January 25, 2025 • 28 mins
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This podcast episode of 'Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow' features a conversation with Lois Brace, the Executive Director of Presser Arts Center in Mexico, Missouri. The discussion delves into the historical background of Theodore Presser, a musician and composer who founded numerous concert halls across the U.S. The podcast highlights the role of Presser Arts Center in transforming Mexico, Missouri, into a regional arts hub, offering diverse programs ranging from culinary arts to theater. Lois describes upcoming projects, the center's robust growth, and its impact on the community, including initiatives for people with developmental disabilities. She also reflects on the leadership and community support that has been crucial to the center's success.
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Episode Transcript
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Randy (00:04):
Welcome to the Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow podcast,
where we want influencers to beinspired and encouraged to lead
well.
We know you have choices ofpodcasts, so thank you for
joining us today.
Sometimes the best way to kickoff a great conversation is with
some who, what, where, when, whyquestions.
(00:26):
So Why should we care about aguy named Theodore Presser, who
was born nearly 180 years ago?
How can a small Midwestern townof Mexico, Missouri, population
11, 000, destroy the myth thatMissouri is a cultural desert?
(00:47):
Or, whose vision and leadershippropelled Mexico's rise to a
robust arts community?
I'm here today with Lois Brace,she's going to help us answer
these questions.
Lois (00:58):
I am located in Mexico, Missouri and I am the Executive
Director of Presser Arts Center.
I've been here almost 20 years.
Randy (01:07):
Okay, so Presser Arts Center.
Now, There's, there's probablysome history in that name.
Lois (01:14):
Oh, for sure.
Randy (01:15):
Tell me a little bit about that.
Lois (01:16):
Well, Theodore Presser is our namesake that sits on the
top of the building of theoldest part of the building,
which is 100 years old.
And Theodore went through theentire United States planting
presser halls, and he was amusician.
He scrounged up all of his moneyfrom being poverty born, poverty
raised, and um, wrote music.
(01:36):
He was a composer.
Took all of his proceeds that hegained from writing hit songs in
the 1800s, which means, To writea hit song in the 1800s, you
sold a lot of sheet music.
So he took all of his proceedsand invested them into his own
publishing company, which stillexists today in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and it's thePresser Publishing Company.
And all they do is publishcollegiate and high school
(01:59):
chorale, symphonic and woodwind,music.
of printed music.
So if you've ever been in a highschool choir and you look at the
bottom of your sheet music, it'sprobably stamped Presser
Publishing Company.
That's Theodore.
And he planted about 25 totalPresser Halls around the United
States and he would associatehimself with, College of some
(02:22):
religious affiliation.
Some say it's Methodist, but wealso have some outliers of
Baptist colleges that havepresser halls.
And he would ask them, go intothe community and say, Hey, do
you want a concert hall, alegitimate concert hall?
And they would make a decision,yes or no, because he would put
up half the money upfront.
and then relied on the communityto raise the other half.
And that's what happened here in1924 with Hardin College.
(02:45):
So Hardin College was the firstfemale seminary in the state of
Missouri.
And seminary has kind of aconnotation of religious, But in
all reality, Hardin College wasan all female school that was a
finishing school for young,wealthy women.
So people from, women from allover the United States would
come here as a finisher of theirfine arts and skills as women.
(03:08):
And they would learn not justhow to pour tea and coffee or
cook.
They would learn how to run abusiness and those businesses
were all over the United States.
They were married to verywealthy men, men from all over
would come to Mexico, Missourifor their parade of, of ladies.
And they would choose some oftheir wives from those parades
(03:29):
and Oftentimes, as the timeframe would allow, those men
were older, gentlemen, single,and the women were young ladies,
like 18, 19, some even youngerthan that.
And so those men, when they diedoff, those women took over those
businesses and they ran them.
So they were very astute, verywell educated.
Affluent although there weresome scholarships for some young
(03:51):
ladies.
Most of them were from wealthyfamilies In 1932, the college,
Hardin College, closed its doorsto the public, because we had a
couple of dormitories burned tothe ground, and of course the
depression hit, and they justcouldn't make ends meet.
So the property, at that timegot parceled off into some
residential areas that aresurrounding us right now.
(04:12):
And then what's left remainingcurrently is nine acres, nine
acre block, and it containsRichardson Hall, Presser Hall,
and Hardin Gym.
And those, that property, endedup being, absorbed by the school
district.
They just kind of took it overand started making use of it.
And in 2012, Presser, boardmembers took over the ownership
(04:34):
that we bought it outright fromthe school district in 2012.
And now we are Presser ArtsCenter.
Our legal name is now PresserArts Center.
Randy (04:43):
Awesome.
So very interesting history.
Great.
Story of a forward thinkinggentleman a long time ago and
we're still feeling the resultsof that today.
Lois (04:52):
Yes
Randy (04:52):
Being a resident of mexico, what I see press are
doing for the community isamazing for a community this
size
Lois (04:58):
True,
Randy (04:59):
so give us a little bit about some of the programming
that's happening now and reallyconcentrate on on What you're
really excited about what'swhat's coming in 2025 and sure
and then hop into what what thatlonger term vision looks like
for presser, of
Lois (05:14):
course the We offer everything that the word art can
contain in one's mind.
So we have culinary arts martialarts fine arts, which can into a
lot of subcategories like finepainting, acrylic, oil and
watercolor, and ceramics andwheel throwing, jewelry making,
stained glass, fusion glass, allkinds of, artistic endeavors,
(05:37):
anything creative we have ourhands dabbling into it.
We have, a theater, of course,that we have two theaters in the
building, a black box theaterand a main stage theater, a main
stage theater houses.
About 821 seats, so it's a verylarge house.
And then our black box theateris flexible, so it can seat as
many as 200 and as little as 50,you know, for a production.
(06:01):
And it is flexible, it's one ofthe best investments we've made
in our new addition.
We have classrooms, we have anew project, um, that's, Just
started in 2024, and we havesecured almost all of our money
for it.
And we hope to put a shovel inthe ground in March of 2025 to
create that addition.
And it is a classroom that'sextremely flexible.
(06:22):
It's a 5, 000 square foot space.
The classroom itself will housethe community choir, the screen,
screen room for filmmaking, anda kitchen theater for our
culinary arts program.
And that has been extremelypopular with our adult crowd,
with couples and, all manners ofteenagers wanting to learn how
(06:42):
to cook.
And we have some reallyqualified chefs that teach those
classes.
And then the rest of that newaddition will house a
makerspace, and I'll talk aboutthat And the scene shop and the
ceramic hot part of our classwork.
So some of our classes are,require kilns, like the glass
fusion, and the ceramics, andthat will be housed in the scene
(07:04):
shop corner.
