Martin Hughes Nomination Letter

As a member of the Cadets from 1990-1995, I was aware of Michelle Owens while she was in the Crossmen, whom we competed against and toured with regularly. Several of my fellow Cadets also marched with her during the winter. I knew her as a strong and talented performer and a good friend to many people I knew.

After aging out, I was asked to become the colorguard caption head at the Crossmen in 1996. I finally had the opportunity to get to know Michelle since she was also hired by YEA to be part of my staff. I was apprehensive because she had aged out a year before I did and had spent the previous year teaching the Crossmen. I was concerned that she might resent a newly aged out person from a rival corps coming into her home team and taking over. My concerns were unfounded. Michelle immediately supported me, introduced me to the veteran staff, filled me in on Crossmen history and traditions, and generally helped me assimilate into the organization. She had every reason to resent me or be threatened by me and she certainly had the talent and leadership to run the program herself but she chose to embrace our relationship and act as the glue that held our fledgling team together.

We taught the Crossmen together for three years from 1996-1998. During that time, the Crossmen’s colorguard achieved highest placements at DCI. The members adored Michelle. They looked up to her. They respected her. They liked her. She was the good cop to my bad cop and had a subtle but assertive way of helping guide me when I was being too hard on the members or getting too caught up in the wrong details or priorities in our teaching strategy. It wasn’t until years after my time with YEA ended that I truly appreciated the way that Michelle led from the background, contributing without undermining, supporting without competing. I couldn’t have succeeded to the extent that I did without her presence and influence.

Though the Crossmen wasn’t a corps that won championships in those days, there was a sense of pride and identity among the members of the colorguards that Michelle and I taught during those years that I had not previously seen from the organization. Michelle’s grounding force and her connection to the history and tradition of the Crossmen were a great synergy with the champion mentality and demand for excellence I acquired during my years at the Cadets. We tempered and complemented each other and the effect on the members was that they believed they were as talented and accomplished as any team they came up against. They didn’t look at the traditional top teams with envy or hero worship. Rather, they considered themselves to be on the same level, commanding the same respect and admiration from their competitors and audiences. That would not have happened if Michelle had not been there to foster that confidence and inspire them.

I was not associated with YEA during the years when Michelle taught the Cadets. However, the excellence that she inspired in those teams was evident in their performances and the stellar results they achieved. I have no reason to doubt that her commitment to being a team player, a force of cohesiveness, a pillar of support for members and corps leadership, a mentor and inspiration for the members, and her simple goodness as a human being all coalesced to enrich the experience of participating in the activity for everyone involved.

Martin Hughes

Cadets Member 1990-1995

Cadets Colorguard Captain 1995

Crossmen Colorguard Caption Head 1996-1998