Meet the Board!
Janet M. Allan
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Janet M Allen is a retired attorney and circuit court judge who has served on the GACA board for several years. Her love for the arts began as a child in music, playing the piano, singing and dancing while doing her chores to Motown music. In high school she participated in school plays and received a standing ovation for her one word line in the musical “Annie get your Gun“.
She continued her instruction in dance by taking jazz and ballet lessons through college, law school and beyond. In college she immersed herself in elective arts and art history classes while pursuing her bachelor of arts degree in psychology from the University of Michigan. She comes from a musical family who plays several instruments. In fact, one brother played a gig at a Chicago club where the famous BB King regularly performed. Now in retirement she enjoys gardening, reading, creative writing and storytelling. She believes that Art brings joy to all who participate or spectate and enriches the lives of all in her community. |
Janice Lampert
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Growing up in a big family, Janice was always playfully making something! She received her BS in Art, from Illinois State University, with a concentration in Visual Communications. Her graphic design experience includes advertising design & layout for various newspapers and magazines, and was the Art Director for Denver Business Magazine before moving to Gaylord with her husband Scott. For 8 years she was Creative Director for Gaylord Golf Mecca/Gaylord Tourism Bureau. Turning to Creative Parenting, while raising three children, she brought her creative perspective to various community boards and committees. Janice treasures connection with others, draws inspiration from Nature, and celebrates the artist within us all.
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Carolyn Monarch
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Carolyn Monarch studied art and music in elementary school and learned dimensional drawing and worked with mosaics at a church camp. She started making beaded jewelry in 2000 after taking a class at the GACA arts center. This experience encouraged Monarch to continue to hone her technique that she now applies toward creations of her own beadwork. After retiring from the Michigan Air National Guard in 2001, she moved to Gaylord in 2005 and joined GACA and brought some of her own work to display and sell. She utilizes her computer and general technology skills obtained during her military career, as well as, financial experience to support GACA's mission.
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Jim Bielecki
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Jim Bielecki is a retired State of Michigan DNR Forrester. After retirement, Bielecki, wanted to give back to his community by applying his leadership skills toward endeavors that helped to support his love of photography. He has been a GACA member for more than four years and serves as a board member and the operations committee chair. He is passionate about the arts and believes, “…it is important for the Gaylord area to have organization that encourages individuality and creativity. Be it art, music, theater, etc., all deserve a place in our community and [his] support of GACA helps ensure that.”
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Sheryl Lamarand
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Sheryl Lamarand has a B.S. in ElEd from CMU and an MBA from Wayne State University. Sheryl taught elementary school for a couple of years then moved to Michigan Tech where she served as an Employee Relations Officer for 2 years. From there Sheryl moved to Wayne State for the next 23+ years where she held various administrative positions including Personnel Officer, Risk Management Officer, Human Resources Manager in the Department of Internal Medicine and ending with Administrative Asst Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science. Sheryl then moved to MSU for the next 6 years where she worked as Chief of Staff of the College of Agriculture and Management Analyst on the Enterprise Business Systems Project. She retired from full time employment in 2011 and moved permanently to Gaylord in 2015. Sheryl had been involved with GACA for several years before moving there permanently through her Certified Zentangle Teacher status and previous experience with beadwork. Sheryl remain's passionate about the arts because she has seen first hand how the arts contribute to good mental health and well being as well as fostering a family-like fellowship of creativity. Sheryl's mom and sister have also been actively involved in GACA so she wants to help continue the legacy started more than 50 years ago.
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Sandra Hines
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Sandra was quarantined for 14 days as a young child with Scarlett Fever. She spent her time coloring and tracing and coloring some more. All of her art work had to be burned for health reasons, which was hard for her to understand at the time. But she still loves to draw and paint. She studied ballet and modern dance into adulthood. She sang in the church choir and performed in other singing groups while raising a family in Detroit. She attended Wayne State University, taking English, art history and public speaking classes. Her work experience was mostly in retail sales until she became a licensed insurance agent for Metropolitan Life and Sentry Insurance Co in the mid 70’s as affirmative action became law. Being the first woman to be hired to do a man’s job was exciting and challenging. Learning to work well with the public and alongside men as equals also honed her people skills. When her husband retired early, they moved to Gaylord. Finding GACA has given her a multi- dimensional opportunity for creative and personal growth. She strives to share these opportunities with others thru volunteering, serving as the visual arts chair and sitting on the board. She feels honored to be able to contribute her time and energy to GACA who’s mission is to encourage the development of all of the arts in the community.
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Dan Brown
Board Member/Performing Arts Committee Chair |
Hello, my name is Dan Brown and I am honored to join the Gaylord Arts leadership team. I look forward to applying my skills and experience toward helping Gaylord Arts meet its mission. Dan has a diverse professional background that includes: Safety manager for the mining industry, and founder of the non-profit corporation, Children Bereavement Network. Additionally, he has been involved in performing arts professionally and with the community as an actor, director, and producer. As a board member, his hope is to learn from the members and provide help and support toward fostering and supporting the arts in Gaylord and its surrounding area.
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Heidi Fraser
Board Member/Education Committee Co-Chair |
Hi! I am Heidi Fraser. I am excited to join Gaylord Arts. As a seasoned mental health professional, I have seen firsthand how expressing oneself in the form of art can reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression and art is all around us! We see it in painting, performing, writing, sculpting…even in our own personal style!. I am thrilled to join the board and offer a mental health perspective to further enhance positivity in our community! And even better, my daughter is an amazing artist whom I hope to bring alongside on all the Gaylord Arts events! I am so thankful to have been accepted to work alongside the amazing Gaylord Arts board!
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Ursula Owens
Board Member/Finance Committee
Meet our Staff!
Lisa Marie Tobin
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Lisa Marie Tobin joined GACA's leadership team in August 2020. She has an extensive history of serving business clients, increasing organizational efficiencies, building and retaining staff and volunteer competence. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from Central Michigan University and her MBA from Spring Arbor University where she conducted research on brick and mortar business models in light of technology disruptors. She is passionate about community and all that it represents. A server on a number of local and regional boards and committees. Seeks opportunities to apply skills associated with technology, strategic planning and leadership toward the advancement of Northern Michigan residents through the development of artistic collaborative and strategic initiatives. 
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Jonathan Tobin
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Jonathan Tobin was hired as a part-time employee to fill the role of “Administrative Assistant.” He brings with him technology, marketing and graphic design experience that he gained while working as a Design Manager for a local business. He also has 5+ years in building customer relationships through effective marketing, information dissemination, customer service, administrative, and state of the art technology solutions. He attributes his love for the arts and technology to his time spent in his father’s recording studio growing up. “Having the opportunity to engage with a variety of musicians and learning about the technology that is used in music production really helped to foster my love for creative outlets that are rooted in technology.”
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