EDGEFIELD, S.C. ? Mallory Spring of East Fultonham, Ohio, was recognized at her high school awards ceremony as the recipient of the National Wild Turkey Federation's (NWTF) 2014 National Scholarship sponsored by Mossy Oak, surprising both her and a crowd of her peers. The $10,000 scholarship will help Spring pursue a degree in wildlife biology and natural resource management.

Just a few days before learning of her award, Spring enjoyed a successful NWTF youth turkey hunt in Ohio with Eddie Salter and James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., NWTF chief conservation officer. Not a bad week for anyone, especially a 17-year-old high school senior.

"I knew I had received other NWTF scholarships but this one [the national scholarship] came completely out of the blue," said Spring. "I have always been interested in the outdoors and I hope to pass on my knowledge to others as I pursue my degree and continue with the NWTF."

Spring is set to graduate near the top of her class despite a rigorous academic course load and a schedule jam packed with extracurricular activities. Her impressive resume of both school and extra-curricular activities includes:
· Composite Score of 33 on ACT (99% Rank in Ohio and the US)
· 2013 Ohio Delegate to Citizenship Washington Focus
· Muskingum Soil & Water Conservation District Job Shadow
· Ohio Youth Capitol Challenge Ambassador
· 2011 Ohio NWTF Xtreme JAKE of the Year - JAKES member since 2005
· Ohio State 4-H Ambassador
· Ohio Delegate to the National 4-H Congress
· 4-H Shooting Sports Camp Counselor
· 4-H County Medal Awards for leadership, achievement, forestry, community service, citizenship and rifles
· National Archery in the Schools Program - 2013 Ohio State Champion and Overall Tournament Champion

Spring was the recipient of the $1,000 NWTF Ohio scholarship, making her eligible for the national honor. She also received a $250 scholarship from her local chapter, the Y-Bridge Longbeards. To date, the NWTF has contributed more than $4.6 million in scholarships to students making up the next generation of hunters and conservationists.

"I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with Mallory on the Y-Bridge Longbeards Chapter Committee. She is great girl who is fun-loving, vibrant and full of laughter," said Shawn Dickey, NWTF district field supervisor. "It was my pleasure to announce the award and see her peers give her a standing ovation."

For information about the NWTF scholarship program or to download an application, visit http://www.nwtf.org/jakes/scholarship.html.

Branstad appoints Janet Phipps Burkhead Director of Department of Administrative Services, Gerd Clabaugh Director of Iowa Department of Public Health 

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today appointed Janet Phipps Burkhead as the Director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Gerd Clabaugh the Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Phipps had been serving as interim director of DAS since April 8, 2014. Clabaugh had been serving as interim director of IDPH since January 9, 2014.

"I am pleased today to name two individuals with high integrity, invaluable experience and a passion for service as directors of two important departments," said Branstad. "I'm confident that Janet and Gerd will continue their work to ensure the departments they lead operate in an efficient and effective manner to provide exceptional service for the Iowa taxpayers."

The DAS mission is to provide high-quality, affordable infrastructure products and services to Iowa state government customers in a manner that empowers them to provide better service to the citizens of Iowa and support the State of Iowa in achieving economic growth. The formation of DAS is the first and largest endeavor of this kind in the country. DAS has established an alternative to privatization that provides an incentive to employees to drive down the cost of service delivery.

Phipps Burkhead, a resident of Adel, Iowa, is a retired Brigadier General in the Iowa Army National Guard. She earned her undergraduate and Masters of Public Administration from Iowa State University, and her law degree from Drake University. She served as the Director of the Iowa Department of General Services from 1994-1998 and the Michigan Department of Management and Budget from 1998-2001. From 2001-2005, Phipps Burkhead was on active duty with the U.S. Army and attended law school, and from 2005-2014 she worked in the private sector. She began working as DAS General Counsel in February 2014.

IDPH partners with local public health, policymakers, health care providers, business and many others to fulfill its mission of promoting and protecting the health of Iowans.

Clabaugh, a resident of Johnston, Iowa, served as Deputy Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health from August 2011 to January 2014. From 1989-1997, he served as the Director of the Center for Health Policy within the Iowa Department of Public Health.  He held positions in the Iowa Department of Personnel and Iowa Department of Administrative Services between the years of 1997-2003. Clabaugh worked in the private sector from 2007-2011, which included serving as the Director of Operations for the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative.

Director Phipps Burkhead's and Director Clabaugh's appointments are subject to Senate confirmation. A photo of Phipps can be found here. A photo of Clabaugh can be found here.

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MOUNT CARROLL, IL -- Timber Lake Playhouse, the professional summer theatre in Mount Carroll, opened its box office for ticket sales on Monday, May 19. The playhouse entertains over 20,000 ticket buyers each year with a full line-up of shows and events through August. The 53rd Resident Company includes performers and designers from around the country, chosen from auditions in six cities.

TLP's 53rd Season opens with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (June 5-15). Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical for the whole family has become a massive international hit everywhere it plays. Executive Director James Beaudry put his personal choreographic stamp on this new production, featuring Melissa Weyn as The Narrator and Gabe Brown as Joseph, chosen from over 1000 hopefuls around the country.

TLP Hall of Fame Director Chuck Smith returns for a record 13th consecutive year as a guest director for J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, June 19-28. In 1912 England, an Inspector interrupts an engagement party, implicating each person in the apparent suicide of a young woman. But is this inspector really who he claims to be? And is this a whodunnit? or a who didn't do it? John Chase of Mount Morris returns to TLP as the patriarch, Arthur Birling, and three time Jeff Award winning Chicago actress Danielle Brothers comes to TLP for the first time in the role of Sybil Birling.

