As of 9/14/11 we have a board position open. Click here for information.

Meet the Arts Commission Board Members:

Melonie Buchanan Murray
E-mail: mbuchana@mesastate.edu    (Appt 3/09; term ends 2/12)
          Melonie Buchanan Murray is currently a professor of dance at Mesa State College.  She holds a BFA degree in Ballet from Friends University (Wichita, KS) and an MFA degree in Dance from the University of California, Irvine (UCI).  Melonie's performance experience includes dancing as a Radio City Rockette, as a principal dancer with Wichita Ballet Theatre, and as a featured dancer with Musical Theatre of Wichita.   In addition, Melonie sailed the seas with Norwegian Cruise Lines as dance captain for Broadway-style productions, and has performed with several musical theatre companies in Southern California.  Melonie performed as a featured dancer with Francisco Martinez Dance Theatre, a Los Angeles based award-winning modern dance company.  Most recently, she has been seen performing locally with the Beyond Boundaries Dance Collective.
          Melonie has experience teaching all levels of ballet and modern dance at institutions such as Friends University (Wichita, KS), Santa Ana College (Santa Ana, CA), Irvine Valley College (Irvine, CA), South County Classical Ballet (Orange County, CA).  In addition, she continues to guest teach and choreograph for regional ballet companies and summer intensives. Melonie is a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars and the Congress on Research in Dance.

Randall Cupp
E-mail:  randall.d.cupp@usbank.com (Appt 7/07; reappt 3/09; terms ends 2/11)
       Randall Cupp is a Vice President with U.S. Bank as the senior lender for Western Colorado. Randall has been a long time patron and supporter of the arts, along with developing his oil painting talent. He is a former board member and film slection committee member of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which provides  one of the top recognized film festivals.
       He has been a supporter of the creative arts industry as a member and patron, as well as serving on boards of various organizations, to assist in the growth and development of the arts within communities.
       Randall has a BS in Business Administration and BA in Political Science from Truman State University, Kirksville, MO and a Master of Commerce - International Economics from The University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
       Randall is honored to join the Arts Commission to continue supporting the creative arts industry in the Grand Valley.
      
Charity Finnigsmier
E-mail:  charitylk@aol.com (Appt 2/11; terms ends 2/14)
           Charity moved to the Grand Valley two years ago from the Front Range. She is currently the assistant curator for The Western Colorado Center for the Arts through the AmeriCorps program. Charity has always had a passion for the arts whether it was through dance, playing in the symphony, or working on a canvas.
           She holds a BA from Colroado State University with an emphasis in Art History and a minor in Religious Studies. Before moving to Grand Junction she worked for the City of Fort Collins with the Visual Arts Department at the Lincoln Center, a visual arts, performing arts and conference facility and assisted with the city's public art board. In her spare time Charity enjoys gardening, volunteering with her church, being outdoors, printmaking, and being with family. Charity is honored and very excited to be serving on the Commission on Arts and Culture.

Gisela Flanigan
E-mail:  brightmindspiano@msn.com (Appt 7/07; reappt 3/09; terms ends 2/12)
          Dr. Gisela Flanigan, pianist, is an experienced soloist and collaborative chamber musician. She has performed in Europe, the United States, and South America, and has presented guest artist recitals at DePaul University (Chicago) and Drake University. She has presented master-classes in both North and South America, is in demand as an adjudicator for Music Teachers National Association events, and has given lecture-recital presentations on behalf of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Educational Department. As a scholar she was invited to lecture at the International Conference of the College Music Society in Spain. 
          Dr. Flanigan holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of North Texas, where she was awarded the Mary M. Morgan Award for Excellence in Music Performance, a distinction granted to the best doctoral student in the performance area. After teaching piano privately for over 25 years and relocating to Grand Junction, Dr. Flanigan established the Bright Minds Music Studio. She has served on the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture since 2007.

