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Board Members

Tim Johnson,
Music Director and Executive Director

Johnson is the Kicks Band’s initiating incorporator and has been the Music Director of the Kicks Band since 2011. Johnson holds a BM in Education from the UND and a MA in trombone performance from MSUM. Johnson is a trombonist and bassist in the area, and was the middle school band director for the Dilworth Glyndon Felton Schools until his retirement in 2022. Johnson’s performance experience includes the FM Jazz Arts Group, Greater Grand Forks Symphony, Jazz Nickel Combo, Dick Kick Classic Swing Band, FM Symphony, and 10 years as a variety band bassist/vocalist, etc. Johnson and his wife Amy have two children, Elizabeth and Zachary.

Tania Blanich
Treasurer

Blanich has spent her career in arts, non-profit, philanthropic and government administration. Tania is currently serving as Interim Executive Director of The Arts Partnership, the local arts council serving Fargo and West Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN. Blanich has advised non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad and served as a panelist or juror for entities including the National Endowment for the Arts. Blanich earned her BA from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. A native of Fargo, ND, she grew up immersed in the arts and inherited her father’s love of big band music.

Cathi Chial

A life-long Minnesota resident, Chial participated in several high-school musical groups, singing in choral groups, playing clarinet in band and accompanying high school musical ensembles on piano. She continues to participate as a choir member, vocal soloist and pianist in her North Moorhead church. She has been a nurse for 52 years, spending 45 of those years managing much of the Children’s Hospital and Clinics areas. Chial was involved in the Children’s Miracle Network and its endowment and fundraising activities. She has a Masters in Nursing Administration.

Tony Duval

An industrial engineer with John Deere, Duval’s professional career has taken him to 4 of the 5 inhabited continents A lifelong Fargoan, Duval is a diverse social and musical product of Fargo and North Dakota State University. As an NDSU student, he received several awards for exceptional musical performance, including a Distinguished Musician award at the 1990 Eau Claire, WI Jazz Festival. He loves to “sit in” with street-side bands, open-music venues or in blue-note jazz clubs, and has performed in 24 U.S. states and five countries.

Dr. Maureen Kelly Jonason
Secretary

Jonason has been the Executive Director of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County since 2008. Prior to branching out into non-profit management, she taught college writing and humanities for 20 years, retiring from Concordia College in 2008. She holds a doctorate in higher education teaching and learning from UND. Jonason has served on the boards of the Women’s Network of the Red River Valley, the Spirit Room and Nordic Arts Alliance. She is a life-long jazz enthusiast.

Joan Justesen, Board President

Justesen is retired after a long career in healthcare as a nurse and senior executive at St. Lukes, later known as Meritcare. After retirement, she worked at MSUM as the Vice President of Marketing and Development and has served on nonprofit boards and as a community volunteer. Justesen has a BS in Nursing and a Masters in Business Administration. She lives in Fargo and has two sons and daughters-in-law and three grandchildren. Other than family, her passions are: opera, classical music, jazz, and art in many forms.

Bill Law

Law has more than 20 years of arts administration experience. Currently Assistant Director of the NDSU Division of Performing Arts, he serves as a board member of the Fargo-Moorhead Choral Artists and on the Minnesota Public Radio regional advisory board. Throughout the years he has served on other nonprofit arts boards and as a grants reviewer for numerous regional entities. He was Executive Director of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony from 1996 to 2005.

Madison Quamme

As the public relations + social media lead at Flint Group, Madison leverages a strategic approach as she plans tactics to effectively communicate with audiences across various channels. Driven by cultivating strong communities, Madison serves as a trusted partner to clients, as they nurture connections with their stakeholders. Madison is passionate about quarterbacking public relations and social media plans and offers a flair for quick thinking that results in solution-focused outcomes. Madison is a proud Fargonian and enjoys celebrating the culture and variety the community has to offer. In her spare time, she, along with her husband Michael and their two dogs, enjoy partaking in community building events.

Mark Voxland

Voxland, a lifelong resident of Moorhead, owned and operated Voxland Electric until his retirement in 2021. He served for 12 yaers as Mayor of the City of Moorhead and 14 years on the Moorhead City Council. Voxland has served on numerous boards locally and statewide, including the Moorhead Kiwanis Board, Trinity Lutheran Church Council, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and President of the League of Minnesota cities. His three grown children and seven grandchildren live within five hours of town. He enjoys travel and live music, especially jazz.

Sam Wai

Wai has lived in the Moorhead/Fargo community since 1972. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profits in our community, including the FM Symphony, FM Opera, Plains Art Museum, MSUM Alumni Foundation, FM Area Foundation, Jazz Arts Group, FM Area Youth Symphonies and Minnesota Public Radio. Wai spent a long career as treasurer of American Crystal Sugar Company until his retirement in 2015. In retirement, Sam teaches wine appreciation courses and annually takes friends to Greece for wine and history tours. Sam is married to Coralie and they have two adult children.

Tim Zoerner

Zoerner spent his career in the transportation industry in management and sales, retiring in 2019. He graduated from Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota with a BS in Business Administration and moved to Moorhead in 1985. He is an active volunteer for the Salvation Army. Zoerner has played drums since 6th and played his first paying gig in 7th grade. He and wife Susann have 3 adult children and 3 granddaughters.

KICKS BAND OF FARGO-MOORHEAD

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