Jessica Rowe is a small-town Idaho farm girl who met her husband Sean while they were in college. She studied Art and Spanish, living for a semester abroad in Granada with Americorp and earning a Fulbright Scholarship to Romania. Sean went on to law school in Moscow, Idaho where he met Lem Mackedon while Jessica was in Romania fulfilling her Fulbright. When Sean came home for the holidays with Lem, he was introduced to a small, Nevada town with a rich arts scene, beautiful scenery, and a welcoming community. He instantly fell in love.
In 2007 when the Rowe family moved to Fallon, the first event Jessica attended was at the Arts Council. “It was the first place that made sense to me,” she said, “the first place where I felt at home.”
She went on to teach for Western Nevada College and is currently serving as the Director of the Fallon Campus and Rural Outreach.
At the beginning of July after a lengthy hiring process, the Board of Directors at the Arts Council offered the position of Executive Director to Rowe. Both the Arts Council and the College leadership have agreed to support her in both roles.
“Jessica is a force of nature,” said Jaime Sammons who serves on the Arts Council Board. “She has big ideas and a sense of who she is that will serve the community well and will help the Arts Council as we work to define who we are and what we will be.”
Rowe has served on the Board of the Arts Council since the first of the year, along with Teresa Guillen, the Board Chairman; Doug Moore, Vice-Chair; Tedd McDonald who serves as the clerk, and Treasurer Amanda Hammond, with Sammons and Carol Lloyd, members at large. Currently, the board is in the process of filling three openings and will announce the newest members at the annual meeting in September.
Additionally, and traditionally, at the September meeting, the board will elect their leadership and will present the long-term plan for the organization.
As the Arts Council revamps and restructures after a tumultuous couple of years mourning the loss of the beloved Valerie Serpa and suffering the loss of the permanent collection at the hands of the former Executive Director, Rowe said there has been an outpouring of support for the organization.
“We have been wrapped with layers of support that has been very affirming. People are calling to donate art and to volunteer. There are new faces who never knew about the Arts Council and their work, and there are people who come with a gift and a story of how they were involved with Oats Parks throughout their life,” she said.
With the help of talented volunteers, the Board has worked diligently to build a 2023-24 season and with Rowe’s help is putting the finishing touches on the musical performances and the visual arts exhibits for the upcoming year. The brochures went to the printer in early July and the community will be happy to know the board is bringing back the ever-popular Dinner and Auction fundraiser on the last Saturday in January, and the Lahontan Valley Invitation Art Show will return with the opening on the first Saturday in December.
“The Board has galvanized around their sense of purpose and their mission,” said Rowe. “This is why it is so important to the community; the history is still there, and the future is ambitious with a scope of possibilities that is valuable and good.”
The season this year will kick off August 18 with the concert in the park as part of the Community Reunion, featuring Blair Crimmins and the Hookers; in September the fall film series will return, and there are ongoing art classes at the Oats Park Art School with Anne Johnson for both youth and adults.
“When you come to the Arts Council, it’s like no time has passed at all. The art is always here, the community is always here,” said Rowe.
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