It also is a garage, so we candrive in and, you know, You
know, transport all of ourscenery back and forth from
wherever we get it from.
But that is their new project,and that's the most exciting.
So,
Randy (07:15):
I mean, as I'm sitting here, and, and many people might
know, and, uh, actually, thisactually, Although, we've done
one of these, so far hasdropped, uh, this will probably
be the fourth.
Lois (07:25):
Okay.
Randy (07:26):
People from actually all over the country and, I've had
some listenership in Asia andEurope.
Oh, wow.
And Australia.
So, they may not understand whythis is so special because they
may live in areas.
Let me tell
Lois (07:38):
you why.
Yeah.
Randy (07:39):
Uh, we're Mexico, Missouri.
Just a little over 11, 000.
Lois (07:42):
Yes.
Randy (07:43):
Stuck square in flyover country.
Lois (07:45):
Yes.
Randy (07:46):
So.
Lois (07:46):
So we are no longer, Missouri can no longer be touted
as a cultural desert.
We are it.
So we are a regional artscenter.
We encompass 30 miles of ruralcommunities.
That includes 22 zip codes.
In our area that we serve, andthose rural communities are who
engage with us, so a lot of ourown Mexico residents are
(08:10):
oblivious to what we're doingbecause they're not familiar.
But, and they wonder how we canstay afloat.
Well, it's because they're notthe only support.
It's our outliers, ourcommunities that surround us
that really support Presser.
And there's not another, centerlike ours within, So the one
closest to us that is like us,who we have patterned ourselves
(08:30):
after, is COCA, and that's theCenter of Creative Arts in St.
Louis.
And we've kind of modeled afterthem for a number of years, and
I've worked, closely with them.
that their previous executivedirector, and she has mentored
us and me personally on how todo things in the right way to
accommodate what your communitywants.
And that's what we provide.
We provide to our communities,plural, what they want, not what
(08:53):
they need or what we think theyneed, because we don't know them
like they know themselves.
So we give them what they want,and it's successful with that
formula.
We've had a lot of people thatwonder how we do it, and the
state of Missouri has turnedtheir head and looked at us on
several occasions.
And in 2025, we've beennominated and awarded the
(09:14):
Creative Community Award.
for 2025 from the state ofMissouri.
Randy (09:18):
That's awesome.
Lois (09:18):
I know.
And that's out of the LieutenantGovernor's office.
So it's not just a bunch ofartists getting, you know,
together to determine thisnomination.
It was the state and theMissouri Arts Council.
Randy (09:30):
Sure.
So, I like to kind of try tocross, sectors I, when I'm doing
these interviews.
So you're definitely square inthe arts, but you talk about
this award coming from theLieutenant Governor's Office.
I don't know if you have anyhard numbers, but what's your
gut on, like, economic impactfor a community like Mexico to
have something like this?
Lois (09:48):
Economics is hard to gauge, but I can tell you we did
an analytic study, last year,and from 2019 to 2024, we had
grown, we'd been, we've been ina growth spurt at a level of 883
percent for increase of revenue.
Participation and patronage.
So, taking all those numbersinto account and adding up the
(10:10):
percent of increase is mindboggling.
The arts are not nationwide in agrowth mode.
But we are.
And it's because, I think, a lotof it has It has to do with the,
recovery from COVID and usmaking ourselves well known
during COVID that we are a placethat you can come to for, arts
(10:30):
online.
And we posted daily almostduring COVID.
some of our artists, we would goto their house and film them
from our car and they wouldperform, but I mean, there was a
constant posting.
I think
Randy (10:40):
my daughter did a ukulele performance.
And we
Lois (10:44):
just didn't, didn't let it die.
We just wouldn't let go.
It's like, okay, everybody elseis at home, but that doesn't
mean we have to stay home.
And we got in our cars and wefilmed and we did a lot of,
online.
Items.
And we did, artists, uncoveredand we have artists take videos
of themselves in their homesdoing art.
And then we would share thatwith the world.
But I think that was, part ofthe growth that it put it in the
hands of anybody who wanted tosubmit.
Randy (11:05):
So, part of your mission, or at least, maybe not formal
mission, but obviously what'shappening here at Presser is
this is very accessible toeverybody in this community,
this area.
Lois (11:18):
Accessibility is our new program.
We have a brand new program thatjust launched in November of 24,
and it is in full swing rightnow for 25, and it's called Arts
for All Abilities, and it isfocused on developmental
disabilities.
in that world, they call themconsumers, but here at Presser,
we call them artists andcreators because when they come
(11:40):
here, we give them opportunityfor creating, and a lot of it
has to do with their own selfexpression.
Of course, that's what arts do,but we give them materials that
they can work with.
that limit that expression tosome degree.
So like our first encounter wasa dance, a social dance.
We had over 30 in attendance.
It's grown a lot.
We've encompassed several othercounties that are interested.
(12:01):
So Tim Cruz is the executivedirector for Audrain
Developmental DisabilityServices.
Yes.
And he is partnered with us.
And he was so excited that heinvited me to their board of
directors, and they were soexcited.
Our board of directors isexcited because we've never done
anything like this before.
Randy (12:17):
Absolutely.
And the creators
Lois (12:19):
are so excited.
They can't wait to see it.
to come.
We had them here this morningand they worked on a project
called Dog Dannas and they madebandanas for dogs for the Humane
Society, for the foster programthat the Humane Society
sponsors.
The first project before thatwas a coloring project and they
designed the label that goes onour concession.
So that artist gets credit onthe back of the label for their
artwork in the label.
(12:40):
we're just so excited about thatprogram.
It's escalating already, and wehave four other counties
interested in participating withus.
Randy (12:48):
Lois, as you're talking, I'm very familiar with what you
do, but it always amazes me inthe energy in which you bring to
it and the excitement and thevision.
So what is your backgroundthat's brought you to be able to
lead this?
Because, For me, it's very hardto imagine this happening over
the last 20 years.
Lois (13:07):
Oh, I've lived my life in the arts.
So, yeah,
Randy (13:09):
I can't see this happening without your visionary
leadership.
Lois (13:14):
Well, thanks.
Randy (13:15):
And that takes on sometimes a little different
look in the arts, because it isa little bit different sector
than we often think about.
But tell us what brought youhere, how you got here,
Lois (13:23):
I, I grew up in Russellville, Missouri, which
is, a very remote, section ofmid Missouri.
And we had an incredible bandprogram.
So I grew up as a band geekthrough high school, junior high
and high school.
And that was my life.
I thought I was going to be amusician.
And I was in a band in highschool.
It was, Bluegrass band and theywere called the Country Classics
of Cole County.
Randy (13:44):
Wow.
Yeah.
And I played harmonica.
Is any of that on Spotify oranything?
No,
Lois (13:48):
no, absolutely not.
