2007 Election Results

2007 Officer Election Results

President-elect:

		Joe Stites is currently in his twentieth year of teaching at Western Kentucky University, where his duties include music education classes, the tuba and euphonium studio and departmental administrative responsibilities. Prior to assuming his current duties he served as Associate Director of Bands and the Director of the Big Red Marching Band for eight years. A native of Hopkinsville, he received his Bachelor of Music degree from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and has completed course work for a doctorate in music education from the University of Illinois. His teaching experience includes nine years as a band director in the public schools, seven of them in Kentucky. Stites has been very active within the Kentucky Music Educators Association, serving as a Festival Manager and Festival Commission member for 14 years. He has served on the State Board of Directors as Third District President. He has hosted and co-managed the KMEA State Marching Band Contest 11 times; chaired the KMEA Marching Band Committee for six years; chaired the KMEA Graded Band List committee; and served as a member of the Long Range Planning Committee, chairing the Budget subcommittee and the Office Transition Committee. He has also been active in Phi Beta Mu, serving four years as chair for the Kentucky Bandmasters Hall of Fame and six years on the International Board of Directors. A regular supervisor of student teachers, Stites also serves on KTIP committees and has been involved in planning and assessment workshops for CATS and Teacher Work Samples. He has judged solo & ensemble festivals, All-State auditions, marching band contests and concert band festivals in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. He has conducted clinic and honors bands in Indiana and Kentucky; is active as a teacher, clinician, and performer on the tuba and euphonium; and is the conductor of the WKU Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble. Stites’ performance credentials include his current positions as tubist with the WKU Faculty Brass Quintet and principal tubist with the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra. He has held similar positions with the Bowling Green Western Symphony Orchestra and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared with the Owensboro Symphony Brass Quintet and been a featured soloist with the WKU Wind Ensemble, the University of Illinois Small Symphonic Band, and the Southern Kentucky Concert Band. He studied tuba with Kent Campbell, Dan Perantoni, and Mark Moore. Mr. Stites is a member of several professional and honorary organizations, including Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, Pi Kappa Lambda, Music Educators National Conference, Kentucky Music Educators Association, and the Third District Music Educators Association. He and his wife, Pamela Napier, have two sons, Jim (19) and David (17). Stites describes his experiences with KMEA: “As a high school student I enjoyed participation in KMEA Solo & Ensemble Festivals, Band Festivals, All-State Bands and KMEA Conference performances. As a public school band director I entered my students and groups in all of those same activities. As a university teacher I have been able to give back to this organization by managing band, choir and orchestra festivals, hosting the State Marching Band Championships, and serving in a number of positions within the organization. As a parent I have seen my own sons perform in Solo & Ensemble Festivals, Band Festivals, Choir Festivals, All-State Band, and All-State Choir. KMEA has always been a superb advocate for music education in Kentucky, providing activities and services for music teachers and students. I am proud to be a part of the continuing heritage of the Kentucky Music Educators Association.”

Choral Chair-elect:

		Ryan Marsh is a native of Floyd Knobs, Indiana and attended the University of Louisville School of Music, where he earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree in Choral Music, Piano and Voice, and the Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting. His primary choral conducting study was with Dr. Kent Hatteberg. While at UofL he sang in the Collegiate Chorale and the Cardinal Singers. Mr. Marsh moved to Lexington to be the choral director at Lafayette High School in 2003. He holds professional memberships in ACDA and MENC and regularly attends state, regional, national and international conventions and seminars. Ryan has an interest in choral music from around the world and has attended and sung in international choral competitions. He also serves as an adjudicator for Kentucky Music Educators Association contests and festivals. Ryan is a staff member of the Kentucky Ambassadors of Music European program and represents the Central Kentucky Region. Along with his wife, Tiffany (director of choirs at Western Hills High School, Frankfort) they serve as the Lexington district all-state chorus co-chairs. At Lafayette, Mr. Marsh directs the Lafayette Chorale, Singers, Madrigals, and Men’s Chorus. He is assistant director of the Lafayette Women’s Choir and also teaches AP Music Theory and serves as the music department chair. The Lafayette choirs under his direction consistently receive distinguished ratings at festivals and competitions. The Lafayette Madrigal Singers compete annually in the University of Louisville Margaret Comstock Chamber Choir Competition and have won first place twice. The Lafayette Chorale has performed in concert with the University of Louisville Collegiate Chorale, the University of Kentucky Symphonic Band, and has sung for internationally recognized conductors, Dr. Eph Ehly (Kansas City Conservatory), and Dr. Anton Armstrong (St. Olaf College). The Chorale performed at the Kentucky Music Educators Conference in 2005. Mr. Marsh led Lafayette through the process of becoming a Nationally Recognized Grammy Signature School in 2005.