Brad Lyons, longtime TLP Artistic Director and revered master of the ridiculous, returns to direct at TLP for the first time since 2009's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Lyons will translate Mel Brooks film masterpiece Young Frankenstein (July 3-13) to the stage in this musical adaptation starring some of TLP's best-loved comedians. Cody Jolly and Matt Webb, who were adored as they faced off in The Music Man, Unnecessary Farce and Spamalot last year, team up as Dr. "Frokensteen" and "I-gor." Analisha Santini, who stole the show in Boeing Boeing, returns as Frau Blucher.

American comedy writer Neil Simon takes on the New York society types of the late 1980s in Rumors (July 17-26). Derek Bertelsen returns to direct the comedic mayhem, featuring a slew of our favorites as well as brilliant newcomers Grant Brown and Allison Hunt. Part farce and part side-splitting sitcom, Rumors remains one Simon's funniest scripts.

Les Miserables, the most popular musical of all time comes to TLP for the first time July 31-August 10, and it's packed with guest stars. Matthew Teague Miller (The Spitfire Grill at TLP) spent several years as a performer in the first National Tour of Les Miserables. He returns to TLP to direct the show for our audiences. Special guest star Jason Kraack plays the role of Jean Valjean, one of the most challenging in musical theatre. He has done the role on the first National Tour, and was chosen after an extensive national search.  Jeff Award winning Chicago actor John Leen makes his TLP debut as Inspector Javert. Lexie Plath and Erica Stephan return to TLP as Fantine and Eponine, respectively. Newcomers Caroline Murrah and Nathan Goodrich play the young lovers, Cosette and Marius.

Associate Artistic Director Courtney Crouse directs SHOUT! The Mod Musical (August 14-24) with choreography by James Beaudry. This musical review features of the best songs of the 1960s, including the title song, as well as: Downtown Those Were the Days, These Boots Are Made For Walkin',  To Sir With Love, Wishin' & Hopin', I Only Want To Be With You, and even Goldfinger! Five woman sing out the stories of the 60s to the soundtrack of a generation. Daryn Harrell (Children of Eden, Sweet Charity) returns to TLP as a guest star.

Tickets to TLP's mainstage shows are $23 (Seniors $21 and Students $17). To see each show for only $18.33, you may still because a season subscriber until June 15. Subscriptions are $110.  Beaudry said of the ticket prices, "The generosity of individual donors, corporate sponsors, private foundations, the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, keep Timber Lake Playhouse an essential cultural and economic driver for the Northwest Illinois region. Without their support, every ticket to TLP would cost $35. We thank them for their continued belief in our work."

To purchase tickets, call the box office at 815-244-2035 or visit them at 8215 Black Oak Rd. in Mount Carroll. Tickets may also be purchased online at 815-244-2035

Davenport, Iowa (May 19, 2014) - This Saturday two new fiber art exhibitions will open at the Figge Art Museum. Innovators & Legends: Generations in Textiles and Fiber, organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art with guest curator Geary Jones and a companion exhibition, Local Threads.

Amid the social and artistic upheavals of the 1960s and 70s, artists began using traditional "craft" media to make sculptural and conceptual works that expanded our definition of the visual arts. Since then, new generations of artists have pushed textiles, fiber arts and other forms in even more directions, further blurring the distinction between traditional "craft" and "fine art."

Innovators & Legends: Generations in Textiles and Fiber features more than 70 works of art by over 50 artists from across the country and abroad whose work with fabric, thread and yarn has revolutionized the genre of fiber art. Weaving, knitting, soft sculpture, embroidery, felting and other techniques will be displayed that explore the myriad possibilities inherent in fiber art.

The exhibition casts aside all preconceptions of what is, or is not, fiber art?including Mary Bero's embroidered images, Kay Sekimachi's classical woven wall hangings and Nick Cave's celebrated "Soundsuits," which are wearable sculptures inspired by African dance costumes and created from castoff materials.

The companion exhibition, Local Threads, will feature artists in the Quad Cities region who use fiber and textiles to create vibrant, imaginative artworks. Many-such as Rowen Schussheim-Anderson of Davenport, Mary Merkel-Hess and Astrid Hilger Bennett, both of Iowa City-are nationally and internationally known, and all the artists create compelling pieces that continue the theme of innovation and imagination of the larger exhibition. Other contributing artists include Dawn Wohlford-Metallo of Bettendorf, Amber O'Harrow of Wellman, Tricia Coulson of LeClaire and Carol Coohey of Coralville.

Both exhibitions will be on view through September 7, 2014 and are sponsored by the Iowa Arts Council and Wynne Schafer Interiors.  

Companion Programming:

Members Opening Reception

5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 29

Members are invited to a reception for Innovators & Legends and Local Threads. Light appetizers will be served.

Gallery Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, May 29

Curator and contributing artist Geary Jones will give a special gallery talk about Innovators & Legends.

The Evolution of the Fiber Art Movement Gallery Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, June 5

Artist Rowen Schussheim-Anderson will present an illustrated talk, giving her perspective as an artist and teacher on both exhibitions.

Exhibition Tours

1:30 p.m. Saturdays · June 14, 21, July 19

1:30 p.m. Sundays · June 8, 15, 22, July 13

FREE Family Day 

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, July 12

Kids and their chaperones will weave their way through the galleries, exploring the amazing fiber and textile art on display. The studios will offer hands-on activities and projects inspired by Innovators & Legends and Local Threads as well as snacks and room to play. Sponsored by Wynne Schafer Interiors and the Quad-City Times.

Fiber Art Talks

7 p.m. Thursday, August 14 and September 4

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.