Tallon Receives Kathy Brock Award

The Friends of Art and Music Education of Douglas County (FAME) has named Douglas County Director of Communications and Community Relations Wes Tallon as its 2011 recipient of the Kathy Brock Memorial Award. The award was presented to Tallon on Aug. 2, at the annual Fine Arts Teachers Appreciation Breakfast/pre-term meeting of all fine arts teachers (visual arts, choral, band and drama).

Each year, FAME presents the Kathy Brock Memorial Award to recognize a local education, administrator, or community member who has made significant contributions to the fine arts programs of the Douglas County Schools.

FAME Chairman Sandra Chandler, choral teacher at , stated that Tallon was chosen due to his “continuous commitment to the fine arts and the students of Douglas County."

Tallon has hosted “Concerts in the Courthouse” for 12 years during the Christmas holiday season and in the Spring, so that students in school choruses would have an opportunity to express their talent. School choruses are also featured during “September Saturdays," the largest annual festival in Douglas County.  

For the past seven years, student art has been featured in the Courthouse Art Gallery from January through April of each year, and the art of the visual art teachers has been featured in May of each year–“teaching by example."  Chandler stated that the opportunities created by Tallon have been some of the few that are available in Douglas County for students to exhibit their talent.

Chandler also noted that Tallon attends many school musical and drama productions each year to support the students, and has tirelessly promoted the fine arts programs of the Douglas County School System through his weekly email newsletter, “Douglas County Happenings”, and dctv23, the Douglas County government access cable television channel.

Tallon was presented with an original piece of pottery that was made by FAME co-founder Dr. Dan DeFoor, former visual arts teacher at (now retired), and his name was added to the Award plaque that is displayed in the School System offices.

FAME’s members are teachers, parents and school administrators who believe in the importance of fine arts education. FAME seeks to foster and recognize excellence in the fine arts programs of Douglas County through the sponsorship of the Fine Arts Teachers Appreciation Breakfast, the Douglas County Honor Chorus, and the Douglas County Band.

The Kathy Brock Memorial Award is named for Dr. Kathy Brock, former Director of Curriculum and Instructional Technology for the Douglas County School System, who was a strong supporter of the fine arts curriculum.