The latest inductees of the Maine South High School “Wall of Honor” will include two alums from the 1980s, one now a police department chaplain and the other a nationally-recognized music teacher and conductor, Maine Township High School District 207 officials announced in a news release.
The Rev. Daniel Brandt, from the graduating class of ‘88, and Dean Westman, who was part of the class of ‘89, will be inducted into the Wall of Honor during an after school ceremony Oct. 1 at Maine South in Park Ridge.
Brandt has served as director of the Chicago Police Department Chaplains Ministry since 2011 after leading two Chicago parishes. As head of the chaplains ministry, Brandt and his staff provide pastoral care and emergency crisis management to 13,000 sworn officers, as well as 6,000 local police department retirees and their families, according to the release.
He also conducts Mass, speaks at benefits, hosts family-themed events, does stand-up comedy – in addition to his work taking phone calls “at all times of the day or night.”
“Father Brandt’s range of activities is broad and deep as he serves those who serve others,” the school district release states.
Westman is a nationally celebrated music educator and conductor who has won state and national awards with marching bands and drum corps in Texas, California and Indiana that he has led. He currently teaches at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana, where he has led the school’s orchestras to four state championships, according to the release.
Additionally, the release explains, Westman is involved with Music for All, the national organization which provides events, competitions and training for school music programs across the country.
“Both Dean and Father Dan look to their time as students at Maine South as very influential and great fun,” the release states.
School officials said Westman has shared that he wanted nothing else than to “be Gordy McLean,” his band director, and has used the lessons he learned from him throughout his career.
In recalling his time at Maine South, officials say Brandt points to memories of his WMTH call-in show, serving as class and student council treasurer, participating in accounting contests and even doing a stint as a parking lot attendant for special events.
The release explains that the Maine South Wall of Honor was established in 2013 as part of the school’s 50th anniversary.
