From a Bluecoats' press release: Joe Beitman and Casey Hawthorne will be the Bluecoats' 2004 drum majors. "After two months of interviewing ten very qualified candidates, Bill Hamilton (program director) and I were faced with the challenge of selecting two people. We are proud to announce that Joe Beitman and Casey Hawthorne will lead our membership in 2004," said executive director David Glasgow. Per Bluecoats policy, both Beitman and Hawthorne are veterans of the corps. Beitman is originally from Baltimore, and has been a baritone player since 2002. Hawthorne hails from Tyler, Texas, and joined the corps' color guard in 2003. She becomes the first drum major from Texas since the corps began conducting winter rehearsals there in the fall of 2000. Becoming a Drum Major for the Bluecoats is something Beitman has wanted to do since joining the corps. "The Bluecoats are a world-renowned organization, and being selected as the drum major is a dream come true and a magnificent opportunity," he said. For Hawthorne, it's an opportunity to serve the organization in an entirely new capacity. "For me, it's a never-ending learning experience. I have gained so much from the Bluecoats, and my ride is not over yet." "Having gone through the drum major experience myself, I can you tell that they will have the best, and the most difficult, summer of their lives. They will never have worked so hard, nor learned so much," Glasgow said. "With that said, we are confident that Casey and Joe are going to do a wonderful job leading us on (and off) the field!"