It has, it has haunted me forseveral years.
But I played harmonica andmandolin.
And that, that, so there we go.
There was that.
So I went off to college to be amusic teacher, and I had to,
learn the hard way that there'ssuch things as theory, music
theory.
That ruined it for me.
I, I couldn't do it.
(14:08):
So, switched majors quite a fewtimes and ended up in theater,
and loved it, because it's allabout performance for me.
And ended up with a degreethere, went off to get a
master's degree in theater.
Theater, again, and then taughtfor several years at the college
level.
Ended up here in Mexico, and Icouldn't have asked for a better
job.
I homeschooled my kids, I havethree kids, and homeschooled
(14:30):
them.
And got finished with that,wonderful endeavor.
It was a wonderful experiencefor me, and for them too,
because they now look back on itwith fondness.
But looking for Sometimes ittakes a while.
Yeah, you know, it takes alittle bit, right?
But they, they, yeah, theyturned out great.
And Then turned my, focus on acareer that I had put on hold
for quite a while, and had I hadmy wildest dreams of a career
(14:52):
position, it would have beenthis one.
And I would have dreamt, youknow, in college that it was at
some metropolitan area.
And here I am.
in this country, in this county,in this little city, and I love
every bit of it.
I would not have accomplished asmuch as I have here if I'd been
anywhere else.
I know that.
Randy (15:09):
So currently there's that phrase that a lot of people will
say, Ask them how they're doingliving the dream.
Lois (15:13):
Yeah,
Randy (15:14):
and usually it's halfway sarcastic.
Not this one.
I love my
Lois (15:17):
job I love this job Whoever takes this seat after
I'm finished with it.
They're gonna have an incredibleblast.
There's it's a lot of fun.
I Get to work with The public ina lot of different ways, and I
get to meet artists every day.
In fact, there's one out in thehallway right now who's hanging
her exhibit, and she'swonderful.
(15:38):
And so every day it's somethingnew and different, and it's
creative.
I'm surrounded by creatives andour, everything we do is about a
creative project.
Randy (15:47):
Okay, very good.
Awesome.
Like I said, your excitementlevel always gets me excited and
I always start thinking so I'mgonna have to really hone it in
here to be able to get goodquestions for you.
But you talk about, this greatendeavor.
Obviously this does not happenwithout others and a funding
mechanism.
Of course.
Talk a little bit about how,what that is and, and how you
(16:09):
manage to lead that because whenwe're walk, working in the not
for profit sector, uh, workingwith a whole lot of volunteers
that takes a, that takessometimes a different focus on
leadership and some differentapproaches.
Tell us about how you
Lois (16:21):
navigate that.
Well, I can't do anything.
in this job without theauthority of the Board of
Directors.
And that Board of Directors overthe years has been phenomenal.
They're workers.
They're not, seats.
They're people that have skillsand abilities that contribute.
So they're working, they're,they are fabulous.
And I dare not name any namesbecause I'll forget somebody
(16:44):
important, but we 20 members.
on our board, and right now wehave 13 members on our board.
Um, they have vision.
They direct me in many ways.
I have the energy to conduct andcarry out their wishes.
They are on many occasions haveincredible ideas, but they never
(17:08):
bring an idea without the feetto go with it.
And that's what I reallyappreciate about appreciate
about our board is they don'tjust throw out ideas and expect
us as the staff to carry themout.
We have an incredible staff.
It's taken years for us todevelop this staff, but it's a
team.
And the team part of this staff,we kind of anticipate what the
other person needs, and we goahead and take the initiative to
(17:29):
fulfill that need before it'sAnd that's just a, a, a factor
of time, time creates thatcomfort zone with the team, but
the, community itself, I mean,we are surrounded by a
conservative community, yes, butknowing what they want is easy
to know.
It's not crazy.
It's not, comparable to any ofour other metropolitan areas
(17:54):
that are nearby.
It's very unique because it'srural and we know and understand
each other, I think, and I thinkthey trust Presser.
Trust is a big issue in thearts.
You know, when you're droppingoff a little one for summer
camp, by the way, we have 40summer camps this coming summer.
Randy (18:08):
Just 40?
Lois (18:09):
40, just 40.
And when you're dropping off athree year old for a summer
camp, that parent has to feelgood about where they're taking
that child.
And for some of them, it's thefirst time they've been
separated from home.
So we have incredible teachers,experienced, knowledgeable, many
of them degreed teachers thatare our summer camp directors,
(18:30):
and they know how to handleyoung people.
Uh, our adults are no differentin many ways than the three year
old because they come withsensitivities, you know, and
they're engaging back into thearts, perhaps auditioning for a
show for the first time afterbeing absent from the stage.
And they have some You know,emotional sensitivity.
So we have to be careful and weare, we're always careful about
(18:51):
how we say things and how weapproach people and not to
assume that they areunderstanding what we mean.
So it's a, it's a great job inthe aspect that we are.
And so that's the big feedback Iget all the time is this has
changed my life, you know, it'sput me in a new direction.
We've had young moms come in andafter a show has been completed
(19:12):
and say, I, I know, I now knowwhat to do with my life.
I, after my kids get to school,I'm going to go back and get my
degree or all kinds of stories.
There's story after story afterstory.
Randy (19:21):
So as you talk about young people, obviously.
You and I are about the sameage.
Yeah,
Lois (19:26):
probably.
Randy (19:26):
Yeah, and we won't say what that is.
Nope, but Definitely we can seeprobably a little bit of a
difference maybe in just generalConsumption of the arts with
generations being much moredigital, everything on a screen.
So you talk about these 40summer camps.
What are some other ways thatyou're introducing and bringing
(19:46):
young people and introducingthem into some of these great
programs that you're.
We have
Lois (19:52):
an after school program that is starting back up in
February, and it's for gradeschool children, and it's a
theater after school program.
We're also partnering with C2C,and that's an organization
called Cradle to Career, andwe're starting a middle school
after school program.
theater program with them,partnered with them.
(20:13):
We've also partnered withMissouri Military Academy, and
we house and supply education,theater arts education, to
cadets five days a week in ourbuilding, and we provide that
teaching, and then we engagewith them with concerts and
production in theater for thespring semester.
We have a film, we have aculinary, I think I've mentioned
(20:37):
that, but those are things thatyoung people are really
interested in.
I was surprised about theculinary aspects of young
people.
They really want to know andlearn how to cook because
they're hungry when they gethome from school.
Yes, they are.
And they want real food insteadof junk food.
A lot of them do.
I was surprised.
And so teaching them how to cookand make good nutrition choices.
(20:58):
That's important for us tocreate a healthy community.
Randy (21:01):
Absolutely.
So, it's this, you're you areliving your dream.
What are some things justgenerally about leadership that
you've learned, while living thedream and, and being in this
role?
