outside the Buccaneers, Megan is a third-grade teacher in the Reading School District and is the Assistant Band Director at Boyertown Area Senior High School, where she also was a visual technician from 2017-2024.
Megan graduated from Kutztown University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and earned a master’s degree from Wilkes University in Instruction Technology.
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Rick Thomson - Buccaneer Classic Event Coordinator
Reading Buccaneers Bio
1989 – Pit / Air bugle in parades
1990 - Cymbal line / Vice-President
1991 – President / The Fabulous 54 DCA Finalists
Mini-Grand Prix
1992 - Mini-Grand Prix
1993 - Cymbal line / Mini-Grand Prix
1998 - Public Relations Manager
1999 - Public Relations Manager / Field prep, Show
logistics, Water boy
2005 - Show logistics
2016 to present - Spring Preview stage manager
2017 to present - Buccaneer Classic Co-Chair
2022 - Buccaneer Hall of Fame
Albright to Downingtown - Big Sounds in Motion assistance
For at least ten years - Berks Jazz Fest Production volunteer
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Bill Powers - Banner Brass Director
Bill Powers is a retired band director and K-12 music administrator who taught high school, college, and elementary bands at West York Area H.S., Gettysburg College, and the Hempfield School District. He holds degrees from Gettysburg College, The Pennsylvania State University, and Millersville University. Advanced graduate studies were completed at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, West Chester University, Catholic University of America, Temple University, Capitol University, Villa Nova University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Illinois State
University, and The Hartt School of Music.
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After being a fan of the Buccaneers since the mid-1970’s, Bill joined the corps as a performer in 2010, served as Business Manager from 2011-2013, and has hosted or cohosted several Spring Preview and Buccaneer Classic events. He is presently director of Banner Brass. Bill is a 2015 inductee in the Buccaneer Hall of Fame.
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A native of York, PA, Bill resides in Landisville, PA, with his wife Leigh-Ann.
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Chuck Jacobs - Big Sounds in Motion Event Coordinator
Chuck Jacobs is an accomplished teacher, and he brings an educator’s style to his work with the corps. Chuck joined the corps for the now-immortal 2005 season as a tuba player. And immediately distinguished himself for his performance skills and, most important, for his leadership, esprit de corps and his commitment to the Buccaneers and the Buccaneer way of doing things. He continued as a stalwart in the tuba section in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, after only one year in the corps, Chuck was honored to serve as Horn Sergeant, a role he repeated in the corps’ 50th anniversary season in 2007. Chuck’s leadership skills took him next to the podium, where he served as assistant drum major in 2008 and as drum major in 2009 and 2010. He provided steady, reliable leadership to the corps on the podium and, most important, off it. He led the 2009 Buccaneers to the then-highest ever score. Chuck met his lovely bride Melissa in the corps and they were married following the 2010 season. Chuck returned to the corps in 2012 as a tuba tech, and helped guide the Buccaneers to another world championship, eclipsing its record for the all-time highest score. Chuck then stepped away for a few years to focus on his brand new family. But he was never far away from the corps he loved. Following the 2016 season, Chuck volunteered to chair the corps’ signature home show, Big Sounds in Motion and has continued in that role bringing the show into the DCI era. Chuck has also been actively involved in supporting The Buccaneer Classic, the Spring Preview and other corps events. Chuck has been a science teacher in Abington since 2000. In addition to his work with the Buccaneers, he has taught numerous marching bands during this time, including Abington HS, Plymouth-Whitemarsh HS, Hatboro-Horsham HS and, currently, Upper Dublin HS.