At their recent annual dinner, held at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Maryland, the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council voted in two new members and installed a new officer. All were voted in unanimously and with great enthusiasm. Board Chair Charles Sjoquist presided over the meeting.
Sharon Lipsius, a long time resident of Queen Anne’s County, has a passion for the arts. She recently retired from the County’s school system where she taught music for twenty-nine years. Lipsius is a graduate of Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University where she majored in Music Education. She enjoys performing with numerous choral groups including the Baltimore Symphony Chorus. In 1991 she received the “Award of Excellence” from Maryland Music Educators Association.
Audrey E. Scott is the President of the Maryland GOP and has been a Maryland resident for the past forty years. She has worked diligently on the local and state level to improve her community and the state of Maryland. Scott holds a BA in English from Tufts University and a MA in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. She was instrumental in establishing the Bowie Health Center in 1974, and served as Chairman of the Center for 24 years. In 1976 she was elected Mayor of Bowie and served three terms, being the first woman to serve as Mayor of Maryland’s third largest city. She has also served on the County Council in Prince Georges, and ultimately served as Vice Chairman of the County Council. Her accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards, including being named a Maryland Woman of Achievement and being inducted into the Maryland Women Hall of Fame.
Newly appointed Secretary Anne Mackinnon Welsh has served on the Arts Council board since 2010. She too has deep roots in the political arena. A former member of the Prince George’s County Council, and a former State Delegate, she also served as Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party, Assistant Secretary, Maryland Department of General Services, and Special Assistant to Secretary for the Maryland Department of Transportation. She has a BA in Psychology from the University of Maryland College Park and a MA in Applied Management from University of Maryland University College. She is a member of the Eastern Shore Writers’ Association and the Queen Anne’s County’s Democratic Club.
The Queen Anne’s County Arts Council is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting, expanding and sustaining the arts. They are supported in part through a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. www.arts4u.info