And, Particularly, maybe forsome people that are younger in
their career, emerging leaders.
Lois (21:16):
Yeah, when, when, I had an incredible opportunity in 2007,
that's when I was hired on asexecutive director, and a
gentleman arranged a tour and asit down with Rich Baker,
richard Baker used to be theexecutive director for Fox
Theater in St.
Louis, the fabulous Fox.
Oh,
Randy (21:34):
the fabulous Fox,
Lois (21:35):
yes.
And so I was treated like queenfor a day at the fabulous Fox.
And Rich, um, was an incrediblementor.
And I disclosed to him someissues I was having with some
patrons, and people, andprogramming, and asking his
advice.
And he said, oh, and he laughedand chuckled and said, you just
(21:57):
are still in silo mode, Lois.
It's not a silo.
The arts don't belong to you.
You don't own them.
That was the best advice I evergot.
And I had to acquiesce andrealize the release of my
program that I thought I was thebrain, you know, parent of, was
not mine.
As soon as I have an idea, itbecomes public.
Randy (22:17):
That's interesting because when I was first
teaching, My first principalcame and told me, he goes, I'm
going to give you some advice.
He said, the day that you thinkyour curriculum is the most
important curriculum is the daythat you're not going to be a
very effective educator.
Correct.
And so the crossover is amazing.
Lois (22:33):
Exactly.
And I still run into peopletoday that are beginning a
program and they want to sharewith us, or they want us to
partner with them.
And the ownership is really, youknow, fingernails dig deep into
that program.
And I just try really hard tonurture it with them and not.
Threaten them with you knowoppressors the big monster that
(22:54):
will take your program awaybecause we won't it's become
Quite interesting to to let go,you know, it's it's not mine if
it's an idea that came out of mybrain.
Believe me Someone else had thatidea before me somewhere else in
the world.
I am not the originator of allthese ideas there, nothing has
is new.
I don't think there's too muchthis new
Randy (23:14):
sure So Obviously you're working in a legacy.
organization.
You're working in a legacybuilding campus.
Yeah, it's gorgeous.
What do you think, your greatestlegacy within that legacy is
going to be as, as you depart?
Not running you off, but I knowin the next several years, it
could, it could be reality.
Oh, for
Lois (23:33):
sure.
well, one of our 10 year longrange planning goals was to have
enough space to grow into.
And already with the Spacethat's, on the calendar for
2025, I can see how it's alreadybeen outgrown, you know?
So, there's always a need forspace.
We're offering 40 summer camps,and already we're out of space,
(23:56):
because we could add three more,but we don't know where to put
them.
So, The long range 10 plan, youknow, 10 year out plan was a
recital hall in the front yardwith six additional classrooms.
And maybe in 10 years that willbe something that gets done.
I think I won't be here then.
I might be, more involved withmy grandchildren, so.
(24:17):
That's great, too.
Yeah, yeah.
And I, I definitely want to, youknow, have enough time that I
can travel and do all thosethings that we do when we
retire.
My legacy, I think, is seeing inthe lives of people who are
affected.
You know, I've had a number ofopportunities every, almost
every day to see how someone'sbeen affected by the arts, and I
know that's from Presser.
(24:38):
I know that we're a catalyst formany things that happen in the
community.
The community itself iscreative.
I mean, there's so many thingsgoing on.
And if you go to our website,there's a whole page on creative
community and how those peoplehave been spotlighted.
But a lot of it spawns frompresser, you know, someone
learning a skill and then goingoff and doing it professionally.
(24:58):
Or Learning confidence, we seethat every day in our cadets.
They have confidence in publicspeaking that they didn't have
when they first walked in thebuilding.
And they can express themselvesclearly with expression and
maintain their emotions.
And that's a skill that's notalways taught at home or in
school.
(25:18):
So.
I see that we're impacting ourcommunity from the results that
hang on the walls from theartwork and the results from the
stage from people you wouldnever dream could act or sing or
dance and they're doing it andthey're enjoying themselves and
when you see anybody having agood time it's fun to watch.
Randy (25:39):
So kind of in that legacy realm again and Who are some of
the people that you know you'restanding on their shoulders
because that's part of legacy.
Yes.
We, none of us are here creatinga legacy without people have
poured into us and, and helpedus build and know how to do
that.
So some, who are some of thosekey legacy builders for you?
Number
Lois (25:59):
one, the first one, number one.
The main one is Liz Washer.
Liz Washer was the board memberwho called me in for an
interview, and I don't want toget emotional, but she's no
longer with us, and I miss herterribly.
Randy (26:14):
She's a wonderful person.
Incredible.
Lois (26:16):
And she saw the vision.
She was the initial person tosave and resurrect the old
Presser Hall when it was indemolition mode.
In fact, the school had voted todemolition that building, and it
has 10 gorgeous, incredible twostory stained glass windows, and
they were going to demo it.
So she pulled a group together,the Presser Hall Restoration
(26:38):
Society in its infancy in 1987,and she salvaged the building.
And she, people would mock herand tell her, you're crazy,
you'll never make, you'll neverget enough money to salvage this
building, and she showed them.
And she had that kind of,stamina, pioneerism, she was a
pioneer in her own right, likeI'll show you, and when she
(27:00):
hired me, she called JasonLeaman for the interview, and he
was incredible, he asked all theright questions, and some very
pertinent questions that made mereally think, and so I would
give him credit also for, makinga difference in my life, and.
She had a lot of tidbits ofwisdom.
You know, she would calm medown.
(27:21):
She would run interference withcertain board members on
occasion.
She never lost sight of vision.
In fact, we have an award thatwe give out on occasion.
It's not regular.
Because it's only on occasionwhen someone presents themselves
as being worthy.
And it's called the LizzieAward.
And it's a beautiful stainedglass teardrop that's hand blown
(27:42):
that goes to that person thatexhibits vision for Presser Arts
Center.
And we have her to thank forthat.
Randy (27:49):
That's awesome.
Yeah.
I knew Liz, wonderful person.
She was amazing.
And a great visionary.
Lois (27:53):
Yes.
Randy (27:54):
Do a commercial for presser and we'll get that out
to wherever it will go.
Lois (27:59):
Please.
If you're go to our website, Imean, there is everything
imaginable on our website.
It has a brand new commercial, aloaded video commercial.
That's brand new.
We just loaded it on Monday thatgives you an overview of what we
look like.
Where we're located and what wedo.
There's also the CreativeCommunity, um, site that's a
(28:20):
page that's on the website thatexplains where we live in this
community and why we gotnominated for that award.
But our website says everythingthat I am familiar with.
failing to remember to sharewith you, but it's an incredible
space.
It's safe.
We have a family friendly policywith all of our programming and
that's indicative of ourcommunity where we live.
