Volunteer Staff
“Game Day” Volunteer Staff is a bit of a misnomer, as the their role is not necessarily confined to Game Day. These individuals and teams take on critical roles at our larger-scale events and and performances. Many of the duties and roles of Game Day staff are executed by students from our very own Theta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi during camp and regular rehearsals, but need to be done by volunteers while those students are performing with the band. Other roles and duties only exist on game day!
Sharon “Mama” Heckers
Band mom and cook
Sharon Heckers has been taking care of the band since 2000. She saw that we were eating subway to sustain energy for regular ten-hour game days and was having none of that. Through her efforts, today we enjoy home-style meals prepared at scale with her and her team. Sharon also takes care of the students dinners between rehearsal and Bar Band on Friday nights, and coordinates a team of volunteers to make everything work seamlessly.
Sharon has always worked behind the scenes making flags, helping with costumes, doing hair or what ever needed to be done. She has repaired our uniforms on game day countless times, has always enjoyed helping out, and hopes to continue doing so for a long time.
We are a very happy band because of Mama Heckers.
Sharon’s Team
It takes a lot of preparation and teamwork to feed an organization as large as ours. Sharon’s rotating team of volunteers not only assembles, cooks, and stores the game day meal, but have designed a system to deliver it to the entire band and cheer team in the 40 minute window in between Beaver Walk and the step show. This crew is comprised of band alums, parents, and community members.
Kaitlyn and Jed Courage
Equipment Managers
Both Oregon State alums, Kaitlyn and Jed are the people who make the gears of our game day run smoothly.
Kaitlyn also coordinates game-day volunteers and KKPsi members to ensure our seamless transition between performance locations, ensure our footprint flows around Reser efficiently, and keep the band hydrated and in the best performance shape all day.
Ever wonder how six ladders and podiums on the sideline disappear in the 30 seconds between the end of Pregame and the game kickoff? Kaitlyn and Jed are how.
Steve Zielke
The Voice of the Spirit and Sound
Steven M. Zielke, Director of Choral Studies at Oregon State University is the Patricia Valian Reser Professor of Music. In addition to being the Voice of the OSUMB, he directs the OSU Chamber Choir, the OSU Meistersingers, and teaches choral conducting. Zielke holds two graduate degrees in conducting and music education from Florida State University. Past positions include a public school appointment in Kansas, and a position in the University of Arizona School of Music.
Choirs under his direction have toured around the world, performing in Asia and Europe on more than 12 tours. Dr. Zielke is the current president-elect of the Northwest Region of the American Choral Directors Association, the Artistic Director of the Corvallis Repertory Singers, and Director of Music at First Congregation United Church of Christ.
Media Team
The visual media team are a set of OSUMB alumni who volunteer their time and provide the organization with a rich catalogue of photo and video. Their work is used in our online presence, in communications with media outlets like the Gazette Times and the Pac12 Network, and among the students for personal use. You’ll see them on the field and up in the press box during shows, shooting while we perform in the stands, and following the band and its members to capture the moments.
Any time you watch one of our videos or see a photo of us used, there is a very good chance that one of these three was behind the lens when it was created.
D’Artagnan Stubbs
A trombone alumni of the OSUMB, D'Artagnan now volunteers as lead photographer for the band. D’Art has been with the band program in this capacity since 2017.
Chris Daquinag
An alumni of the OSUMB, Kappa Kappa Psi Theta chapter, and OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Services. Chris has volunteered as lead videographer for the OSUMB since 2018.
