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SHSU Update For Week Of April 22
- Twenty-Fifth Folk Festival To Bring 1800s Alive
- Warden To Discuss Rising Through Ranks In Corrections
- Relay For Life To ‘Rock’ Out For Cancer
- Theatre To Share Tale Of ‘Once Upon A Mattress’
- Music Groups To Bring ‘Fire,’ ‘Treble’
- Percussionists To Celebrate Composers With Concerts
- Ballinger Named President Of Professional Golf Association
- College Gives 67 Presentations At Canadian Conference
- CMIT Project Coordinator Brings Passion for Training
- Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
- Submit Update Items Here
Twenty-Fifth Folk Festival To Bring 1800s Alive
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum grounds will transform into 1800s Huntsville to show visitors how the Houston family lived during the 25th annual Gen. Sam Houston Folk Festival Friday and Saturday (April 27-28).
More than 15,000 visitors are anticipated to learn about life during Houston’s days from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The historical event will include live history re-enactors performing vignettes and theatrical interpretations, costumed historical characters, folk life demonstrations, arts and crafts, dulcimer workshops, live acoustic music, a living history theatre and ethnic foods.
In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to see programs by Raven’s Rangers (formerly the New Army of the Republic of Texas), Cane Island Volunteers, and Citizen Soldier Camp; and learn about Texas history by storytellers representing the state’s significant leaders.
Ethnic groups including well-known regional musicians, dancers and entertainers also will showcase Texas’s diverse heritage.
Other activities include touring buildings related to Houston’s life, juried activities, ethnic foods and refreshments, and musical entertainment.
“This year’s festival is jam-packed with a variety of entertainment, especially on Saturday with the No Foolin’ String Band to the Gillette Brothers,” said Megan Buro, museum marketing coordinator. “There will be several stages around the grounds.
“A highlight of the festival will be on Saturday with the performance of Una Grace Nash’s historic drama ‘Gone To Texas,’ which honors the life of Sam Houston,” she said.
The Gen. Sam Houston Folk Festival was begun in 1988 to increase visitors’ understanding and appreciation for Texas history, the life of Sam Houston, and frontier and pioneer heritage.
Since then, the festival has accommodated over 230,000 visitors from Texas, surrounding states and several foreign countries.
Friday’s admission is $3 for all ages. Saturday’s admission is $8 for adults, $3 for children ages 5-12 and free for children under 5 years old. Group rates are also available.
For more information, call the Sam Houston Memorial Museum at 936.294.1832, and for a complete entertainment lineup, visit http://www.samhouston.memorial.museum/FolkFestN/index.shtml.
Warden To Discuss Rising Through Ranks In Corrections
Billy D. Hirsch made his career in the Texas state prison system, working his way from a corrections officer at the Estelle Unit, to assistant warden of Death Row, and to senior warden of the Goree Unit in Huntsville.
Hirsch, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Sam Houston State University, will talk about career opportunities available at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in security, classification, industry and agriculture at the College of Criminal Justice’s Real Talk w/CJ on Tuesday (April 24). He also will discuss what it takes to operate a prison in Texas.
“It should be an eye-opening experience about what corrections is,” Hirsch said. “Our mission is to protect the public and rehabilitate offenders.”
Hirsch has served for 18 months as senior warden at the Goree Unit, which houses 1,321 male and female inmates. The diverse unit, located four miles from downtown Huntsville, houses a sex offender treatment unit, a dynamic risk assessment program for sex offenders, an immigration and customs enforcement program, an inmate trustee program that serves TDCJ administrative offices and local warehouses, a female transitions unit, and a horse breeding program for TDCJ horses.
“Every horse used at TDCJ was bred and born here,” Hirsch said.
Hirsch began his career at the Estelle Unit, working there for 15 years, during which time he was promoted to lieutenant. As a captain, he was transferred to the Ferguson Unit in Midway, where he worked in administrative segregation.
In 2002, he was promoted to major and went to the Eastham Unit in Lovelady, where his oversaw the agricultural unit, including cattle, swine and crops.
“We produce our own food,” said Hirsch. “We are the food sources for our own facility.”
In 2005, he was transferred to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, where he was assigned as assistant warden for Death Row. In that position, he had to deal with many issues, including protests, the execution process, and contraband interdiction.
Hirsch oversees all the operations of the Goree Unit. In addition to the traditional male inmates, the facility houses an average of 50 female inmates on their way to other facilities. It also is a designated ICE facility, where offenders with immigration status issues are interviewed. A U.S. magistrate also holds court within the facility.
Hirsch received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1999 and his master’s degree in criminal justice leadership and management in 2011.
