Board of Directors 2013

Membership on the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council Board of Directors is educational, enlightening, and hard work. It is also often a lot of fun! After all, we run the business end of a group that encourages people of all ages to enjoy the arts as either a participant or an audience member.  Board members come from varying walks of life, and reflect broad community interests. This diversity helps manage the ‘business’ of art in a manner that benefits all segments of the Greater Ketchikan Area. The variety of visual, literary, and performing arts that KAAHC provides strengthens the community and adds to the quality of life in Southeast Alaska. A strong Board ensures these programs thrive.

Officers:

Amanda Painter, President (elected 2010)  Amanda graduated from Hollins College in Virginia with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and shortly after, headed west. Here she found her home and her niche, operating vessels in Southeast Alaska since 1985, initially in the fishing industry, currently in the tourism industry managing Allen Marine Tours in Ketchikan. She holds a USCG 500 Ton Masters License. She admits she is not an artist (though wishes she were!) but has been an art enthusiast and advocate since her first year of intensive Art History in high school.

Anna Shaffer, Vice President (elected 2013)  I have lived in Ketchikan for 18 years now and have been involved in supporting the broader arts community almost since the day I arrived.  I grew up trying all sorts of different crafts and always loved the paly of color and texture in whatever craft work I was doing.  That grew to a broader appreciation of fine art and performing art – appreciating and supporting the creations of others.  My business, Starboard Frames and Gifts, has transitioned to a gallery featuring local artists, and our custom picture framing service specialized in framing design that puts the focus on the art and brings out the best in what the artist created.  On a personal level, I have focused on bead work as my art of choice and have recently started taking cedar bark weaving classes through the Totem Heritage Center.  I have been on several Boards of non-profit organizations in the community in the past (including the Arts Council) and I am looking forward to joining the Arts Council’s Board again as a concrete way to give back to an organization that gives so much to the community!

Nancy Tjetie, Treasurer (elected 2012)  Participation in the arts is an everyday experience for me and I believe it is for most of our residents …they just don’t realize it yet. Living in Ketchikan has afforded me the chance to expand my art skills and pass them on to many. By day, I am an insurance agent at Davies-Barry Insurance. The rest of the time, I enjoy volunteering among a lot of other things.  My art is found in beading. I love those little pieces of glass that have glorious colors, have a wonderful tactile sensation, and can be constructed into little creations.

As a pretty well seasoned non-profit board member, I try to give back to my community in areas where I can help make life a little better for someone else.  KAAHC is a perfect fit for me. My stance on the arts is that this community is rich with a wide variety of excellent art venues.  Look around and you see, hear and feel it everywhere.  As a community we should be proud and do what we can to promote everything that the arts can do for us.  Sharing and incorporating art experiences in economic development and daily lives should be a top priority of us all.

Secretary, Position currently vacant

Laurie Thomas, Past President (elected 2001) Laurie has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Western Washington University and a Master’s degree from University of Alaska, Anchorage. She first moved to Ketchikan in 1982 and has lived here continuously since 1995.  She directs the Early Learning Program at Community Connections, and is the Deputy Director for the organization.

Members-at-Large:

Barbara Bigelow (joined 2012)  It has been a few years since I have actively been engaged in a non-profit board, and it just feels like the “right time” to take on a volunteer position.  One of my favorite quotes (linked to volunteerism):

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.   Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.  – Margaret Mead

That said, I have had the privilege of serving on several non-profit boards in Ketchikan over the years, most notably the Ketchikan Campus Advisory Council. But now I am very excited to be a part of the board of the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council.  I am passionate about art and artistic expression and I want to work with a dedicated group of individuals who will continue to guide and advise the Arts Council. My goal as a Board member is to continue to positively affect recognition of Ketchikan’s arts and cultural events in Ketchikan.

Mitch Seaver (joined 2010)  Mitch practices law with the Zeigler Law Firm. When not in a courtroom, Mitch can be found hanging out with his good friends, a Canon 5DMkII and a Canon 1DMkIIn.  Check out his photos!

Mary Lynne Dahl (joined 2013) I began my adult working life as a ballet dancer and teacher, after 14 years as a student of classical dance. Dance, music, performance arts, visual and written arts were a regular part of growing up in my family as an Army brat. Traveling gave our family opportunities to experience many different types of art forms, and the dinner table was always an open forum for discussion about art, music, books being read, movies and plays. Most everyone in my family played a musical instrument and we had a huge collection of records and sheet music, so I took up piano and percussion at an early age, along with school sports and ballet. Later in life I added ethnic dance forms to my spare time activities, with Israeli dancing becoming my favorite combination of dance and exercise.