Randy (28:42):
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Appreciate you giving me thetime today.
And, always, a pleasure to talkwith you.
Lois (28:47):
Always come visit.
Randy (28:48):
All right.
Our
Lois (28:49):
doors are always open.
Randy (28:50):
Thank you.
Lois (28:51):
Thank you.
Welcome to the Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow podcast,
where we want influencers to beinspired and encouraged to lead
well.
We know you have choices ofpodcasts, so thank you for
joining us today.
Sometimes the best way to kickoff a great conversation is with
some who, what, where, when, whyquestions.
(00:26):
So Why should we care about aguy named Theodore Presser, who
was born nearly 180 years ago?
How can a small Midwestern townof Mexico, Missouri, population
11, 000, destroy the myth thatMissouri is a cultural desert?
(00:47):
Or, whose vision and leadershippropelled Mexico's rise to a
robust arts community?
I'm here today with Lois Brace,she's going to help us answer
these questions.
Lois (00:58):
I am located in Mexico, Missouri and I am the Executive
Director of Presser Arts Center.
I've been here almost 20 years.
Randy (01:07):
Okay, so Presser Arts Center.
Now, There's, there's probablysome history in that name.
Lois (01:14):
Oh, for sure.
Randy (01:15):
Tell me a little bit about that.
Lois (01:16):
Well, Theodore Presser is our namesake that sits on the
top of the building of theoldest part of the building,
which is 100 years old.
And Theodore went through theentire United States planting
presser halls, and he was amusician.
He scrounged up all of his moneyfrom being poverty born, poverty
raised, and um, wrote music.
(01:36):
He was a composer.
Took all of his proceeds that hegained from writing hit songs in
the 1800s, which means, To writea hit song in the 1800s, you
sold a lot of sheet music.
So he took all of his proceedsand invested them into his own
publishing company, which stillexists today in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and it's thePresser Publishing Company.
And all they do is publishcollegiate and high school
(01:59):
chorale, symphonic and woodwind,music.
of printed music.
So if you've ever been in a highschool choir and you look at the
bottom of your sheet music, it'sprobably stamped Presser
Publishing Company.
That's Theodore.
And he planted about 25 totalPresser Halls around the United
States and he would associatehimself with, College of some
(02:22):
religious affiliation.
Some say it's Methodist, but wealso have some outliers of
Baptist colleges that havepresser halls.
And he would ask them, go intothe community and say, Hey, do
you want a concert hall, alegitimate concert hall?
And they would make a decision,yes or no, because he would put
up half the money upfront.
and then relied on the communityto raise the other half.
And that's what happened here in1924 with Hardin College.
(02:45):
So Hardin College was the firstfemale seminary in the state of
Missouri.
And seminary has kind of aconnotation of religious, But in
all reality, Hardin College wasan all female school that was a
finishing school for young,wealthy women.
So people from, women from allover the United States would
come here as a finisher of theirfine arts and skills as women.
(03:08):
And they would learn not justhow to pour tea and coffee or
cook.
They would learn how to run abusiness and those businesses
were all over the United States.
They were married to verywealthy men, men from all over
would come to Mexico, Missourifor their parade of, of ladies.
And they would choose some oftheir wives from those parades
(03:29):
and Oftentimes, as the timeframe would allow, those men
were older, gentlemen, single,and the women were young ladies,
like 18, 19, some even youngerthan that.
And so those men, when they diedoff, those women took over those
businesses and they ran them.
So they were very astute, verywell educated.
Affluent although there weresome scholarships for some young
(03:51):
ladies.
Most of them were from wealthyfamilies In 1932, the college,
Hardin College, closed its doorsto the public, because we had a
couple of dormitories burned tothe ground, and of course the
depression hit, and they justcouldn't make ends meet.
So the property, at that timegot parceled off into some
residential areas that aresurrounding us right now.
(04:12):
And then what's left remainingcurrently is nine acres, nine
acre block, and it containsRichardson Hall, Presser Hall,
and Hardin Gym.
And those, that property, endedup being, absorbed by the school
district.
They just kind of took it overand started making use of it.
And in 2012, Presser, boardmembers took over the ownership
(04:34):
that we bought it outright fromthe school district in 2012.
And now we are Presser ArtsCenter.
Our legal name is now PresserArts Center.
Randy (04:43):
Awesome.
So very interesting history.
Great.
Story of a forward thinkinggentleman a long time ago and
we're still feeling the resultsof that today.
Lois (04:52):
Yes
Randy (04:52):
Being a resident of mexico, what I see press are
doing for the community isamazing for a community this
size
Lois (04:58):
True,
Randy (04:59):
so give us a little bit about some of the programming
that's happening now and reallyconcentrate on on What you're
really excited about what'swhat's coming in 2025 and sure
and then hop into what what thatlonger term vision looks like
for presser, of
Lois (05:14):
course the We offer everything that the word art can
contain in one's mind.
So we have culinary arts martialarts fine arts, which can into a
lot of subcategories like finepainting, acrylic, oil and
watercolor, and ceramics andwheel throwing, jewelry making,
stained glass, fusion glass, allkinds of, artistic endeavors,
(05:37):
anything creative we have ourhands dabbling into it.
We have, a theater, of course,that we have two theaters in the
building, a black box theaterand a main stage theater, a main
stage theater houses.
About 821 seats, so it's a verylarge house.
And then our black box theateris flexible, so it can seat as
many as 200 and as little as 50,you know, for a production.
(06:01):
And it is flexible, it's one ofthe best investments we've made
in our new addition.
We have classrooms, we have anew project, um, that's, Just
started in 2024, and we havesecured almost all of our money
for it.
And we hope to put a shovel inthe ground in March of 2025 to
create that addition.
And it is a classroom that'sextremely flexible.
(06:22):
It's a 5, 000 square foot space.
The classroom itself will housethe community choir, the screen,
screen room for filmmaking, anda kitchen theater for our
culinary arts program.
And that has been extremelypopular with our adult crowd,
with couples and, all manners ofteenagers wanting to learn how
(06:42):
to cook.
And we have some reallyqualified chefs that teach those
classes.
And then the rest of that newaddition will house a
makerspace, and I'll talk aboutthat And the scene shop and the
ceramic hot part of our classwork.
So some of our classes are,require kilns, like the glass
fusion, and the ceramics, andthat will be housed in the scene
(07:04):
shop corner.
It also is a garage, so we candrive in and, you know, You
know, transport all of ourscenery back and forth from
wherever we get it from.
But that is their new project,and that's the most exciting.
So,
Randy (07:15):
I mean, as I'm sitting here, and, and many people might
know, and, uh, actually, thisactually, Although, we've done
one of these, so far hasdropped, uh, this will probably
be the fourth.
