Phantom Regiment is excited to announce the hiring of longtime member and staffer Dan Farrell as Director of Programs.

This position includes the role of corps director as well as direct management of current and future programs, such as the highly successful Drum Major Camp and Snare Drum Camp, said executive director Rick Valenzuela.

Farrell is, quite simply, a Phantom Regiment legend.

He has been involved in some way for most of the past 38 years, beginning as a 12-year-old baritone player in 1972 and most recently as program coordinator.

“This position is a very natural progression for Dan,” said Valenzuela, who joined Phantom Regiment as development director in 2005. “He’s been an integral part of my management team since I became executive director in 2006.

“Dan will continue the excellent work he’s been doing with the corps as program and staff coordinator while taking on the duties of managing our current and future programs.”

As a baritone player, Farrell was a soloist for the corps and also won Drum Corps International’s Individual & Ensemble competition in 1977. In addition, he was a trombonist in college at Quincy and Northern Illinois. He aged out of Phantom Regiment after the 1980 season.

Prior to the 1981 season, DCI Hall of Famer Jim Wren, the corps’ brass arranger from 1968-99, brought Farrell onto the brass staff, where he continued to learn under the guidance of Wren and then-program coordinator Dan Richardson.

The Rockford native and nearly lifelong Rockford resident took over as brass caption head in 1988 and led the corps to the high brass trophy in 1989. He was promoted to program coordinator in 1993 and the corps moved up five places from the previous season. Excluding three years off (1998-2000), Farrell has been coordinator since. During those 14 seasons, the corps has finished in the top five 12 times, including two world championships.

“I’m very happy to be moving into a position where I can put all of my energies toward strengthening Phantom Regiment,” Farrell said. “I’m looking forward to working with Rick on a full-time basis and together making the entire organization stronger and better.”

The design team of J.D. Shaw, Paul Rennick, Rick Subel and Myron Rosander will continue to be led by Farrell, and his increased involvement will allow Valenzuela to focus on development in addition to oversight of the entire organization.

“Dan’s experience and great organizational skills will serve him well in his new role managing the challenges of both program coordinator and director,” said Richardson, a current board member and adviser to the design team who has been involved with Phantom Regiment since its founding in 1956. “He has always done a tremendous job of surrounding himself with great people, and Dan and Rick work very well together. All this should help make for an even stronger Phantom Regiment organization.”

Farrell also has been a member of the board of directors for the past decade. His father, Ken, who died in 1998, was a former board president. His brother, Tim, is the current board president. Tim, brother Jack and sister Molly also marched in the corps as did two of his nieces. Additionally, he is a member of the Phantom Regiment Alumni Association board.

He was honored with the Phantom Regiment’s prestigious Chevron Award in 1994.

Until accepting this position, Farrell was vice president of the family business, PG Display Corp., a Rockford-based display manufacturer. He is single and lives in Machesney Park, Ill.