Coming to Ketchikan in 1997 felt like a familiar and welcome revisiting of those rich memories of art and culture as an integral part of daily life. I was immediately interested in the arts community here, so. I am very happy to have been asked to serve on this board as a result. Although I continue to dance and play the piano (badly), my professional life has been as a Certified Financial Planner ™ for the last 30 years, so I hope to bring some financial expertise to the board of directors as well as my life-long love and support of the arts. I strongly believe that a vibrant arts scene is a key indicator of economic vitality.  Art brings richness to a community and I am pleased to have a chance to contribute in some small way to this richness.

Kathleen Wiechelman (joined 2013) Kathleen has a Bachelor degree in Sociology from Doane College in Nebraska, and a Master degree in Library Science from Emporia State University in Kansas.  She and her husband, David, moved to Ketchikan in 1999.  They have two grown sons, one of whom is a talented multimedia artist and teacher, but that son gained not one ounce of his talent from his parents!  Kathleen is the campus librarian at UAS Ketchikan, and loves to hike, travel, and spend time with family and her dogs.  She feels extremely fortunate to live in a community with such a breadth and depth of artistic, musical and dramatic talent which she can support in a variety of ways.

Anne Margaret Shuham (joined 2013) I was born and raised in Ketchikan, leaving the community several times before returning in the early 1990’s. I have a B.A in Social Welfare from Seattle University1984, a M.A. in Bioethics & Health Policy from Loyola University Chicago 2006 and am in the home stretch of a Doctorate in Bioethics 2014. While I typically do not describe myself as an artist, I am a working metal-smith, weaver and spinner. I love spending time with metal hammers and torches, transforming sterling, copper and gold from wire and sheet into worn objects of adornment.

My interest in serving on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council resides in helping promote and encourage all forms of artistic expression, recognizing this community has many artists from all mediums not yet discovered. I also feel strongly that as a community we capitalize on our best assets, our youth!

Sheila Miller (joined 2013) I was born and raised in Ketchikan.  My earliest experience in the arts was taking ballet lessons from Mrs. K. in the old Norby’s building. During grade school, the only art lesson I recall was drawing trees with charcoal in sixth grade. Fortunately, I had Mr. McPherson as a music teacher for my four years at K-High.  I attended and eventually completed my degree at Oregon State University.  I returned home and taught for KGBSD for 21 years. I relied on the Artist-in-Residence program that allowed me to hire a local artist to provide instruction to my students and was saddened when funds for that program evaporated. Later, the district adopted an art curriculum and purchased Art Attack, a video art instruction series led by an art teacher in San Diego.

Through “art lady”, as I fondly came to call her, I learned art appreciation and techniques along with my young students.  I came to cherish the moments of intense silence and focus when all my K-1 students were lost in their art.  I retired from teaching, took a couple years off, and recently accepted a job with Girl Scouts of Alaska.  The work of KAAHC provides a richness to our community that I’ve been fortunate enough to consume.  I now have the time to give back a little and help move the organization forward.  I love living on our island, boating, fishing, camping, and attending as many art events as possible with my husband, Dale Miller.  I have a daughter and grandson in Missoula, MT. 

Please contact the Arts Council or any Board member to get involved!

Organizational Representatives:

Roy McPherson (Ketchikan Community Concert Band representative).Roy has taught music (band and choir) for 25 years – at the elementary, junior high, high school and college levels. He is co-owner of McPherson Music, and directs three youth bands there. He has been a resident of Ketchikan for 25 years. He is the founding director of the Ketchikan Community Concert Band. He has a Master of Arts in music from Central Michigan University.

Terry O’Hara (First City Players representative) All around good guy!!!

Tom LeCompte (The Monthly Grind representative) Tom has a BA/BS in Elementary Ed. & Physical Ed. Tom has been teaching, coaching and administrating for 28 years. Tom has been one of the producers of The Monthly Grind for 6 years, and has served on the board of First City Players for two years. Hobbies include: reading, surfing (when he can get next to a large body of water), playing music and singing.

Sandy Shepard (Ketchikan Watercolor Society representative). Sandy has been a Ketchikan resident for 28 years. She has been a painter since her teens, with her primary interest in watercolor as well as printmaking and color pencil.

Karen Pitcher (Sam Pitcher Memorial Fund). Karen grew up inMinnesota and moved toKetchikan in 1972. She immediately fell in love withKetchikan , and the friendly, creative people who live here. She was a commercial power troller for 26 years with her husband, Dave. Their son, Sam, spent summers fishing with them from the time he was just a few months old. She has always enjoyed and supported the arts; she personally likes to draw, but she appreciates all forms of the arts. Karen has a Bachelor of Education degree.

Hunter Davis (Old Bar HarborCaledonia Society). What is there to say?

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