The Madison Scouts are pleased to welcome new board members Bryan Hughes (84,87,88,06), Rich Rodes (85-88,06) and Ton Stam (81,82). All three were appointed to one year terms at the 2009 Annual Meeting last week. In addition, board members Gregg Auby (86,06), Steve Matson (81-88) and Joe Murray (73-76) were re-elected to three year terms.Bryan Hughes is a restaurateur and owner of OH!Bryan's Family Steakhouse with four locations in Alabama. A graduate of the University of North Alabama, Bryan brings savvy business experience and a continued sense of entrepreneurial spirit to the board. A contra alumnus from the 1980's, Bryan also participated in the Alumni Reunion Project in 2006. He currently resides in Madison, Alabama.Rich Rodes started marching in the Scouts in 1985 (hornline) and then the color guard from 1986 through the 1988 championship season as well as the 2006 Alumni Reunion Project. He is currently the Managing Director in the Commercial Mortgage Lending Group at PPM Finance, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. Rich has a Bachelors degree in finance and real estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management.Ton Stam is the owner of Chocolaterie Stam, a quickly expanding chain of chocolate stores in the U.S. and Holland. Ton comes from long line of European Chocolate makers and decided to bring the family name to the U.S. Having marched in the Scouts in 1981 and 1982, Ton makes Des Moines his home and base of operations for his business."I'm very energized about the board we have assembled," stated Board President Jeff Manion. "Our objective was to supplement a mix of entrepreneurial experience with strong finance skills. I'm looking forward to working with this new team in 2010."In related news, Executive Director Chris Komnick presented some of the preliminary financial results for the 2009 fiscal year at the Annual Meeting last week. "We will show a net operating profit for the year driven both by strong cost control measures and a newly created revenue stream through our musical merchandise sales," said Komnick. "As well, we continue to be diligent in tackling our debt load and have reduced it by over $150,000 this past year. I am pleased with our financial performance. We still have work to do, but it's a major step forward."The corps will finalize its financial accounting and publish an annual report within the next 30 days.