Lois (07:25):
Okay.
Randy (07:26):
People from actually all over the country and, I've had
some listenership in Asia andEurope.
Oh, wow.
And Australia.
So, they may not understand whythis is so special because they
may live in areas.
Let me tell
Lois (07:38):
you why.
Yeah.
Randy (07:39):
Uh, we're Mexico, Missouri.
Just a little over 11, 000.
Lois (07:42):
Yes.
Randy (07:43):
Stuck square in flyover country.
Lois (07:45):
Yes.
Randy (07:46):
So.
Lois (07:46):
So we are no longer, Missouri can no longer be touted
as a cultural desert.
We are it.
So we are a regional artscenter.
We encompass 30 miles of ruralcommunities.
That includes 22 zip codes.
In our area that we serve, andthose rural communities are who
engage with us, so a lot of ourown Mexico residents are
(08:10):
oblivious to what we're doingbecause they're not familiar.
But, and they wonder how we canstay afloat.
Well, it's because they're notthe only support.
It's our outliers, ourcommunities that surround us
that really support Presser.
And there's not another, centerlike ours within, So the one
closest to us that is like us,who we have patterned ourselves
(08:30):
after, is COCA, and that's theCenter of Creative Arts in St.
Louis.
And we've kind of modeled afterthem for a number of years, and
I've worked, closely with them.
that their previous executivedirector, and she has mentored
us and me personally on how todo things in the right way to
accommodate what your communitywants.
And that's what we provide.
We provide to our communities,plural, what they want, not what
(08:53):
they need or what we think theyneed, because we don't know them
like they know themselves.
So we give them what they want,and it's successful with that
formula.
We've had a lot of people thatwonder how we do it, and the
state of Missouri has turnedtheir head and looked at us on
several occasions.
And in 2025, we've beennominated and awarded the
(09:14):
Creative Community Award.
for 2025 from the state ofMissouri.
Randy (09:18):
That's awesome.
Lois (09:18):
I know.
And that's out of the LieutenantGovernor's office.
So it's not just a bunch ofartists getting, you know,
together to determine thisnomination.
It was the state and theMissouri Arts Council.
Randy (09:30):
Sure.
So, I like to kind of try tocross, sectors I, when I'm doing
these interviews.
So you're definitely square inthe arts, but you talk about
this award coming from theLieutenant Governor's Office.
I don't know if you have anyhard numbers, but what's your
gut on, like, economic impactfor a community like Mexico to
have something like this?
Lois (09:48):
Economics is hard to gauge, but I can tell you we did
an analytic study, last year,and from 2019 to 2024, we had
grown, we'd been, we've been ina growth spurt at a level of 883
percent for increase of revenue.
Participation and patronage.
So, taking all those numbersinto account and adding up the
(10:10):
percent of increase is mindboggling.
The arts are not nationwide in agrowth mode.
But we are.
And it's because, I think, a lotof it has It has to do with the,
recovery from COVID and usmaking ourselves well known
during COVID that we are a placethat you can come to for, arts
(10:30):
online.
And we posted daily almostduring COVID.
some of our artists, we would goto their house and film them
from our car and they wouldperform, but I mean, there was a
constant posting.
I think
Randy (10:40):
my daughter did a ukulele performance.
And we
Lois (10:44):
just didn't, didn't let it die.
We just wouldn't let go.
It's like, okay, everybody elseis at home, but that doesn't
mean we have to stay home.
And we got in our cars and wefilmed and we did a lot of,
online.
Items.
And we did, artists, uncoveredand we have artists take videos
of themselves in their homesdoing art.
And then we would share thatwith the world.
But I think that was, part ofthe growth that it put it in the
hands of anybody who wanted tosubmit.
Randy (11:05):
So, part of your mission, or at least, maybe not formal
mission, but obviously what'shappening here at Presser is
this is very accessible toeverybody in this community,
this area.
Lois (11:18):
Accessibility is our new program.
We have a brand new program thatjust launched in November of 24,
and it is in full swing rightnow for 25, and it's called Arts
for All Abilities, and it isfocused on developmental
disabilities.
in that world, they call themconsumers, but here at Presser,
we call them artists andcreators because when they come
(11:40):
here, we give them opportunityfor creating, and a lot of it
has to do with their own selfexpression.
Of course, that's what arts do,but we give them materials that
they can work with.
that limit that expression tosome degree.
So like our first encounter wasa dance, a social dance.
We had over 30 in attendance.
It's grown a lot.
We've encompassed several othercounties that are interested.
(12:01):
So Tim Cruz is the executivedirector for Audrain
Developmental DisabilityServices.
Yes.
And he is partnered with us.
And he was so excited that heinvited me to their board of
directors, and they were soexcited.
Our board of directors isexcited because we've never done
anything like this before.
Randy (12:17):
Absolutely.
And the creators
Lois (12:19):
are so excited.
They can't wait to see it.
to come.
We had them here this morningand they worked on a project
called Dog Dannas and they madebandanas for dogs for the Humane
Society, for the foster programthat the Humane Society
sponsors.
The first project before thatwas a coloring project and they
designed the label that goes onour concession.
So that artist gets credit onthe back of the label for their
artwork in the label.
(12:40):
we're just so excited about thatprogram.
It's escalating already, and wehave four other counties
interested in participating withus.
Randy (12:48):
Lois, as you're talking, I'm very familiar with what you
do, but it always amazes me inthe energy in which you bring to
it and the excitement and thevision.
So what is your backgroundthat's brought you to be able to
lead this?
Because, For me, it's very hardto imagine this happening over
the last 20 years.
Lois (13:07):
Oh, I've lived my life in the arts.
So, yeah,
Randy (13:09):
I can't see this happening without your visionary
leadership.
Lois (13:14):
Well, thanks.
Randy (13:15):
And that takes on sometimes a little different
look in the arts, because it isa little bit different sector
than we often think about.
But tell us what brought youhere, how you got here,
Lois (13:23):
I, I grew up in Russellville, Missouri, which
is, a very remote, section ofmid Missouri.
And we had an incredible bandprogram.
So I grew up as a band geekthrough high school, junior high
and high school.
And that was my life.
I thought I was going to be amusician.
And I was in a band in highschool.
It was, Bluegrass band and theywere called the Country Classics
of Cole County.
Randy (13:44):
Wow.
Yeah.
And I played harmonica.
Is any of that on Spotify oranything?
No,
Lois (13:48):
no, absolutely not.
It has, it has haunted me forseveral years.
But I played harmonica andmandolin.
And that, that, so there we go.
There was that.
So I went off to college to be amusic teacher, and I had to,
learn the hard way that there'ssuch things as theory, music
theory.
That ruined it for me.
I, I couldn't do it.
