Don Ray graduated from Sidney Senior High School in Sidney, MT in 1970. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Dickinson State College in Dickinson, ND in 1975 in Biology with a minor in Accounting and Coaching. In 1981 he received his Masters Degree in Secondary Administration from Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD.

Mr. Ray began his teaching career in 1975 at the Polo School District, Polo SD. Besides his teaching duties, he assumed the duties of athletic director in 1978 and became the 7-12 principal in 1981. The fall of 1984 would find him joining the staff at Deubrook Area School District in White, SD as the 7-12 Principal and Activities/Athletic Director. He still remains in this position today. As he begins his 28th year in education, he has spent 22 of those as a principal, 25 as an activities/athletic director and mixed in a few years in the classroom. Mr. Ray was nominated by Ms. Renee O’Connor

Frank J. Aiello is retired Professor Emeritus after teaching 34 years in the music department of the University of South Dakota. He holds BME and MM degrees in applied voice from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa; and the Doctor of Music Arts, DMA, from the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

He has performed extensively in the Midwest, and elsewhere, including a Kennedy Center performance representing South Dakota in 1976. He maintains an active regional adjudication schedule and conducts clinics and masterclasses. He has served on the national level in the area of vocal literature and contest requirements for Music Teacher's National Association.

His voice students have won Music Teacher's National Association contests, National Federation of Music Clubs contests, and Metropolitan Opera auditions at the state, regional and national levels. Several former students are performing professionally in opera and musical theater, both in the United States and abroad; others are teaching at colleges and public schools. He was the recipient of the Belbas-Larson Award for excellence in teaching in 1994.

Lois Harchanko received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Sioux Falls in 1955 and her Master of Arts Degree from Columbia University in New York City in 1960. She began her teaching career in the Sioux Falls School District as a full time teacher from 1956-1960 and part time from 1961-1963. During this time she was also part of the music faculty at the University of Sioux Falls until she was appointed as full time faculty at USF, a position she held until 1996.

Mrs. Harchanko was a very influential member of USF and the Sioux Falls community. She was responsible for the organization of the USF Madrigal Singers and Dinners, was a founding member of The Singing Boys of Sioux Falls Boy Choir, and received numerous faculty awards from USF including the Who’s Who Among Collegiate Teachers and the A.O. Larsen Distinguished Alumni Award. She was also named a NFIMA Outstanding Music Educator and has been a past president of the South Dakota Music Educators Association and is presently the SDMEA Historian.

Larry Torkelson served as Director of University of South Dakota Choral activities from 1971-2001. During his tenure at USD Professor Torkelson conducted the USD Chamber Singers, Men’s and Women’s Chorus, and the University Choir while teaching voice, choral conducting, and vocal-choral methods.

During his thirty years, he conducted over 150 formal concerts on the USD campus and an equal number of performances for various organizations, public schools, and music conventions throughout South Dakota and the region including the South Dakota and North Central regional conferences of both the Music Educators National Conference and the American Choral Directors Association.

Professor Torkelson made his New York Carnegie Hall conducting debut in April, 2000, as conductor of the Upper Midwest Youth Chorale comprised of 350 singers from South Dakota, Iowa, and Colorado. As a guest choral conductor-clinician in eleven states, he has enjoyed introducing outstanding choral music to singers in every age group. In 2002, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Dakota ACDA and a USD Alumni Achievement Award by the University of South Dakota.

From 1987 to 2001, Janet Brown was Executive Director of South Dakotans for the Arts (SoDA) which included the South Dakota Alliance for Arts Education. Under Janet’s leadership, the organization became a statewide advocacy voice supporting the arts in K-12 education. Janet was instrumental in introducing A+ schools to South Dakota and introducing legislation to support pilot A+ sites. She also introduced a bill to make arts standards mandatory in every school district.

With Governor Janklow, Janet developed ArtsCorr, an artist in residency program for youth in the state’s juvenile correction institutions which provides artists to work with students in all disciplines of the arts and provides equipment to develop those skills.

Janet received the 2002 Alumni Leadership Award from the University of South Dakota and the Governor’s Honorary Award in the Arts in 2001. She is an adjunct faculty member at Goucher College, Baltimore, MD teaching a graduate course in the Arts and Public Policy. She is currently working as a national consultant and is pursuing a Masters in Public Administration degree at USD. Janet received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre from USD in 1973 and worked in theatre and music in San Francisco, New York, Minneapolis, and Europe before returning to South Dakota in 1985.