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Award Recipients

2026 Champion Award Recipient: Marty McGee

Inspire Arts & Music is proud to announce our 2026 Champion Award Recipient: Marty McGee!

Established in 2017, the Champion Award honors individuals who have been extraordinary leaders and philanthropists within their community. Marty will join the ranks of nearly a dozen champions for the arts, including influential community leaders such as former Mayor Walsh and current Mayor Wu who have provided an avenue for the arts to thrive in Boston.

Marty McGee is Head of Line Finance and Board Finance in the Asset Management division at Fidelity Investments where he has been employed for over 32 years. Fidelity Investments is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing, and other financial products and services to institutions, financial intermediaries, and individuals.

In his role, Marty is responsible for leading a group providing financial analysis, planning and strategic oversight to the asset management, investment management, and shared services divisions. He also oversees all financial aspects of negotiating and substantiating fees with Fidelity’s five Mutual Fund Boards amounting to nearly $16B annually in Fidelity revenue. Additionally, Marty serves as chief financial officer, director, and executive committee member of Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company, overseeing nearly $300 billion in customer assets.

Prior to assuming his current role, Marty held positions as vice president and chief financial officer for Fidelity Pricing and Cash Management Services, and vice president in Fidelity Corporate Finance. Prior to joining Fidelity, Marty held roles at Osram Sylvania, a division of Siemens, and the Faxon Company. Marty earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bryant University and his master of business administration degree in finance from Bentley University.

Marty and his wife Karen find great satisfaction participating in a wide range of philanthropic efforts including the arts, children’s programs, women’s health, community support, medical research and education. Having grown up in a family of four boys with a voracious hunger for music, he’s seen the many positive life-long benefits they bestow on its participants. Marty has served on the Board of Directors of Inspire Arts & Music since 2014 with a focus on the Executive Committee, Audit & Finance Committee and Compensation Committee, and serving as Board President from 2020 – 2025. During his time as President, Marty oversaw a period of immense growth for the organization, including the Boston Crusaders historic World Championship in 2025.

Inspire Arts & Music is grateful for Marty’s contributions over the years and will honor him with the Champion Award during Concert in the Park on Wednesday, June 24th in Norman B. Leventhal Park.

 

2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Announcement Coming Soon!

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Arts. Special attention is given to those who have spent their lives influencing and impacting youth through the arts. Inspire Arts & Music values the selfless giving of heart and mind of the tremendous individuals who are recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This year, we are proud to recognize Kathy Kerrins, Dan Lutz, Bob MacCormack, and Pat Tierney as our 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients!

Kathy Kerrins – Volunteer, Blessed Sacrament Color Guard & Boston Crusaders

Kathy Kerrins is a lifelong performer, educator, judge, and volunteer in the marching arts. 

Over the years, Kathy has left her mark on a number of local ensembles and thousands of students, all beginning with the I.C. Reveries out of Revere, MA. Kathy was recruited by a middle school friend to join the Reveries Color Guard. While the friend eventually moved on, Kathy stayed dedicated to the Reveries, spending an impressive seven years with the ensemble.

After retiring as a performer, Kathy began a successful education career both as a public school teacher, and as an instructor in the marching arts.  For nearly 40 years until her retirement, Kathy served as an elementary school teacher in the Revere public school district. After the dismissal bell, Kathy would head to rehearsal to teach color guard for a number of local ensembles including the Malden Ambassadors, East Coast Jazz, North Star, Somerville Cavaliers, Blessed Sacrament, and several scholastic programs. While teaching, Kathy adjudicated band, drum corps, and indoor on the local and national level, including WGI from 1982-2005.

Today, Kathy is an unsung hero of the marching arts in Massachusetts. Year round, Kathy volunteers her nights, weekends, and weekdays to New England’s events and ensembles including Blessed Sacrament Color Guard, Boston Crusaders, the New England Scholastic Band Association, and all the events, programs, and rehearsals in between. Kathy goes above and beyond to ensure each program operates efficiently and successfully, dedicating her time and opening her home to anyone in need. If there is a show going on, you can bet on seeing Kathy in the background making it run seamlessly. “It’s just who I am,” Kathy says. At her heart, she just wants to keep the activity going.

Dan Lutz  – Director of University Bands, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Daniel P. Lutz is the Director of University Bands at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In the performance area of Department of Music, he serves as Conductor of the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Rock Big Band, Director of Pep Bands, and Director of the much-acclaimed Marching Band.

Lutz is a composer and arranger in a wide array of media. With hundreds of works to his credit, commissions have included wind band and orchestral works, pieces for jazz ensembles, theatre, corporate video, and commercial radio and television.

Commissioned works for wind band include the compositions “Dichotomy… Impressions of Kerouac” inspired by the writings and life of the poet and Lowell native Jack Kerouac,

“Hemispheres” a work for middle school band inspired by the functions of the regions of the human brain, and a new work, “Seeds of Revolution” inspired by the ideas that ignited the pursuit of our nation’s independence. In the educational community, Mr. Lutz has served as guest conductor at numerous state music educators festivals in addition to the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Regional Honor Bands in the Northeast, Southeast, Eastern, Central and Western Districts. In his role as Director of University Bands at UMass Lowell, he has received the University’s Student Government Award for teaching excellence and for Advisor of the Year. Under his direction, the UMass Lowell Bands perform throughout New England. Accolades have included performances for the President of the United States, the Governor of Massachusetts, and numerous television appearances.