Relay For Life To ‘Rock’ Out For Cancer
Sam Houston State University will “rock” hope and relay for the American Cancer Society with the annual all-night walk at Bowers Stadium on Friday (May 4).
Relay for Life, a fundraising event to help fight cancer, will be held from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
During the event, individuals or teams walk for 12 hours to “celebrate those who have survived, to remember those who we have lost, and to fight back against the disease,” according to Jessica Gomez, public relations chair for SHSU’s Relay for Life.
“The theme is ‘Hope Rocks!’ It's a music theme,” Gomez said. “We have encouraged teams to decorate their campsites as different bands or a certain decades in music. We will also be having activities that center around the theme, including an event called ‘Relay Idol.’ It will basically be a karaoke event. We will also be having an air band competition.”
Other planned activities include a tug o' war competition, human Tic Tac Toe, a scavenger hunt, and a “Miss Relay” competition.
The event will also consist of a luminaria ceremony, which can be purchased for $5 in honor or memory of those with cancer.
This year’s fundraising goal is $45,000, $5,000 more than last year’s met goal, according to Gomez.
“I tell people constantly Relay for Life is probably one of the best events I have ever been a part of. There are not many events where you see everyone from all kinds of different backgrounds and organizations coming together to help fight this terrible disease,” Gomez said. “It's just really amazing to see.
“We are all in this together. Everyone knows someone with cancer or has had to deal with cancer in some way,” she said. “We can all come together and help fight the fight against cancer, and this is what the event is really all about.”
Participants and teams can sign up at the event; computer stations will be available at Bowers Stadium for registration.
“Last year we had 86 teams registered and more than 1,100 participants,” Gomez said. “Currently, we have 39 teams signed up for this year’s event.”
For more information, contact Relay for Life chair Kessler McLaughlin at shsu.rfl@gmail.com or 832.381.8288, or visit the SHSU relay website at http://Relayforlife.org/samhoustontx.
Theatre To Share Tale Of ‘Once Upon A Mattress’
The Sam Houston State University Department of Theatre and Dance will present “Once Upon A Mattress,” based on the book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer, Wednesday through Saturday (April 25-28).
Show times will be at 8 p.m. each evening, with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee, in the University Theatre Center’s Erica Starr Theatre.
Directed by SHSU theatre faculty member Leslie Swackhamer, “Once Upon A Mattress” is the award-winning musical based on the story of “The Princess and the Pea.”
Prince Dauntless (Jonathan Teverbaugh) wants desperately to marry, but unfortunately, his controlling mother, Queen Aggravain (Sarah Myers), has sent home the last 12 hopefuls with a consolation prize.
As Winnifred (Katelyn Johnson), the outspoken contender who immediately captures Dauntless’s love and Aggravain’s hate, enters, a cluster of other quirky characters join the story and send this wacky version of “The Princess and the Pea” into a tailspin.
The cast includes musical theatre majors George Garcia, Kelley Peters, Garrett Line, Max Pierce, Thomas Williams, Seth Cunningham, Cameron Davis, Laura Dubose, Gustavo Gomez, Traci Lee, Tyler Martin, Melissa Molano, Chelsea Nance, Rustin Pool, Daniel Rosales, Erik Saul, Christian Quiroga, Tara Shackelford and Dillon Wright.
The cast also includes theatre majors Trent O’Neil, Kayla Baur, Shelby Bray, Hilary Bryant, Erique Cavasos, Amanda Parker and Adrienne Whitaker.
Designers include SHSU theatre faculty members Liz Freese, set; Kristina Hanssen, costumes; and Laura Avery, sound; as well as senior theatre major Jeff Lindquist, lighting.
Theatre faculty member Jacob Carr is music director, and dance faculty member Jonathan Charles is choreographer.
Senior theatre major Michael Madro is stage manager.
Tickets are $17 for general admission and $14 for SHSU students and senior citizens. Group rates are available.
For more information, call the University Theatre Center Box Office at 936.294.1339.
Music Groups To Bring ‘Fire,’ ‘Treble’
The School of Music will begin to wind down the semester with a series of performances by faculty and students beginning Monday (April 23).
The “Fire, Brimstone, and Romanticism: an Evening of Music with The Kolonneh Chamber Players,” featuring the faculty members of the Native American-inspired group, concert will begin the week’s recitals at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
The ensemble will present “a varied repertoire that will take listeners on a journey through the great Russian lyricism of Borodin’s music, the passionate and fiery style of Italian composer Nicolo Paganini, and the energetic Spanish Flamenco style of Boccherini’s Fandango for guitar and string quartet,” said Javier Pinell, associate professor of violin and coordinator of string studies.
“The ensemble is named after the Native American name given to the great Texas hero Sam Houston,” he said.
