Meet the dedicated West Carteret Marching Patriot instructional staff....

Craig Everett - Director of Bands 

Mr. Everett has been band director at West Carteret High School since January, 1995.  He is currently in his twenty-second year of teaching.  He is the president-elect of the Eastern District Bandmasters Association and also serves as the North Carolina All-State Honors Band Chairman.  In 1997, Mr. Everett was awarded the Award of Excellence by the North Carolina State Bandmaster's Association, and in 1999 he was inducted into the American School Band Directors Association.  He also received the Edith Stahl Kraft Outstanding Teacher Award for Carteret County Schools in 1999.  In December 2000, Mr. Everett adjudicated the Fiesta Bowl National Band Championships in Tempe, Arizona and also continues to judge extensively in North Carolina and Virginia in both concert band festivals and marching band competitions.

Andrew Wright - Associate Director and Percussion Specialist

Mr. Wright graduated from East Carolina University with an undergraduate degree in Music Education.  He received his Masters of Music in percussion performance at Northwestern University.  Mr. Wright is also an alumnus of Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps from Charlotte, NC.  He is currently in his sixth year as a full time teacher at West Carteret High School. Under Mr. Wright's direction, the drum line and percussion ensemble are active in various Percussive Arts Society and Winter Guard International events both regionally and nationally.  In addition to his percussion responsibilities, Mr. Wright also teaches the two school jazz ensembles.  In his spare time he books for and performs with his Latin steel drum band, Panyélo.  Mr. Wright is an Innovative Percussion educator and endorses all of their products.

Donald "Goober" Johnson - ColorGuard Coordinator

Goober has a longer relationship with the West Carteret band program than any other staff member or director.  His tenure with the Marching Patriots began over ten years ago.  During this time he has built the colorguard program into a consistent award winner.  His colorguard teaching background spans over twenty years.  He also instructed the Rocky Mount Senior High marching band, winning three national championships at Bands of America in the early 1980's.  He is currently the Student Activities Coordinator at West Carteret High School.

Jason Johnson - ColorGuard Choreographer/Designer

Jason is a graduate of Western Carolina University, where he received a Bachelor's Degree in English. He currently teaches middle school English at Morehead City Middle School. His color guard experience includes Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps from Charlotte, North Carolina and Infiniti Winter Guard from Greenville, South Carolina. Jason has taught many high school color guards including James F. Byrnes HS, East Lincoln HS, Central Cabarrus HS, Bassett HS, and Concord HS. He  served on the Board of Directors for the Carolina Indoor Performance Association from 1994-2001, and as the Circuit Director for the same organization in 1999 and 2000. Jason has also served as a judge for both marching and winter guard competitions. He is now currently training for the Winter Guard International.

Mitch Rogers-Visual Designer

Since 1992, Mitch has been the drill designer for the trend-setting Plymouth Canton (Michigan) Educational Park Marching Band, a perennial BOA Grand National finalist and Michigan state champion. In 1999, Plymouth Canton was the BOA Grand National Champion.
He also taught the 1992 BOA Grand National Champion Spring High School Marching Band from Spring, Texas.
As and instructor and designer, Mitch has been associated with high school bands throughout the United States, including Stephen F. Austin HS, Westfield HS, Langham Creek HS, Penn HS, Reeths-Puffer HS, and many others. Mitch's drum corps experience includes being the visual caption head for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps in 1991 and 1992 where he assisted the corps to two consecutive DCI visual caption awards and the 1992 DCI World Championship.
He is currently the Visual Designer for the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps.

Doug Thrower - Music Arranger

Douglas Scott Thrower is a free-lance composer/ arranger/ trumpeter from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He has been a brass instructor for the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps since 1992 and has arranged for them since 1997. He has instructed and arranged for many bands and drum corps including Dutch Boy, the Kiwanis Kavaliers and the Canadian Knights (1986 Class A World Champions). He currently composes and arranges for numerous high schools and universities including Kiski H.S. in Pittsburgh, PA and Fort Mill H.S. in Charlotte N.C. In addition to marching music he arranges for various ensembles (jazz and symphonic) and theater groups.

Doug studied with Don Johnson at Humber College in Toronto and studied jazz performance at McGill University in Montreal. He has recorded performances for the C.B.C. and can be heard on four recordings with the McGill Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Gordon Foote.

Doug lives in Mississauga with his wife Evelyn and daughter Shelby (with another on the way!).

David Stroud - Field Assistant

Dave graduated from East Carolina University in December of 1998.  His  studio saxophone instructors were Peter Mills and Jeff Bair.  While at East Carolina Dave was a member of the ECU Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Scott Carter from 1996 until graduation.  While attending ECU, Dave was involved in numerous ensembles including concert band, marching band, jazz band, wind ensemble sax quartet, and university pep band.  After Graduation, Dave enrolled into Graduate School at East Carolina University.  Currently, he is pursuing a masters in Instrumental Conducting with Dr. Scott Carter.  Dave is currently the band director at Newport Middle School, a feeder school to West.  Under his direction the band program has received consistent superior ratings at the North Carolina State Concert Band Festival since the schools inception. He is an active clinician in North Carolina.  His overwhelming enthusiasm for instrumental music education makes him an irreplaceable facet of the West Carteret High School Band Program.

David Fye

Dave is a recent graduate of East Carolina University where he majored in Music Education.  In addition to being an Assistant Band Director at Morehead Middle School and Newport Middle School, Mr. Fye directs the Jazz Bands, and percussion ensembles at each school. 

Mr. Fye's teaching experience includes instructing several high school drumlines in the southeast and student teaching at West Craven High School and West Craven Middle School.

Mr. Fye's performance experience includes playing with the East Carolina University Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble.  He marching experience includes 3 years of drumcorps, 2 with Carolina Crown in 1996 and 1997, and most recently with The Santa Clara Vanguard in 2000.  In addition to his summer marching experience, Mr. Fye has 2 years of indoor percussion experience with Carolina Thunder in 1999 and 2000.  

Kim Byrnes-Visual Technician

Kim currently teaches special education at Croatan High School in Carteret County.  Kim graduated from The Woodlands High School in Texas where she was drum major her senior year.  Kim's drum corps experience includes marching with the Boston Area Crusaders where she currently serves as a visual technician. 

Cheryl Stevenson

Cheryl is a double reed specialist and owner of Eastern Music Academy.

West Carteret High School is fortunate to have two outstanding middle school band directors feeding accomplished band students into the high school band program.

Dee Dee Phillips - Morehead City Middle School

Mrs. Phillips has developed one of the finest middle school band programs in the state.  She consistently has more students make the All-District Band than any other school in the district.  In addition, the Morehead Middle School 8th grade band will perform at the North Carolina Music Educator's Conference in Winston-Salem this November.  She has received the Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Music Educators Association and was recently accepted into ACBDA, the American School Band Directors Association.  She is called upon frequently as a clinician for various honor bands and she serves as an adjudicator for many district concert band festivals.

David Stroud - Newport Middle School

As David begins his 7 year of teaching, he continues this year in at Newport Middle School where he supervises and coordinates all elements of the instrumental music department.  His bands have consistently received superior ratings at state band festivals.

David Fye-Morehead City Middle School and Newport Middle School

David serves an assistant director and percussion specialist at both middle schools.