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Governance

The affairs of the Charles County Arts Alliance are conducted within the framework of the CCAA bylaws and are under the direction of a volunteer Board of Directors, which consists of three elected officers (President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer), the Immediate Past President, and up to nine appointed members. The Board oversees the planning of annual events and the organization's budget. The President, as Chief Executive Officer, ensures that the orders and resolutions of the Board are carried out and put into effect.

The day to day operations of the CCAA are carried out by an Administrator who is responsible for such things as producing interim and final reports to county and state agencies, writing and designing special publications and the Arts Insider newsletter, providing content to the CCAA webmaster, handling general publicity, and coordinating exhibiting artists, special events, and volunteer assistance.

 

 

CCAA Board of Directors and Staff
FY 2009

 
The CCAA Board of Directors is comprised of 3 elected officers (President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer), the Immediate Past President, and up to 9 appointed members.
 

Executive Committee:

 

President

Vice President


Secretary/Treasurer

 


Diane Rausch

John O' Loughlin

Cindy Johnson


 
  Other Board Members:  
 

 

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

 

 

 

Sue Belmore

Pete Dibona

Bill Adams

Roy Jenkins

Gale Kladitis

Lillian Pailen

Robert Rausch

Meg Romero

 

 

Staff:

  Interim Administrator   Ashlee Williams

 

Diane Rausch, President
Diane Rausch is a native of Charles County, and has been involved in the arts all her life as an avocation. She plays clarinet and bassoon, sings as an alto chorister, and has been a nonprofit community leader for over two decades. She is the Co-Founder/Past President of the Southern Maryland Concert Band, Founder/Past President of the Friends of Old Waldorf School Foundation, and Co-Founder/President of the Charles County Arts Alliance (CCAA). A CCAA member continuously since its inception in 1987, Diane has been a strong public advocate for the arts, testifying before the Charles County Commissioners, the Maryland State Senate, and Maryland House of Delegates. As a member of Americans for the Arts, she also has advocated for the arts at the national level, participating in hearings before the U.S. Congress. Working closely with CCAA members and many other arts stakeholders in Charles County, she spearheaded efforts over a three-year period to produce the first-ever long-term strategic plan for the arts in Charles County, Arts Vision 2020. She presented this report to the Charles County Commissioners in a public meeting in July 2008. It was very well received, and implementation efforts have begun. She received her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her M.A. from East Carolina University, both in International Relations. She has enjoyed a 30-year Federal career and is a member of the Senior Executive Service at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

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John O’Loughlin, Vice President
John O’Loughlin is a musician, bandleader, actor, and writer from Cobb Island. He plays trombone, fiddle, pennywhistle, guitar, mandolin, recorder, bandurria, txistu, fife, harmonica, piano, viola, flugelhorn, and euphonium. John also composes music and sings. He co-produces the annual Mid-Winter Ball for the Jude House, and is its current Board President. He lives with his wife, Marcia Keeth, and their cat Biscuit and new dog Tess, who enjoys singing along with John’s vocal exercises. This summer, John will be traveling to Viterbo, Italy, to sing the part of Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata at the International Lyric Academy.

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Cindy Johnson, Secretary/Treasurer
Cindy Johnson has served on the Board of Directors for the Charles County Arts Alliance for the past 10 years and has served as Secretary/Treasurer for many years. Cindy has been the Chair for the annual River Artsfest, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, and also serves as a member of the Budget and Finance Committee. Her willingness to continue to serve on the Board makes her an ideal candidate to handle the day-to-day financial transactions for the CCAA.

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Sue Belmore
Sue Belmore has lived in Charles County for over 25 years. Sue is an Arts Educator, presently teaching at T.C. Martin Elementary School in Bryantown, and has a budding Mural Business as well - B & B Murals ‘n More. She enjoys painting watercolors when there is spare time, is a long time member of the Port Tobacco Players, and also takes tap dancing lessons. Sue has been a member of the CCAA since 1983, and has served twice as Vice President, and many years as a member of the Board. Also, she is the “mother” of the three-dimensional CCAA mascot, Artsy. Sue lives in Bel Alton with husband, Glenn Belmore (who keeps her busy with the Charles County Fair), and their two grown children, Sean, 21, and Anna, 19.

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Pete DiBona
Pete DiBona’s degrees are in physics, but he has spent most of his professional career in energetic materials (explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, etc.) applications in weapons. He works as a Systems Safety Engineer for BAE Systems. Pete joined the CCAA Board of Directors in 2008. His artistic skills are in trumpet performance in the Southern Maryland Concert Band, Southern Maryland Swing Band, and a brass ensemble at his church. He and his wife Marilyn are “empty-nesters,” with four children sprinkled around the country.