Jeanine Howe
E-mail: jhowe@mesastate.edu    (Appt 11/05; reappt 3/09; term ends 2/12)
          Jeanine Howe is a professional director, actress, administrator, playwright, and designer. Jeanine has a BFA in performance from Otterbein College and a MFA in Directing from Carnegie-Mellon's Professional Directing program. A transplant from back east, she has directed over 120 productions at 50 theatre companies, served as Artistic Director for three theatre companies, and also been the Executive Director for the Columbia Gorge Arts and Culture Council. 
          Jeanine has taught at Universities across the country including Carnegie-Mellon, Temple, University of PA, and now, Mesa State College where she was recently nominated for Distinguished Faculty of the Year. She serves as a consultant and is on various boards around the country, and is honored to be a Commissioner for the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture. 
  
Diane Kress Hower
E-mail: dkhower@bresnan.net (Appt. 2/11; term ends 2/14
          Diane Kress Hower is an author/illustrator/photographer and currently works for Mesa County School District 51. She holds a bachelors degree from Portland State University in sculpture and art education. Diane's master's degree is from Maryhurst University in counseling - art therapy.  
        To the Arts and Culture Commission, Diane brings her diverse and lengthy background in art and working with the public after living 24 years in the Pacific Northwest. She has served in the public sector as an art teacher, art therapist, counselor, and a consultant while persuing her own creativity. Diane is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Pens & Brushes, and Western Colorado Botanical Gardens. Diane is honored to be appointed and serve on the Commission.

Lancer J. Livermont
E-mail: lancer@llaarch.com    (Appt 4/10; term ends 2/11)
          Lancer Livermont, AIA, LEED AP, has 15 years of experience in the architecture profession. He is founder and manager of LLa architecture, Ltd., a professional architecture and design firm based in Grand Junction. Before starting LLa, he developed his skills at a number of professional design firms around the country including firms in Colorado, Arkansas & Texas. Most notably, he had the honor of working with architect and AIA Gold Medalist, Euine Fay Jones in Fayetteville, Arkansas. During his tenure in Fay's office, Lancer was exposed to what are considered some of the most highly regarded works of architecture in America.
          Lancer studied architecture and urbanism at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and University of Brighton in Brighton, England. He holds a professional Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arkansas where he also received the Edward Durell Stone Medal for design. 
         More recently, Lancer's design work has been exhibited at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, AZ and the Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction. He currently serves on the Board of the Colorado West Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture.

Kat Rhein
E-mail:   kathy.rhein@vectrabank.com  (Appt 12/05; reappt 2/09; term ends 2/12)
          Kat Rhein has been involved in the arts for many years.  Growing up she spent most of her time around Linda Mason Lyle, an artist who painted General Patton and many other notable personalities.  She became involved in theater by the age of 17 and performed in innumerable plays and musicals.  She was a professional actress in Hollywood doing several films and many TV commercials.  After moving to Colorado she met her husband Jason - in the theater, of course - and they have been married 14 years.  
          Kat has served on the Arts Commission since 2005, and as the Committee Chair in 2008 and 2009-2010.  She is a great supporter of the arts in all its many forms, and loves being in Grand Junction (since 1998) because it is a community that fosters the arts and arts organizations.  Kat is the Assistant Vice President Branch Manager at Vectra Bank Colorado at 2394 Patterson Road in Grand Junction.

   Jeptha Sheene
  Email: jsheene@earthlink.net  (Appt. 2/11; term ends 2/13)
     Jeptha Sheene has for nine years been a residential and commercial real-estate broker affiliated with RE/MAX  4000 Inc. in Grand Junction, Colorado. After much training in ballet, modern and jazz dance, she studied painting and commercial art at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, Colorado and later, fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. 
     In New York and San Francisco, Jeptha worked for over a decade in national sales and management in the fashion industry. She also enjoyed a brief summer acting engagement, in a multi-state tour as the lead villainess of a musical melodrama.
     Jeptha's mother, Jean Roesler, also a Grand Junction resident, is a fiber-artist and modern quilter who imparted to Jeptha a love of high artistry in crafts at an early age.  And of the importance of the arts and culture to everyday life, a value in which Jeptha wholeheartedly believes.   Accordingly, she is delighted, and honored, to join the Arts Commission, to help further their mission, supporting Grand Valley's broad artistic and culture vitality.