General Music K-5 Chair-elect:

		Jon M. Oliver is a native of London, Kentucky. He received his Associate of Arts degree with honors from Sue Bennett College, and a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Vocal Performance and Business Administration from Union College. He returned to Union College to complete an additional Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, in Music Education. He received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Eastern Kentucky University. Jon also has graduate hours through the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Institute for International Studies. Much of his Master’s degree was completed in Europe, where he lived for two semesters in Salzburg, Austria, and studied with Cornelia Prestl of the famed Anton Bruckner Konservatorium. After teaching one year in private school, Jon has been serving as a Music Specialist with Laurel County Schools for the past sixteen years. He teaches elementary general music and directs all performing ensembles at Hunter Hills Elementary, where he serves as Department Chair as well as Chair of the Arts and Humanities and Extracurricular Committees. He has also served on the school’s Site-Based Decision Making Council. Jon has coordinated the ArtsCamp portion of the Laurel County school district’s summer G.T. Enrichment Camp for several years. In addition, Jon serves as adjunct professor of music at Union College, teaching the elementary music methods courses. Jon has served numerous times on the KMEA State Conference Planning Committee and has been responsible for bringing such noted clinicians as John Jacobson and Lois Birkenshaw-Fleming to Kentucky. He has served as the Elementary General Music K-5 Chair for District 10. Besides being a member of KMEA/MENC, Jon belongs to the Laurel County Education Association/Upper Cumberland Education Association/KEA/NEA, and serves as his school’s building representative. Jon serves as the Executive Director/Executive Producer of the Miss Kentucky Teen Scholarship Organization, Inc., also serving on the working board of Miss Kentucky. He is a Miss America certified judge and has worked as a choreographer, producer, talent coach, interview coach, and wardrobe consultant for many years. Jon also works with his friend John Jacobson as a volunteer with America Sings! For several years, he has traveled to New York City to work as a production and choreography assistant for the group’s annual performance during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jon also served as a volunteer and officer for more than ten years with the Fine Arts Association of Southeastern Kentucky, Inc., including two-year terms as President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past-President. Jon has received numerous honors and awards, including being named Hunter Hills Elementary Teacher of the Year and Laurel County Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year. He also received a Laurel County Schools Special Recognition Award, was named the London-Laurel County Chamber of Commerce Elementary Teacher of the Year, and received the prestigious Campbellsville University Excellence in Teaching Award. Jon was named the Kentucky Music Educators Association District 10 Elementary Music Teacher of the Year and was a KMEA State Elementary Music Teacher of the Year nominee. He has also been a Kentucky Teacher of the Year and Elementary Teacher of the Year nominee, as well as a Disney Hand National Teacher Award nominee. Jon is the owner of Silver Spoon Formals, a bridal and formal boutique in downtown London. He is active in his church, serving as a Sunday school teacher, sound technician, vocalist, and director of drama and music presentations. He is also active as a vocalist and performer throughout the region. Whenever his schedule allows, Jon loves to travel, and has visited 15 countries on four continents to date. Memorable excursions have included a Millennium trip to Egypt and Israel, which included the opportunity to sing in a choir with Michael Crawford during Dr. Robert Schuller’s Christmas Eve address from the Shepherd’s Fields overlooking Bethlehem.

Elementary/Middle Instrumental Chair-elect:

		Lois U. Wiggins, Band Director at Edythe J. Hayes Middle School in Lexington, has taught instrumental music for 22 years in Kentucky, Tennessee & Indiana. Ms. Wiggins received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Austin Peay State University, a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Georgia, and a Rank I in Secondary Education from Western Kentucky University. Ms. Wiggins has served KMEA as Elementary/Middle School Instrumental Chair, as well as Festival Manager for the Madisonville District. She has also served as All-District Band Chairperson and as a member of the Marching Band Board of Control. She is currently a member of the Lexington Brass Band. Lois U. Wiggins was recognized as “Outstanding Young Band Director in Kentucky” by Phi Beta Mu in 1992, and was selected “Middle School Teacher of the Year” in the Second District KMEA in1996 and 1999. Ms. Wiggins was named KMEA Middle School Teacher of the year in 2000. Lois currently resides in Lexington with her dog, Wynton, and enjoys model railroading, gardening and desktop publishing.

Orchestra Chair-elect:

		Nancy Campbell has taught orchestra, music technology and world music at the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) in Lexington for eleven years. She also teaches at Meadowthorpe Elementary School and serves as a Master Teacher for the University of Kentucky String Project. In addition, she maintains a private viola studio and performs in and coaches chamber ensembles. Nancy currently serves as President of the Kentucky chapter of the American String Teachers Association. She is a contributing author to the Expressions Curriculum published by Alfred Music. Nancy received her Bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and her Master’s from the University of Kentucky, where she is pursuing a Rank I designation in Education. Currently, Nancy is a member of the University of Kentucky Chinese Ensemble as a specialist on erhu (Chinese fiddle).