Jeff McVann & Scott Swaldo Inducted Into 2024 Bluecoats Hall of Fame
We’re pleased to announce the newest inductees to the Bluecoats Hall of Fame: Jeff McVann and Scott Swaldo. Members of the Bluecoats Hall of Fame are individuals whose history of outstanding contributions and dedication is worthy of the highest level of recognition by the organization’s Board of Directors.
Jeff McVann
Jeff McVann was an original 1972 Bluecoat and embraced the activity with energy and humor in a way that pulled others into the organization. He marched through 1979 when the corps first went inactive but returned almost immediately to help rebuild the corps. In the early 80s Jeff was a member of the visual staff and became a driving force in the instructional team throughout that decade. His lovable nature helped the corps thrive during those years.
Jeff stepped aside from instructional staff in the late 80s and began work on building an Alumni network. Jeff was the first Alumni voice of the corps and its earlier Historian, with many of his pictures from the 1970s the organization’s window into the first decade of the corps. He also continued to volunteer as a key committee member at the second Bluecoats-operated drum corps show in the early 1990s.
Jeff’s career would take him to places around the country as a performer in improvisation and local theater groups. However, Jeff would step back in to volunteer either his time, knowledge and media skills to help build up the Bluecoats Alumni network. He collected photos, poured over rosters and mailing lists, determined to keep the information ready for when a true alumni organization could be assembled.
Tragically, Jeff passed away in 2011. He would have been proud of the corps today, but Jeff would have been over the moon at how the Alumni are now engaged so deeply with the humble roots he started and more so how the corps not only remembers but embraces our history.
Scott Swaldo
When Scott Swaldo joined the Bluecoats as a snare player in the 1981 season, he had just completed his senior year of high school. Little did he know that over forty years later, he’d still be playing a major role in shaping the future of the organization.
In 1983, the Bluecoats went inactive, and Scott helped convince his parents, Ted and Linda Swaldo, to take over management of the group. The rest, as they say, is history. Scott served as drum major during the 1984 and 1985 season, and his family took over running the corps out of their home. After aging out, Scott served in many staff roles, including visual tech, tour coordinator, bus driver, and more for the next fifteen years before joining the Board of Directors in the early 2000s.
Throughout his decades of service, Scott has worked tirelessly as a volunteer, donor, and trusted adviser to help guide the Bluecoats through not only incredible successes like their first DCI World Championship but also difficult decisions like going inactive during the Covid-19 pandemic. He currently serves as the long-time Bluecoats Board Chair, and remains committed to the future success of the organization both on and off the field, including initiatives to spread their footprint in Stark County and renew their focus on local programming for at-risk youth through a partnership with En-Rich-Ment.
Outside of Bluecoats, Scott is a prominent member of the Canton community, and currently serves as the CEO & President of his family’s wine, hotel, and restaurant company, Gervasi Vineyards. Prior to his role at Gervasi, Scott worked as a practicing physical therapist in the Columbus area before returning to Canton to serve as executive vice president for operations at ASC Industries. He currently lives in Canton with his husband, Jeff Hicks.
Join us on August 5 at Innovations in Brass for a special induction ceremony for Jeff and Scott.
