The Greene County Schools activities office recently announced the inaugural class of the newly formed Greene County Fine Arts Hall of Fame. This year’s class is highly decorated.
Teresa Lawler – Teresa Lawler served as Jefferson-Scranton’s speech coach from 1995 to 2007. During her time as the speech coach, 94 individual events and 32 large group events were chosen as All-Staters. In 2001 the ensemble acting group “Critics Choice” won the banner as the best performance in that category. Lawler was named to the Iowa High School Speech Association Hall of Fame in 2022 and also was honored with the 2021 NFHS Association Speech, Debate, Theatre Educator Award, a national award in which only 20 people are recognized.
Zach Durlam – Zach Durlam is a 1992 graduate of Jefferson-Scranton. As a high school student Durlam excelled in many areas, particularly music and speech. He was a three-time selection to the Iowa All State Choir and also was selected as an All-State Speech performer in 1992. Durlam has gone on to make music his career as he has spent time as a high school choral director from 1996-2008 before eventually earning his Doctorate of Musical Arts and becoming a director of choral activities and professor of music at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. He has been selected as a guest conductor and speaker for numerous festivals and conferences.
Martin McGinn – Martin McGinn is a 1999 graduate of Jefferson-Scranton. During his high school years McGinn was a two-time member of the Iowa All State Band playing clarinet. He also won numerous outstanding soloist awards at jazz band contests playing saxophone and clarinet. Besides playing music, McGinn was an award-winning composer taking first place twice in the Iowa Composer’s Forum as a junior in 1997 and as a senior the fall of his senior year. After high school, McGinn has pursued his love of music by composing and performing his own compositions under the performance name Art Elliot. He has produced four albums and won the Best Song by Oakland Solo Artist award at the Oaktown Music Festival. He currently resides in Minneapolis where he teaches piano and composition privately.
Shelby (Sievers) Van Norstrand – Shelby Van Norstrand is a 2000 graduate of Jefferson-Scranton and possesses an impressive resume of musical recognition. Van Norstrand was a four-time Iowa All State Band/Orchestra selection as a clarinetist and chosen to be first chair clarinet for the All State Orchestra in 1998 and first chair for the All State Band in 1999. In addition to her accolades in band, Van Norstrand was a multiple time All-State selection in both individual and large group speech. She is currently an associate professor of voice performance at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
1999 East Greene Jazz Band – The 1999 East Greene Jazz under the direction of Todd Woodard became the first State Championship group/team in the history of East Greene. The 1999 band established a winning Jazz Band culture as East Greene would place in the top five at the Iowa Jazz Championships from 1999-2007, winning titles three more times in that span.
Persons who want more information can contact Greene County activities director David Wright at wrightd@greenecounty csd.net
