R.O.T.C. Chicago Announces New Leadership

Chicago's Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps (R.O.T.C. Chicago), an award-winning, all-male precision rifle performance group has elected a new director and advisory board. The 30-member group has been serving the LGBT community for more than 14 years and is known for its tantalizing and humorous rifle routines.

Rhett Lindsay, 30, Special Events Manager for Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) joined ROTC 2005 and served on the advisory board for one year. Lindsay hails from Mill Creek, W.Va. and moved to Chicago in 2000 after graduating with a degree in Public Relations from West Virginia University, where he marched trumpet with the award-winning, 350-member Mountaineer Marching Band. He has held positions in trade show management, public relations and higher education before joining TPAN in 2006. Ashley Rhett has enjoyed seeing the evolving face of R.O.T.C. even when the evolution involves a bit of drag! Rhett was a performer in the 2007 Armed & Fabulous and plans to come back to the 2008 event even more FABULOUS than before.

Chris Grace, a Convention & Event Manager with Living to Laugh Productions, begins his fifth year with R.O.T.C. Chicago and third year on the Governing Board with high hopes for the membership and the season. Chris is a southerner at heart as he comes from South Carolina, but has called Chicago home for the past seven years. A man of many interests, Chris also enjoys performing stand up comedy and working with the vibrant Chicago Deaf Community. Chris utilized his comedic talents to emcee (as a guy) the inaugural “Armed & Fabulous”. Looking forward to the second annual Armed & Fabulous, he plans to be a “different” type of emcee… get a ticket and see just how different for yourself!

Douglas Roeske, an RN in surgery, is starting his sixth year with R.O.T.C. Chicago, serving on the Governing Board for his 4th consecutive year. Originally from northwest Indiana, Roeske, 37, has lived in Chicago for nine years. Doug has served as membership chair, coordinating new members as they join the ranks. Doug also served as a production co-chair for ROTC's first ever "Armed & Fabulous"--the successful drag-show fundraiser in 2007 (a 2008 show is in the works!). He enjoys performing with the group because it's an opportunity to be out there and to be seen in the community--(He admits he's a total ham!)

Michael Vaughn, 40, joined ROTC in 2007, reacquainting himself with spinning after a 20-year hiatus. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Michael initially moved to Chicago in the 1980s to attend Northwestern University. He holds advanced degrees in music and history and makes his career as a professor of historical musicology. He is involved in various professional, civic, and community organizations and looks forward to bringing his experience to the board of ROTC.

Visual Design Group

David Roegiers, 43, experienced his first year with ROTC this past year and has been selected to join the Visual Design Group (VDG) for the 2008 season. While a graphic designer by trade, David has an extensive colorguard background as both a performer and an instructor. From his humble beginnings in Bloomington, Indiana as a member of his high school winterguard, to his brief stint with the Memphis Blues in' 83 (brief because the corps folded before DCI finals!), 2 with the Madison Scouts winning WGI in '86 as a member of the Odyssey Winterguard from Arlington, TX, David has truly had his life enriched by the people he has worked with and his many wonderful experiences in "the activity"! David hopes to help ROTC achieve a new level of performance excellence this season while bringing everyone closer together.

Henry Spafford, 43, is a Flight Attendant for Southwest Airlines and moved to Chicago in 2005 from Texas. Henry has joined the group for his third year and served as the instructor for the group in 2006 and is one of the co-instructors for the 2008 season. He has a history of color guard experience, dating to 1979. "I especially have enjoyed being a part of the ROTC family and the fun we all have and share at our performances", said Spafford.