A Publication of the Region 2 Arts Council

Vol. 1 No. 3

Jun/Jul ' 01

Carrot on a Stick		R2AC Announces New Executive Director Welcome Terri! The Region 2 Arts Council selected Terri Widman to fill the position of Executive Director. Terri, a graduate of St. Cloud State University, worked for 17 years in non-profit health care management positions in New Mexico. Terri's love of the arts and her desire to see artists grow and the arts flourish in this area is what attracted her to this position. To work in an organization affiliated with the arts has been a long held dream of hers, and she is very excited about serving the region's artists, schools and organizations. Terri's vision for the future will be to continue the excellent programs that are in place at R2AC and to present new program ideas that will further serve, enhance and promote growth and development of the arts in this area. She feels strongly that the arts enrich individuals and communities and help define who we are and where we are going. She is passionate about all of the arts and has been very impressed with the quality of artistic achievement in this area. Terri is also impressed with the level of interest and commitment displayed by the people in this region, a reflection, she feels, on how much art is valued here. Terri looks forward to working with artists and others who are involved in the process of developing artistic opportunities and excellence in this region. Terri plans to be out and about over the summer to meet with people throughout the region, and if you are in the neighborhood, she invites you to stop by R2AC to get acquainted.
Guest Commentary By Barbara A. Smith
I was in eighth grade when I first got excited about writing. Our class was assigned to write an essay for a contests, a carrot on a stick approach to teach us the methods of research, development and polishing of our writing. It worked for me. While I didn't win the contest, the die was cast—I was hooked on writing. Later in high school, I won an essay contest on “What the Constitution Means to Me.” I have been writing, in one form or another, ever since. So it dismayed me to learn recently that so many of our young people are graduating from high school without the ability to write even the most elementary prose. In a public radio report it was stated that colleges must do tutoring and remedial work for many incoming students in order for them to compete their class assignments. Obviously, writing is a fundamental skill needed by all, not just those of us who use it in our professions. I propose that arts groups, service clubs, even churches, sponsor contests where the skills needed later could be learned and practiced, and that the sponsors provide training and mentoring in the techniques needed to become at least minimally proficient. That could include instruction in library and internet use, not taking, interviewing of experts, grammar and syntax, and the development of emotive expression. But the most important contribution would be the encouragement to learn an important skill.	We have numerous contests and training programs for our young people including sports, music, drama, science and beauty. In all of these there is mentoring and coaching that takes place. If we were able to provide that kind of coaching in writing, we could stimulate and develop a skill that is so needed for success in life, especially in a generation where audio communication often takes the place of written, and where complete sentences and paragraphs have given way to half sentences and fuzzy thinking. Not everyone will write the great American novel. But everyone should know how to write well enough to succeed in a culture of ideas and communication. It may be that all they need is a carrot on a stick. Barbara A. Smith is a free lance writer, Editor of Focus Publishing Company and a prolific letter writer. She has lived in the Bemidji area most of her adult life.       GUEST COMMENTARIES are encouraged from artists in the area who have a personal perspective to share. R2AC pays $60 for original articles (limited to 400 words and not previously printed).
Serving Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods & Mahnomen Counties of NorthCentral Minnesota

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If you are interested in the rest of this issue, call us at 751-5447 or 1-800-275-5447 and we will be glad to send a copy to you.