The Kolonneh Chamber Players include Pinell and Naomi Gjevre, violins; Daniel Saenz, cello; Rene Salazar, viola; and Alejandro Montiel, guitar.
Admission is free.
On Sunday (April 29) the “Treble Makers” will perform a recital of clarinet quartet literature at 4 p.m. in the GPAC Recital Hall.
The varied repertoire includes compositions by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), Gordon Jacob (1895-1984), Daniel Dorff (b. 1956) and Mary Jeanne van Appledorn (b.1927), according to Tricia Card, clarinet professor.
The student quartet is comprised of clarinetists Stefan Murat, Cori Reebenacker and Bethany Lee, with Hannah Colvin on bass clarinet.
The recital is free and open to the public.
For more information, or for a complete listing of the week’s musical events, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Percussionists To Celebrate Composers With Concerts
SHSU percussion groups and a professor will fill the weekend with the beat of their drums, highlighting a composer and a work commissioned for the university, beginning Saturday (April 28).
The Sam Houston Percussion Group and University Percussion Ensemble will present a “Concert Retrospective: John Cage at 100,” marking the 100th birthday of the celebrated composer, that day at 4 p.m. in the GPAC Concert Hall.
“The show will consist of a selection of his percussion works from 1935-1987,” said John Lane, assistant professor and director of percussion studies. “The end of the program is going to be a so-called ‘MUSICIRCUS,’ in which several of the compositions will be played simultaneously.
nstruments include amplified cactus, brake drums, pipes, wood planks, water sounds, etc. It is going to be very fun and unusual.”
On Sunday (April 29), Lane will present the world premier of Peter Garland's "The Landscape Scrolls," a concert-length work for percussion solo, at 7:30 p.m. in the GPAC Concert Hall.
"The Landscape Scrolls" was commissioned and written for Lane and SHSU through the Enhancement Research Grant, according to Lane.
“The work is loosely inspired by the idea of 19th century Chinese landscape paintings,” Lane said. “Instead of lush mountain scenery, Garland reflects on his own backyard in rural Maine.
“The full work is concert length and traces the outline of a day,” he said. “Each movement is a monochromatic study, more about resonance and space than melody or harmony: early morning mist (chimes), daybreak (chinese drums), afternoon (the sounds of a frog pond; for nine rice bowls), evening (flickering fireflies; for triangles), and starry night (glockenspiel).
onochromatic colors for each movement and moto perpetuo (perpetual motion) musical settings bring to mind the vibrantly stoic color field paintings of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko.”
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Ballinger Named President Of Professional Golf Association
Rich Ballinger, director of SHSU’s PGA golf management program and Raven Nest Golf operations, has been elected by his peers to serve a two-year term as president of the PGA Golf Management Association.
As president, Ballinger will serve as a liaison between the 20 PGA golf management universities and the PGA of America.
“The PGMEA exists to provide academic and professional leadership, creativity, support and input for the 20 PGA accredited universities and the PGA of America,” Ballinger said. “The organization seeks to provide a unified voice to the PGA of America when discussing pertinent issues related to PGA education and membership.
“I feel very honored to be elected into the position by my peers who entrust me in representing them and their schools to the PGA of America,” he said.
Prior to being elected president, Ballinger served a two-year term as PGMEA secretary.
In addition to his work with the PGMEA, Ballinger was named the 2008 Southern Texas PGA Horton Smith Award recipient for outstanding educational service and just recently completed the PGA Master Professional program.
PGA Master Professional is the highest educational designation awarded to a PGA member, with less than 300 PGA Master Professionals in the United States and only 13 in Texas.
“I am currently the only PGA golf management university director to have achieved this status,” Ballinger said.
Among the other professional leadership roles he has participated with are the PGA of America national Apprentice Task Force, which looked at all aspects of the PGA of America’s Apprentice program with recommendations made to its board of directors; the PGA of America national PGA/PGM Task Force, which was charged with updating the content and delivery of the PGA of America’s educational program; and the Southern Texas PGA Golf 2.0 Committee, which focused on assisting Southern Texas PGA professionals with golfer development and retention.
Ballinger is one of three directors in the United States to serve on the PGA’s evaluation and accreditation team that evaluates and accredits PGA golf management universities and also has served as a subject matter expert in business planning for the update of the PGA of America’s educational curriculum.
College Gives 67 Presentations At Canadian Conference
More than 35 delegates representing Sam Houston State University’s College of Education recently presented at the American Education Research Association.
Nineteen faculty members and 16 graduate students presented 67 sessions during the 2012 Annual AERA Meeting, held April 13-17 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
AERA, a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public at its best, according to COE graduate adviser Molly Doughtie.