(14:08):
So, switched majors quite a fewtimes and ended up in theater,
and loved it, because it's allabout performance for me.
And ended up with a degreethere, went off to get a
master's degree in theater.
Theater, again, and then taughtfor several years at the college
level.
Ended up here in Mexico, and Icouldn't have asked for a better
job.
I homeschooled my kids, I havethree kids, and homeschooled
(14:30):
them.
And got finished with that,wonderful endeavor.
It was a wonderful experiencefor me, and for them too,
because they now look back on itwith fondness.
But looking for Sometimes ittakes a while.
Yeah, you know, it takes alittle bit, right?
But they, they, yeah, theyturned out great.
And Then turned my, focus on acareer that I had put on hold
for quite a while, and had I hadmy wildest dreams of a career
(14:52):
position, it would have beenthis one.
And I would have dreamt, youknow, in college that it was at
some metropolitan area.
And here I am.
in this country, in this county,in this little city, and I love
every bit of it.
I would not have accomplished asmuch as I have here if I'd been
anywhere else.
I know that.
Randy (15:09):
So currently there's that phrase that a lot of people will
say, Ask them how they're doingliving the dream.
Lois (15:13):
Yeah,
Randy (15:14):
and usually it's halfway sarcastic.
Not this one.
I love my
Lois (15:17):
job I love this job Whoever takes this seat after
I'm finished with it.
They're gonna have an incredibleblast.
There's it's a lot of fun.
I Get to work with The public ina lot of different ways, and I
get to meet artists every day.
In fact, there's one out in thehallway right now who's hanging
her exhibit, and she'swonderful.
(15:38):
And so every day it's somethingnew and different, and it's
creative.
I'm surrounded by creatives andour, everything we do is about a
creative project.
Randy (15:47):
Okay, very good.
Awesome.
Like I said, your excitementlevel always gets me excited and
I always start thinking so I'mgonna have to really hone it in
here to be able to get goodquestions for you.
But you talk about, this greatendeavor.
Obviously this does not happenwithout others and a funding
mechanism.
Of course.
Talk a little bit about how,what that is and, and how you
(16:09):
manage to lead that because whenwe're walk, working in the not
for profit sector, uh, workingwith a whole lot of volunteers
that takes a, that takessometimes a different focus on
leadership and some differentapproaches.
Tell us about how you
Lois (16:21):
navigate that.
Well, I can't do anything.
in this job without theauthority of the Board of
Directors.
And that Board of Directors overthe years has been phenomenal.
They're workers.
They're not, seats.
They're people that have skillsand abilities that contribute.
So they're working, they're,they are fabulous.
And I dare not name any namesbecause I'll forget somebody
(16:44):
important, but we 20 members.
on our board, and right now wehave 13 members on our board.
Um, they have vision.
They direct me in many ways.
I have the energy to conduct andcarry out their wishes.
They are on many occasions haveincredible ideas, but they never
(17:08):
bring an idea without the feetto go with it.
And that's what I reallyappreciate about appreciate
about our board is they don'tjust throw out ideas and expect
us as the staff to carry themout.
We have an incredible staff.
It's taken years for us todevelop this staff, but it's a
team.
And the team part of this staff,we kind of anticipate what the
other person needs, and we goahead and take the initiative to
(17:29):
fulfill that need before it'sAnd that's just a, a, a factor
of time, time creates thatcomfort zone with the team, but
the, community itself, I mean,we are surrounded by a
conservative community, yes, butknowing what they want is easy
to know.
It's not crazy.
It's not, comparable to any ofour other metropolitan areas
(17:54):
that are nearby.
It's very unique because it'srural and we know and understand
each other, I think, and I thinkthey trust Presser.
Trust is a big issue in thearts.
You know, when you're droppingoff a little one for summer
camp, by the way, we have 40summer camps this coming summer.
Randy (18:08):
Just 40?
Lois (18:09):
40, just 40.
And when you're dropping off athree year old for a summer
camp, that parent has to feelgood about where they're taking
that child.
And for some of them, it's thefirst time they've been
separated from home.
So we have incredible teachers,experienced, knowledgeable, many
of them degreed teachers thatare our summer camp directors,
(18:30):
and they know how to handleyoung people.
Uh, our adults are no differentin many ways than the three year
old because they come withsensitivities, you know, and
they're engaging back into thearts, perhaps auditioning for a
show for the first time afterbeing absent from the stage.
And they have some You know,emotional sensitivity.
So we have to be careful and weare, we're always careful about
(18:51):
how we say things and how weapproach people and not to
assume that they areunderstanding what we mean.
So it's a, it's a great job inthe aspect that we are.
And so that's the big feedback Iget all the time is this has
changed my life, you know, it'sput me in a new direction.
We've had young moms come in andafter a show has been completed
(19:12):
and say, I, I know, I now knowwhat to do with my life.
I, after my kids get to school,I'm going to go back and get my
degree or all kinds of stories.
There's story after story afterstory.
Randy (19:21):
So as you talk about young people, obviously.
You and I are about the sameage.
Yeah,
Lois (19:26):
probably.
Randy (19:26):
Yeah, and we won't say what that is.
Nope, but Definitely we can seeprobably a little bit of a
difference maybe in just generalConsumption of the arts with
generations being much moredigital, everything on a screen.
So you talk about these 40summer camps.
What are some other ways thatyou're introducing and bringing
(19:46):
young people and introducingthem into some of these great
programs that you're.
We have
Lois (19:52):
an after school program that is starting back up in
February, and it's for gradeschool children, and it's a
theater after school program.
We're also partnering with C2C,and that's an organization
called Cradle to Career, andwe're starting a middle school
after school program.
theater program with them,partnered with them.
(20:13):
We've also partnered withMissouri Military Academy, and
we house and supply education,theater arts education, to
cadets five days a week in ourbuilding, and we provide that
teaching, and then we engagewith them with concerts and
production in theater for thespring semester.
We have a film, we have aculinary, I think I've mentioned
(20:37):
that, but those are things thatyoung people are really
interested in.
I was surprised about theculinary aspects of young
people.
They really want to know andlearn how to cook because
they're hungry when they gethome from school.
Yes, they are.
And they want real food insteadof junk food.
A lot of them do.
I was surprised.
And so teaching them how to cookand make good nutrition choices.
(20:58):
That's important for us tocreate a healthy community.
Randy (21:01):
Absolutely.
So, it's this, you're you areliving your dream.
What are some things justgenerally about leadership that
you've learned, while living thedream and, and being in this
role?
And, Particularly, maybe forsome people that are younger in
their career, emerging leaders.
Lois (21:16):
Yeah, when, when, I had an incredible opportunity in 2007,
that's when I was hired on asexecutive director, and a
gentleman arranged a tour and asit down with Rich Baker,
richard Baker used to be theexecutive director for Fox
Theater in St.
