Shooting Stars · 2008

Celebrating 12 years of recognizing artistic achievement and awarding scholarships to outstanding graduating high school seniors, who are residents of Johnson County, Kansas.

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Sponsored by the Arts Council of Johnson County

The Shooting Stars Recognition and Scholarship Program was initiated in 1996 as the inspiration of Robert Endres, who was then a member of the Board for the Arts and Humanities Association of Johnson County and is still actively involved with the program. Now in its twelfth year, the program has continued to grow through the generosity of several key contributors, including Columbian Bank, Carl and Lee McCaffree, and other members of the Arts Ambassadors, as well as through the dedicated work of the staff and volunteers of the Arts Council of Johnson County. Since 1996, over 630 high school seniors, who are Johnson County residents, have been honored for excellence in both the performing and visual arts.

Students honored through the Shooting Stars Program have been nominated by high school faculty members of the Blue Valley, DeSoto, Gardner-Edgerton, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Spring Hill School Districts, as well as Barstow, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, The Pembroke High School and Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy.

Through the generous support of individuals, businesses and foundations, the Arts Council of Johnson County annually awards $27,000 in college scholarships. All nominated finalists are eligible to compete for the scholarships. Over the past eleven years, the program has awarded $160,000 in scholarships.

College scholarships are awarded based on criteria established by the Selection and Criteria Committee for Shooting Stars. Utilizing this criteria, independent judges make final decisions regarding scholarship winners through live auditions, portfolio presentations or images of art works. Scholarship funds are awarded directly to the colleges selected by the recipients.

Since 1996, The Arts Council of Johnson County has sponsored an annual Recognition and Awards Banquet where 80 to 90 finalists who have been selected by their high school art faculty as outstanding senior high school art students are recognized and where scholarship recipients are announced. More than 400 community members, Shooting Stars Finalists and their parents will attend this year’s banquet on April 6, 2008.

With the support of the new Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and in recognition of the generosity of Columbian Bank and Carl and Lee McCaffree, works by the visual arts finalists will be exhibited annually in the Nerman Museum. Bruce Hartman, executive director, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, along with Kent Smith, Museum Coordinator, selected one work from each of the finalists for exhibition in the McCaffree Gallery.

The Arts Council of Johnson County is an advocate for the arts by initiating, facilitating and support the community’s creation of a shared vision.

Board of Directors	Arts Council of Johnson County	Scholarship Categories
Kenneth R. Rashid, President	Bruce Hartman	Photography
Michael Meadors, Vice-President of Operations & Finance	Augie Huber	Three-Dimensional Art
Katie Van Luchene,Vice-President of Marketing	Edeen Martin	Two-Dimensional Art
Bradley D. Douglas, Secretary	Jerome Nerman	Theatre/Performance
Sandy Kelly, Treasurer	Bob Rohlf	Theatre/Technical
Larry G. Meeker, Past-President, ex-officio	Susan Shen	Voice
Carol Jezek-Heil, Executive Director	Hannes Zacharias	Winds and Percussion
		Strings
		Literature