“Out of all of the thousands of presentations presented only 1,000 papers will be accepted,” she said.
Members presenting from Sam Houston State University included Sharon Alexander, Monika Anderson, Cindy Benge, Dana Bible, Michelle Bledsoe, Genevieve Brown, Brandie Buford, Rebecca Bustamante, Marilyn Butler, Julie Combs, Shelley Cox, Kristin Craft, Magdelena Denham, Stacey Edmonson, Somer Franklin and Sally Heineke.
Also, Jacqueline Ingram, Beverly Irby, Sheila Joyner, Sandra Labby, Fred Lunenburg, Cynthia Martinez-Garcia, George Moore, Jill Morris, Anthony Onwuegbuzie, Mary Robbins, Rebecca Robles-Pina, Chad Rose, John Slate, Nancy Stockall, Sam Sullivan, Pamela Wells, Joan Williams, Robert D. Young and Linda Zientek.
CMIT Project Coordinator Brings Passion for Training
Craig Corder, a longtime trainer for juvenile probation programs, joined the Correctional Management Institute of Texas as a project coordinator, overseeing adult probation and parole and various trainings, including motivational interviewing programs.
“We are very fortunate to have Craig as a member of the CMIT team,” said Christie Davidson, CMIT assistant director. “He has an enormous passion for training that is contagious. We are excited for the possibilities of the future and what we will be able to offer back to the field with Craig’s expertise.”
Corder worked the frontlines of adult parole and juvenile probation at the county and state levels before becoming a trainer for the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and its successor, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. In addition to training juvenile probation officer certification classes for CMIT, he provided motivational training at the state and national levels on such topics as wellness, strength-based employee management, self-development techniques, presentation design and delivery, suicide prevention, and intervention, childhood trauma and the fear response.
“I loved working with juveniles, but one of the things I fell in love with was training,” said Corder. “This is a huge opportunity for me to broaden my horizons, and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Corder began his career as an adult parole officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where he also served as a member of the TDCJ Parole Division Speakers Bureau. He was a juvenile probation officer for Orange County for eight years, with duties including field supervision, intake, grant writing, and special programs implementation.
During his career in the field, Corder placed a strong emphasis on exploring new and innovative programs to assist youth in participating in positive recreational alternatives to delinquent behavior.
At CMIT, Corder will work with programs for adult probation and parole officers and supervisors as well as oversee the Motivational Interviewing Network Training, which is a new way of dealing with offenders to bring about long term changes in their lives and to reduce recidivism.
e also will serve as secretariat of the Texas Association of Drug Court Professionals, a non-profit organization aimed at reducing substance abuse and crime by establishing and funding drugs courts through collaborative community efforts.
Corder also will serve as Southern Regional Field Coordinator for the National Institute of Corrections. This will allow him to network with similar officials in eight to 10 other states to plan project and implement training.
Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
The University Communications Office is now collecting information on campus events for its summer and fall calendar pages.
Departmental calendars or events can be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu or faxed to 294.1834. Please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.
Information collected for the Today@Sam calendar pages, at /calendars/, is used by various media outlets, as well as the Communications Office for news stories and releases.
All information, including story ideas and update items for Today@Sam, should be sent a minimum of a week in advance of the event in order to make necessary contacts and write a story.
To see a full list of the Today@Sam submission guidelines, or to access submission forms for news or feature stories, calendar submissions, or hometown releases, visit /guidelines.html.
For more information, call 936.294.1836.
Submit Update Items Here
In order to assist members of the Sam Houston State University community in publicizing events, the SHSU Communications Office (Today@Sam) is now requesting that students, faculty and staff submit information about events, accomplishments or ideas for feature stories online.
Submission criteria and guidelines, including deadlines, have now been placed online, at /guidelines.html. This information is also accessible through the “Submissions” link in the right-hand navigation on Today@Sam.
From there, those submitting ideas can access forms that will allow them to provide detailed information about their idea, as well as attach event calendars, vitas/resumes or photos, depending on the type of submission.
Ideas submitted to the SHSU Communications Office are directly utilized in several ways: as news stories, “slider” or SHSU home page stories, hometown releases, and on the Today@Sam calendar.
If your submission qualifies for distribution, we will either contact you for more detailed information, or we will edit the information using SHSU/journalistic style and forward the final release to the appropriate media.
All information is verified before release, so please provide complete, accurate and timely information. Please type all responses in appropriate upper and lower cases.
For more information, contact the Communications Office at 936.294.1836 or today@sam.edu.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
April 20, 2012
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Associate Director: Julia May
Manager: Jennifer Gauntt
Located in the 115 Administration Building
Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
