About GAC


PURPOSE
Grounded in the belief that a dynamic, artistic presence is fundamental to the health and vitality of our community, the mission of the Arts Council is to raise up local art and artists, cultivate arts capacity, and deepen pride of place throughout the Putnam County area.


CONTACT US
P. O. Box 631
Greencastle, IN 46135
treasurer@GreencastleArtsCouncil.org


MEET OUR BOARD
Suzanne Hassler, president

Kathryn Dory, vice president

Cammi Goldman, secretary

Lane Ralph, treasurer

 

 

Kathryn_DoryKathryn Dory

Kathryn Dory was born and raised in Northeast Ohio, and came to Greencastle, IN with her husband, Bill, in 1984 where they raised two children. She has had family living in the Putnam County area since 1828. Kathryn is a thirty-nine-year music educator having taught general music, vocal music and instrumental music. She is very active in the community serving as cantor and choir member at her church; vocal director, music director, actor and board member at the Putnam County Playhouse; member, section leader, and assistant director of Covered Bridge Harmony; and lead singer in the 4G  Barbershop Quartet She’s  a member of the Beta Psi chapter of Kappa Kappa Kappa, the Washburn chapter of the DAR, and PEO.

 

Lavinia Hale

Lavinia, a busy mother of eight, has always carved out time for art. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in visual arts and has kept painting ever since, while also dabbling in papermaking, printmaking and a host of other creative outlets. She and her family made Greencastle their home in 2011 when her husband, Jacob, joined the physics faculty at DePauw University. The gorgeous countryside continually inspires Lavinia. Wave as you drive past her as she scours the area for new places to paint en plein air!

 

B. Suzanne Hassler

Prior to her appointment as the Putnam County Arts and Culture Director, Suzanne served as marketing and publications manager for the DePauw University School of Music and Green Center for the Performing Arts; communications director and development liaison for the UT-Austin School of Music; and as editor-in-chief and coordinator of alumni relations and development for the University of Illinois School of Music at Urbana-Champaign. She received her B.F.A. degree in Art+Design from UIUC and master’s degree in Theatre History and Criticism, with an emphasis in opera, from UT-Austin where she studied with the eminent theatre historian Oscar Brockett. Her graduate thesis research at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University, for work in conjunction with international stage director and designer Robert Wilson and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, included concurrent completion of a professional internship at A.R.T. in marketing and public relations.

Suzanne has been recognized with an Outstanding Service Award by UT-Austin, named the National Critics Association’s Southwest Regional Winner, a City of Austin Cultural Contractor, first runner-up in the national finals of the theatre criticism competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington D.C., a member of the Champaign County Arts and Humanities Council, and a two-time recipient of Illinois Arts Council Grassroots Regrants. In 2010, she received an NEA fellowship, which she completed at Columbia University in New York City under the artistic direction of cultural historian Joseph Horowitz.

 

Lane Ralph

A native Hoosier and an alum of Indiana State University, Lane holds a B.S. degree in political science and a M.P.A. in public administration. He is a retired staff member from the United States Senate, and since 1982, a resident of Greencastle, Indiana. His hobbies include gardening, tractor restoration, traveling and collecting American art pottery and Hoosier painters.

A native Hoosier and an alum of Indiana State University, Lane holds a B.S. degree in political science and a M.P.A. in public administration. He is a retired staff member from the United States Senate, and since 1982, a resident of Greencastle, Indiana. His hobbies include gardening, tractor restoration, traveling and collecting American art pottery and Hoosier painters. Lane joined the board as a founding member of the Greencastle Arts Council in 2014. He is married to Ruth Ralph and has two daughters and four grandchildren.

Fred Vallowe moved to Greencastle several years ago after retiring. HIs experiences as a secondary education instructor and as an elected city government official made him aware at an early stage in his professional life of the importance of the arts in providing for a community’s need to express its collective dreams and aspirations. He is keenly aware of the admonishment in the Book of Proverbs, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish,” and he feels deeply that the arts allow for the creativity needed for any community to not just survive, but to flourish. As a member of the Arts Council, he is dedicated to helping those in his new home find avenues to exercise their creative gifts. An avid gardener, Fred can be found in his garden listening to the birds recite their poetry and watching the flowers make their promises of another spring.

 

Kate Jedele

Kate has called Putnam County her home since 2013.  After graduating from the University of Missouri with a B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences in 2010, she lived in Fort Wayne while working as a zookeeper. There she met her husband Tim, a Greencastle native. They relocated to Putnam County when Tim had the opportunity to join his family’s business. She has always had an appreciation for the arts and feels strongly that highlighting local art and uplifting artists can and does strengthen the community in ways that are beneficial to all. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, their menagerie of pets, being in nature, and creating through insect/taxidermy art and fiber arts.

 

Angie WeeksAngie Wood

Angie is a mother of two children and an educator with over 20 years of experience working with the general community to bring promise to this world. She has provided leadership on many philanthropic committees over the last two decades while living in Greencastle, IN. Angie also helped to plan many special events in the county – including the expansion of First Fridays and bringing more local music to the area. In her spare time, she currently likes to design yarn, weave, sew, run, hike, and network with others. She enjoys working with people and thrives when she is challenged.


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