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Bill Adams

Bill Adams graduated from Bradley University with a double major in P.E. and History. In the educational realm, Bill has been a Teacher, Coach, Athletic Director, and Administrator. He performed Bluegrass Music professionally, and plays 5-string banjo, upright string bass, and guitar. Bill shares his love of music with the community. He produces a concert series, held at Grace Brethren Church, that features Bluegrass, Southern Gospel and Blues that occurs at least 3 times a year. Bill says, “I am excited about helping with the Charles County Arts Alliance.”

 

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Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins is the Orchestra Director at Mattawoman and Matthew Henson Middle Schools in the Charles Count Public Schools, and former Band Director at Thomas Stone High School, and General Smallwood and Mattawoman Middle Schools. He holds degrees from Duquesne University, Temple University, and the University of Maryland. Roy has represented Charles County in a summer teacher exchange program with Bunkyo University (Koshigaya prefecture, Tokyo, Japan). Roy served as brass and percussion coach for the Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra, and as chairperson of their State Orchestra Festival for three years. He was Co-Founder of the Charles County Youth Orchestra in 1988, and has been its conductor since its creation. In his spare time, he performs as bass trombonist with the Calvert Dance Band (Prince Fredrick, MD), and other local groups. Roy and his wife Kathy have served as volunteer drivers on the summer tours of the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps (San Antonio, TX) since 1998.
 
Gale Kladitis
Gale Kladitis is a Retired Comptroller and CFO for a Federal Contracts Firm and her husband Sam, is a retired Art Instructor for Fairfax County. Gale has been a member of the previous Charles County Arts Council, and the CCAA since 1979. Her service to the community includes President for three years of the Chesa-Potomac Chapter of Sweet Adelines, Chairperson for Special Olympics, member of the Greater Waldorf Jaycees, and member of the Charles County Master Gardener Program.
 
Lillian Pailen
Lillian Pailen has over 30 years of experience in arts education. Her doctorate, from George Mason University, is in Community College Education. Previously, Lillian has served as Coordinator of General and Choral Music in the Montgomery County Public School System; Fine and Performing Arts Specialist for County Public Schools; Department Chair and Professor in the Fine Arts and Humanities Department of the College of Southern Maryland; and as music teacher for the District of Columbia Public Schools. Lillian has served as a reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination grants program, and the National Endowment for the Arts’ Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth grant awards program. She was the Charles County Supervisors’ Representative to the Maryland Music Educators Association, Co-director of Performing Arts Center’s Council of Metropolitan Arts Supervisors, and a panelist for the Maryland State Arts Council’s Community Arts Development program. Lillian currently serves on the State Superintendent’s Fine Arts Education Advisory Panel and Steering Committee, and the advisory board for Young Audiences of Maryland’s Teaching Artists Institute.
 
Robert Rausch
Bob Rausch is the founder of the Charles County Arts Alliance, and has been a member continuously since 1987. During this time, he has served in various capacities on the Board of Directors as President, Past-President and Treasurer for a total of 18 of those years. He is also a co-founder and past Board member of the Friends of Old Waldorf School Foundation; a past conductor and past Board member of the Southern Maryland Concert Band; and co-founder and past Music Director of the Maryland Moravian Summer Band Camp. A Nationally Registered Music Educator, Bob retired in 2007 after teaching at the elementary, middle and high school levels in Maryland for 29 years. He spent the last 17 years teaching instrumental, choral and orchestral music at Milton Somers Middle School in La Plata, MD, and has served as choir director in various churches over the years. He received his B.M. in Music Education from East Carolina University, and completed postgraduate work at Peabody Conservatory, West Chester University, George Mason University, and the University of Maryland. He lives in Waldorf with his wife Diane and his two Dalmatian sons, Kasper and Jasper.
 
Meg Romero
Meg Romero is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania, and has been residing in Southern Maryland since 1998. She is currently employed by Charles County Government as the Nanjemoy Community Center Coordinator. Ms. Romero plans, schedules and implements many programs and events for the Center, such as the Nanjemoy Heritage Day, and a murder mystery dinner theater. Meg has had a lifelong interest in the arts. Beginning with music and art lessons as a child, she is at present is learning how to make stained glass, and enjoys attending concerts and Port Tobacco Players performances. Meg resides in La Plata with her husband Rob and five year old son Matthew, whom is introducing her to the arts by taking him to concerts and museums.
 
Ashlee Williams, Interim Administrator
Ashlee Williams is an illustrator and a recent graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. She admires artists of the Golden Age of illustration such as N.C. Wyeth, Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, and others, as well as a wide range of modern-day artists who specialize in character design and concept art for movies and video games. She works in a variety of styles, subject to the client's brief or her own desire to explore a new visual aesthetic. 

In addition to illustrating, Ashlee also enjoys web design. She codes primarily in CSS & HTML, with the occasional dash of Java or PHP stirred in as the site requires. 

She lives in Waldorf, Md. with her family.

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