Music for All announces the 2027 Hall of Fame inductees: Holly Blake, Matt Carter, Cheryl Floyd, and Dan Potter.
Music for All’s Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have significantly impacted Music for All, its programs, and music education in America. Members represent impeccable character, ethics, and professionalism, and are role models for music education professionals.
Blake, Carter, Floyd, and Potter will be inducted during a ceremony at the 2027 Music for All National Festival, presented by Yamaha and Sweetwater, April 1-3 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
About the inductees:
HOLLY BLAKE
In 1999, Holly Blake began her volunteer service with Bands of America. Starting in souvenir sales at Grand Nationals, she went on to serve in warm-up operations, headquarters, band check-in, airlock management, front sideline, and numerous event leadership roles. Over the years, she has become especially known for her work in band check-in, where she built lasting relationships with band directors, drum majors, and fellow volunteers from across the country.
Through decades of service, Blake has built lifelong friendships and made a lasting impact on the marching arts community. Blake remains committed to supporting students, volunteers, and music education, and plans to continue giving back for as long as she can.
MATT CARTER
Matthew B. Carter has spent four decades at Visit Indy stewarding the conviction that talent is the currency of any city’s or community’s success. As Senior Vice President and Chief Destination Development Officer across six mayoral administrations, Matt fundamentally reframed what development means—recognizing that it comes in many forms: economic, cultural, educational, and spiritual.
In 2007, Matt orchestrated the relocation of Music for All, the Percussive Arts Society, Drum Corps International, and USA Football to Indianapolis through MusicCrossroads. Additionally, Matt served Music for All as a board member, vice chairman, and was chairman from 2005 to 2007. At the heart of what Matt recognizes is that the ensemble is public education’s greatest model. In ensembles, students achieve mastery together—at their collective best.
CHERYL FLOYD
Cheryl Floyd is recognized nationally for her educational and musical achievements at the middle school level, serving Austin schools as Director of Bands at Hill Country Middle School and Director of Bands at Murchison Middle School prior. Musical organizations under her leadership have consistently been cited for musical excellence at both local contests and national invitational festivals.
Mrs. Floyd has been involved in the Middle School National Concert Band Festival since it began in 2009 and has been a member of the Music for All summer camps faculty since 2016, serving both the middle school concert band division and the Directors Academy.
Over the past thirty-five-plus years, she has maintained a keen interest in commissioning new works for concert band and has collaborated with internationally recognized composers. The works generated by these ongoing projects have been acknowledged as being among the most significant works for young band.
In 2003, Mrs. Floyd was elected to the American Bandmasters’ Association. She is the fifth female member of this 225-member organization and the first middle school band director to be chosen for ABA membership.
DAN POTTER
Dan Potter is an award-winning journalist and program host who has been involved in marching band and drum corps for over 40 years. He is an announcer and media personality for Bands of America and Drum Corps International and is also the host of popular marching arts podcasts, including BOA’s Break Ranks on the Music for All Podcast Network. He has been a stadium announcer for BOA Regionals, Super Regionals, and Grand Nationals since the late 1990s and became the announcer for Grand National Finals in 2024.
Potter was a drum major in both high school marching band and drum corps. He has instructed high school bands in Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Zephyrus Performing Arts, the parent organization of Zephyrus Drum & Bugle Corps, a DCI Open Class corps. He also conducts leadership workshops with high school drum majors. Potter is a veteran radio personality and is the News Director at 89.5 KWGS Public Radio Tulsa. Prior to that, he spent 13 years crosstown as the host of the KRMG Morning News with Dan Potter.
To read more about the Music for All Hall of Fame and read about past inductees, visit education.musicforall.org/hall-of-fame
