2025 Outstanding Corps Member

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Poulan, our 2025 Outstanding Corps Member. Each year, corps members select a peer to receive this recognition, given in memory of Joe Fong, our 1976 awardee. Recipients exemplify the very best in leadership, citizenship, esprit de corps, and similar qualities learned during their Mandarins journey.

Kaitlyn marched six years with the Mandarins, having known about the corps for most of her life. Her dad was the brass arranger from 2012-2022 and her brother marched brass from 2017-2022. Growing up around the corps, she knew she’d eventually join. Kaitlyn said her Mandarins experience taught her many life lessons such as time management, collaboration, and how to become the best version of herself.

The Outstanding Corps Member award is a significant one. Kaitlyn stated, “I feel so blessed and honored to be selected for this award. By being chosen for this award, I feel extremely supported and trusted by my fellow members. It truly is humbling and rewarding to be selected for this honor. To me, this award is a reflection of teamwork and dedication, traits that are extremely important to the Mandarins organization.

Asked what she’ll remember most about her time with the Mandarins, Kaitlyn replied, “I’ll remember all of the amazing people that I have met throughout my years in the corps. Between staff, members, admin, and drivers, I have created so many strong bonds with those who I have met along the way. I am grateful for the guidance, friendship, and support that they have shown me. More than anything, I will remember the sense of family that I feel from the Mandarins, and that the drum corps will forever feel like home.”