For more than forty years, Dan Lutz has directed various musical ensembles and has served as a clinician addressing composition and musical performance throughout the United States and abroad. Dan is a member of the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association Hall of Fame and the Massachusetts Drum Corps and Music Educators Hall of Fame.

Bob MacCormack – Entrepreneur & Philanthropist

Bob MacCormack is New England plumbing contractor, developer, and lifelong supporter of the arts.

In 1979, Bob founded MacCormack Plumbing, a family business which he proudly grew alongside his wife, brother, and sons over many decades. After dedicating himself for nearly 40 years to MacCo, Bob began concentrating his efforts on other ventures. He now spends his time managing and developing golf courses (including Canterbury Woods and Pembroke Pines) and his development company, Keystone Builders, which focuses on new residential and commercial properties. 

While reaping the benefits of his hard work and success, he has continued to serve his community and causes. Over the years, Bob has been involved in several non profits which have provided housing for disabled adults, therapy for disabled children, and care and servicing needs for young mothers and children in Africa. 

A lifelong supporter of the arts, Bob was active in drum corps from fourth grade through early adulthood. Bob spent his early years on the field with the Bedford Militiamen and North Star Drum and Bugle Corps, even meeting his wife at a drum corps show. Years later, the experiences and life lessons Bob developed in drum corps continue to stay with him to this day. Now as a fan and a supporter, Bob continues to raise up the activity he grew up in, helping provide students the same opportunities he was afforded on the field.

Bob is a proud and dedicated father, grandfather, and husband, working alongside his wife, brother, and sons in many of his ventures.

Pat Tierney – Realtor, Insight Realty Group
A Bostonian all her life, Pat and her husband Joseph Tierney were born in South Boston and moved to Hyde Park where they raised their three children. After adopting Hyde Park as home, Pat and Joe embraced the community as they continued their careers – Joe in politics and Pat in real estate. Pat co-founded the women-owned Stanton and Tierney Real Estate office  in Logan Square before launching her own office, Tierney Realty Group. In 2020, she joined Insight Realty Group on Fairmount Ave. 

Pat is heavily involved in the Hyde Park community, serving as a member of the Fairmount Hill Neighborhood Association, Hyde Park Main Streets, Hyde Park Board of Trade, Former Chairperson of the Hyde Park YMCA, and the steering committees of many neighborhood events, like Hyde Park’s 150th Celebration. She has played a key role in strengthening the local community and supporting long-standing businesses while embracing the new.

A passionate supporter of the arts, Pat is deeply involved in the artist community from music and theater to the visual arts. Her building provides low-cost retail space to “The Switch”, an Artist Cooperative, enabling local artists a chance to display their work while giving the community another artistic venue. She is a longtime supporter, volunteer, and fundraiser for Riverside Theatre Works, helping to provide a safe, inspiring space where children can grow, explore, and express themselves. Through her work and community support, Pat is helping revitalize Hyde Park as a bustling hub of the arts.

Over the years, her civic involvement remained strong, including service as a City of Boston Zoning Commissioner, City of Boston Fair Housing Commissioner and Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. In her early career she was elected as Democratic State Committee Woman for our district.

Previous Champion Award Recipients

2026 - Marty McGee

2026
Marty McGee
Fidelity Investments

2025 - Michael Woodall

2025
Michael Woodall
Altimetrik

2024 - Olly deMacedo

2024
Olly deMacedo
America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration

2023 - Michelle Wu

2023
Michelle Wu
Mayor, City of Boston

2022 - Bob Schifellite

2022
Bob Schifellite
President of ICS, Broadridge

2021 - Raj and Padma Vattikuti

2021
Raj and Padma Vattikuti
Vattikuti Foundation

2020 - Jim and Cathy Stone

2020
Jim and Cathy Stone
The Stone Foundation

2019 - Bob Reynolds

2019
Robert Reynolds
CEO, Putnam

2018 - Jay Hooley

2018
Jay Hooley
CEO, State Street

2017 - Martin J. Walsh

2017
Martin J. Walsh
Mayor, City of Boston


Previous Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees

2025 - George Iacono

2025
George Iacono
A.J. Wright

2025 - Jim and Linda O'Brien

2025
Jim & Linda O’Brien
North Star

2025 - Bob & Peggy Grandbois

2025
Bob & Peggy Grandbois
Concert in the Park

2024 - Gerry Dolan

2024
Gerry Dolan
Gordon College

2024 - Barbara Gobbi DiRusso

2024
Barbara Gobbi DiRusso
National Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps Concert

2023 - Tony DiCarlo

2023
Tony DiCarlo
DCI/NESBA

2023 - Frank & Karen Raffa

2023
Frank & Karen Raffa
Beverly Cardinals Alumni Association

2022 - Cathy Connor-Moen

2022
Cathy Connor-Moen
Norwood Public Schools

2022 - Eileen Cunningham

2022
Eileen Cunningham
St. Ann’s Colorguards

2021 - Mary Flannery

2021
Mary Flannery
RAW Art Works

2021 - Dolores Zappala

2021
Dolores Zappala
Blessed Sacrament Colorguard

2020 - Marietta Phinney

2020
Marietta Phinney
Riverside Theatre Works

2020 - Paul Pitts

2020
Paul Pitts
Boston Latin School