Louis, the fabulous Fox.
Oh,
Randy (21:34):
the fabulous Fox,
Lois (21:35):
yes.
And so I was treated like queenfor a day at the fabulous Fox.
And Rich, um, was an incrediblementor.
And I disclosed to him someissues I was having with some
patrons, and people, andprogramming, and asking his
advice.
And he said, oh, and he laughedand chuckled and said, you just
(21:57):
are still in silo mode, Lois.
It's not a silo.
The arts don't belong to you.
You don't own them.
That was the best advice I evergot.
And I had to acquiesce andrealize the release of my
program that I thought I was thebrain, you know, parent of, was
not mine.
As soon as I have an idea, itbecomes public.
Randy (22:17):
That's interesting because when I was first
teaching, My first principalcame and told me, he goes, I'm
going to give you some advice.
He said, the day that you thinkyour curriculum is the most
important curriculum is the daythat you're not going to be a
very effective educator.
Correct.
And so the crossover is amazing.
Lois (22:33):
Exactly.
And I still run into peopletoday that are beginning a
program and they want to sharewith us, or they want us to
partner with them.
And the ownership is really, youknow, fingernails dig deep into
that program.
And I just try really hard tonurture it with them and not.
Threaten them with you knowoppressors the big monster that
(22:54):
will take your program awaybecause we won't it's become
Quite interesting to to let go,you know, it's it's not mine if
it's an idea that came out of mybrain.
Believe me Someone else had thatidea before me somewhere else in
the world.
I am not the originator of allthese ideas there, nothing has
is new.
I don't think there's too muchthis new
Randy (23:14):
sure So Obviously you're working in a legacy.
organization.
You're working in a legacybuilding campus.
Yeah, it's gorgeous.
What do you think, your greatestlegacy within that legacy is
going to be as, as you depart?
Not running you off, but I knowin the next several years, it
could, it could be reality.
Oh, for
Lois (23:33):
sure.
well, one of our 10 year longrange planning goals was to have
enough space to grow into.
And already with the Spacethat's, on the calendar for
2025, I can see how it's alreadybeen outgrown, you know?
So, there's always a need forspace.
We're offering 40 summer camps,and already we're out of space,
(23:56):
because we could add three more,but we don't know where to put
them.
So, The long range 10 plan, youknow, 10 year out plan was a
recital hall in the front yardwith six additional classrooms.
And maybe in 10 years that willbe something that gets done.
I think I won't be here then.
I might be, more involved withmy grandchildren, so.
(24:17):
That's great, too.
Yeah, yeah.
And I, I definitely want to, youknow, have enough time that I
can travel and do all thosethings that we do when we
retire.
My legacy, I think, is seeing inthe lives of people who are
affected.
You know, I've had a number ofopportunities every, almost
every day to see how someone'sbeen affected by the arts, and I
know that's from Presser.
(24:38):
I know that we're a catalyst formany things that happen in the
community.
The community itself iscreative.
I mean, there's so many thingsgoing on.
And if you go to our website,there's a whole page on creative
community and how those peoplehave been spotlighted.
But a lot of it spawns frompresser, you know, someone
learning a skill and then goingoff and doing it professionally.
(24:58):
Or Learning confidence, we seethat every day in our cadets.
They have confidence in publicspeaking that they didn't have
when they first walked in thebuilding.
And they can express themselvesclearly with expression and
maintain their emotions.
And that's a skill that's notalways taught at home or in
school.
(25:18):
So.
I see that we're impacting ourcommunity from the results that
hang on the walls from theartwork and the results from the
stage from people you wouldnever dream could act or sing or
dance and they're doing it andthey're enjoying themselves and
when you see anybody having agood time it's fun to watch.
Randy (25:39):
So kind of in that legacy realm again and Who are some of
the people that you know you'restanding on their shoulders
because that's part of legacy.
Yes.
We, none of us are here creatinga legacy without people have
poured into us and, and helpedus build and know how to do
that.
So some, who are some of thosekey legacy builders for you?
Number
Lois (25:59):
one, the first one, number one.
The main one is Liz Washer.
Liz Washer was the board memberwho called me in for an
interview, and I don't want toget emotional, but she's no
longer with us, and I miss herterribly.
Randy (26:14):
She's a wonderful person.
Incredible.
Lois (26:16):
And she saw the vision.
She was the initial person tosave and resurrect the old
Presser Hall when it was indemolition mode.
In fact, the school had voted todemolition that building, and it
has 10 gorgeous, incredible twostory stained glass windows, and
they were going to demo it.
So she pulled a group together,the Presser Hall Restoration
(26:38):
Society in its infancy in 1987,and she salvaged the building.
And she, people would mock herand tell her, you're crazy,
you'll never make, you'll neverget enough money to salvage this
building, and she showed them.
And she had that kind of,stamina, pioneerism, she was a
pioneer in her own right, likeI'll show you, and when she
(27:00):
hired me, she called JasonLeaman for the interview, and he
was incredible, he asked all theright questions, and some very
pertinent questions that made mereally think, and so I would
give him credit also for, makinga difference in my life, and.
She had a lot of tidbits ofwisdom.
You know, she would calm medown.
(27:21):
She would run interference withcertain board members on
occasion.
She never lost sight of vision.
In fact, we have an award thatwe give out on occasion.
It's not regular.
Because it's only on occasionwhen someone presents themselves
as being worthy.
And it's called the LizzieAward.
And it's a beautiful stainedglass teardrop that's hand blown
(27:42):
that goes to that person thatexhibits vision for Presser Arts
Center.
And we have her to thank forthat.
Randy (27:49):
That's awesome.
Yeah.
I knew Liz, wonderful person.
She was amazing.
And a great visionary.
Lois (27:53):
Yes.
Randy (27:54):
Do a commercial for presser and we'll get that out
to wherever it will go.
Lois (27:59):
Please.
If you're go to our website, Imean, there is everything
imaginable on our website.
It has a brand new commercial, aloaded video commercial.
That's brand new.
We just loaded it on Monday thatgives you an overview of what we
look like.
Where we're located and what wedo.
There's also the CreativeCommunity, um, site that's a
(28:20):
page that's on the website thatexplains where we live in this
community and why we gotnominated for that award.
But our website says everythingthat I am familiar with.
failing to remember to sharewith you, but it's an incredible
space.
It's safe.
We have a family friendly policywith all of our programming and
that's indicative of ourcommunity where we live.
Randy (28:42):
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Appreciate you giving me thetime today.
And, always, a pleasure to talkwith you.
Lois (28:47):
Always come visit.
Randy (28:48):
All right.
Our
Lois (28:49):
doors are always open.
Randy (28:50):
Thank you.
Lois (28:51):
Thank you.
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