FY21 Commission Board Goodbyes
By Anne B. Pope, Executive Director —
It is time once again to say thank you and goodbye to a few of our Commission board members. Each member is appointed by the governor and serves a five-year term. Additionally, each fiscal year a new executive committee is voted in by the board to lead the Commission that year.
The following Commissioners have completed their appointed five-year term on the board. While we are sad to see them leave the board, we know that their work will continue to impact the arts in Tennessee.
Joe K. Kilgore of Columbia, TN, was instrumental in forming the Columbia Arts Council and served a three-year term as member and chairman from 2014 to 2016. Joe held several leadership positions with the Tennessee Arts Commission including the Chair of the Audit Committee, served on the Tennessee Person-Centered Music Program Advisory Council, and Chair of the Commission.
In addition to the Columbia Arts Council, Joe has been actively involved in Columbia Main Street, the Columbia Historic Zoning Commission, the Maury County Historical Society, First Presbyterian Church of Columbia and other local nonprofit organizations.
Joe is currently the Executive Director of the Maury Regional Health Care Foundation. Prior to his work with the Foundation, Joe owned a home furnishings and interiors business in downtown Columbia for eight years.
Dr. Shawn Pitts is a founder and current member of the Arts in McNairy board of directors. He has served on numerous charitable, economic and community development, cultural and tourism boards in his native Southwest Tennessee. Shawn served as Chair of the Nominating Committee for the Tennessee Arts Commission.
In 2012 Shawn was recognized with an award from the Henry Reed Fund, American Folklife Center, and Library of Congress to complete documentation and preservation of an archive of culturally significant Tennessee sound recordings from the mid-twentieth century. He is a musician and an avid community scholar, researcher and writer on subjects related to music heritage and Tennessee folk traditions. Shawn is a Doctor of Chiropractic in private practice in Selmer.
Jennifer Wolfe is the CFO and Principal Broker for Wolfe Development, which she and her husband, Kelly Wolfe, founded in 1994. During her time with the Tennessee Arts Commission she served in a variety of leadership roles including Chair of Audit, Allocations Committee Chair and Vice Chair of Commission.
Originally from Jonesborough, TN, she graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in accountancy. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Eastman Credit Union and the Jonesborough Area Merchants and Service Association. Jennifer and her husband, Kelly, are parents to two daughters.
It has been a pleasure to work with these dedicated members of Tennessee’s arts community. Their efforts to cultivate the arts across the state are timeless and will continue to impact communities for years to come. We thank them for their service and leadership to the arts and culture in Tennessee. We joke at the Commission that we say goodbye to our Commissioners, but we never really let them go. We know that although these advocates are leaving the board, they are not leaving the arts — we look forward to seeing their continued leadership in the arts.
