Meet The Staff

Kevin Leonard

Mr. Kevin Leonard is the Director of Bands for Meade County Schools in Brandenburg, KY where he teaches all grade levels of the Meade County Band (7-12). Since joining the program in 2018, the Stuart Pepper Middle School and Meade County High School Bands have received continuous Distinguished ratings at the KMEA Large Ensemble Assessment Event. In 2025, the MCHS Symphonic Band was selected to perform at the Phi Beta Mu Psi Chapter Concert Band Festival. The Meade County High School Marching Band has received numerous awards including Best Overall Music, Class Champions, and Reserve Grand Champions.

Students under Mr. Leonard have been accepted to All State, All District, and regional Honor Bands. In addition to teaching all band classes, he also teaches one period of high school Piano Lab and heads the after school MCHS Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Pep Band. 

Prior to arriving in Meade County, Kevin was the Assistant Director of Bands at East Hardin Middle School in Glendale, KY. He also has three years of Drum Corps International teaching experience (Casper Troopers 2016, Oregon Crusaders 2017, Sacramento Mandarins 2018). Mr. Leonard is a graduate of North Hardin High School and holds a Music Education degree from Western Kentucky University. 

Steven Bernard

Mr. Steven Bernard is a recent graduate of Western Kentucky where he earned a degree in Music Education with an instrumental emphasis. Before graduating, Mr. Bernard worked on staff with Russell County High School, Metcalfe County High School, and LaRue County High School as a clarinet and saxophone tech and visual instructor. His love for teaching was instilled from a young age through his former band directors Mr. Curtis Ervin and Ms. Haley Harrington. Band has always been a safe place for him to express himself and grow as a person, and he is excited to give that same experience to the students at Stuart Pepper Middle School and Meade County High School.

Tara Poole

Mrs. Tara Poole is a 1997 graduate of Meade County High School where she participated in the MCHS Marching Band Color Guard and winter guard. She began teaching at Stuart Pepper Middle School in 2002 and currently teaches freshman English at MCHS. She and her husband have four children, two of whom have participated in the MCHS Marching Band. She became a color guard instructor in 2017 and began helping with the winter guard program after.  Mrs. Poole enjoys working with the guard and loves seeing their growth over the years. She strives to assist the directors and students to help our band program be the best it can be!