A new slate of officers for FY 2014 have been elected to the Board of Directors of Red Earth, Inc, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization with a mission to promote American Indian arts and cultures through education, a premier festival, a museum and fine art markets. The officers will oversee the operations of the Red Earth Museum and the additional programs of the organization including the 28th annual Red Earth Festival scheduled June 5-7, 2014 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City.
Elected to the Red Earth Board of Directors for FY 2014 are Lou C. Kerr, chairman of the board; Janet Dyke, president: Leslie Blair, president-elect; G Calvin Sharpe, past president; Beth Barnes Hall, secretary; Kimber Shoop, treasurer; and Teri Stanek, member-at-large.
Oklahoma City civic and community leader Lou C. Kerr has been re-elected Chairman of the Board. She is a founder of the Red Earth Festival and was honored as the 2005 Red Earth Ambassador of the Year. As an active leader in the community and state she has committed her time and expertise to numerous organizations which correspond with her beliefs and expectations. She served as vice president of The Kerr Foundation since 1985. In 1999 she became president and in 2004 her title became president and chair.
Tuttle resident Janet Dyke, Associate Director of AT&T Business Solutions Project Management Office, will serve a second year of a two-year term as president of the Red Earth Board of directors. Dyke has worked in the communications industry more than 30 years. She has served as president of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors and on the Redlands Council of the Girl Scouts.
Leslie Blair, a native of Frederick, OK, will serve a second year of a two-year term as president-elect of the organization. She is currently Public Information Officer for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and previously served in the same capacity at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from Cameron University and currently serves on the Board of the Directors for the Oklahoma County 4-H Foundation. She is a member of the Friends of Hackberry Flatt and the Junior League of Oklahoma City.
G. Calvin Sharpe (Seminole), Oklahoma City, an attorney with Phillips Murrah PC Attorneys at Law, will serve the second of a two-year term as past-president of the Board of Directors. Sharpe is a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law, past chairman of the Oklahoma County Bar Association, graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXIV, and a member of the Board of Directors for Infant Crisis Services.
Oklahoma City resident Beth Barnes Hall is elected secretary of the Board. Hall attended the University of Oklahoma and is currently Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. She was previously an American Airlines Flight Attendant for 26 years. She is active as a volunteer at First Christy Church of Oklahoma City and is a school volunteer and former substitute teacher. She enjoys golf, cooking, reading and snow skiing. She has two children, Alexander and Bennett.
Oklahoma City resident Kimber Shoop is elected treasurer of the Board. He has served as Senior Counsel for Oklahoma Gas & Electric for the past seven years, and was Associate Attorney with Troutman Sanders LLP in Washington D.C. for four years prior to moving back to Oklahoma in 2006. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law and has worked on various political campaigns.
Teri Stanek, Oklahoma City, is elected member-at-large for the Board of Directors. She has been involved with Red Earth as a volunteer or board member for more than 15 years. During her tenure, she has overseen volunteers, worked in various fundraisers, chaired numerous Red Earth Festival committees and served as chairman of the Red Earth 25th Silver Anniversary Gala. She and her husband are retired and enjoy traveling in their motorhome.
Newly elected to the serve on the Red Earth Board of Directors are Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne), Jeff Hargrave (Muscogee/Creek), and David Reynolds (Muscogee/Creek).
Guthrie resident Harvey Pratt is a forensic and Native American artist who has worked more than 40 years in law enforcement, completing thousands of composite drawings and hundreds of soft tissue postmortem reconstructions. He is an award-winning, self-taught artist whose art is in permanent collections including the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Oklahoma. He accepted state appointments to the Oklahoma Arts Council by Governor Frank Keating and Governor Brad Henry.
Jeff Hargrave, of Edmond, is employed by the Whitten Newman Foundation where he is Executive Director for the Native Explorers Foundation. He has a BA from the University of Oklahoma and his JD from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He has a solo law practice and represents veterans pro bono via Pros 4 Vets and deprived children via Oklahoma Lawyers for Children. He is currently a board member for Remote Area Medical of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation.
David Reynolds, Oklahoma City, attended Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. He is owner and founder of Red Eagle Construction specializing in commercial and residential construction, design and consulting in Oklahoma City. He previously worked in Washington DC in the private and public sectors. He is a long-time supporter of Red Earth having served on the Friends Council and Advisory Committee.
Red Earth, Inc. is recognized as the region’s premier organization for advancing the understanding and continuation of Native American traditional and contemporary culture and arts. The Red Earth Museum hosts a diverse and changing schedule of art and historical exhibitions at its location in downtown Oklahoma City. The museum is custodian to a permanent collection of more than 1,400 items of fine art, pottery, basketry, textiles and beadwork.
