Nevada Arts Council

Board Chair Tim Jones (Reno) has, for 30 years, been a dedicated advocate for the arts and its roles in education and economic development.  A strong believer in the outreach and service mission of a land-grant university, Tim led the growth of public radio in the early 1980’s at the University of Nevada, Reno.  As Director of University Arts from 1994-2004, he worked with arts colleagues to prepare the foundation for the university’s School of the Arts.  A co-founder of Reno’s nationally-recognized Artown festival in 1996, he developed a number of that festival’s programming concepts, including the award-winning “Discover the Arts” hands-on series for children.  As a member of the board for the Nevada Arts Council, Tim has served as board chair for the past five years.  He is the author of “The Work of Art: Creativity and the Work Ethic.”

Vice-Chair Joan Lolmaugh (Henderson) recently retired as manager of the Cultural Affairs Division for the Clark County Parks & Recreation Department.  Drawing on her rich and varied background in the arts field, Joan was responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of countywide cultural services, including historical and humanities programs and research, historic preservation, folk arts, visual and performing arts, educational and interpretive programs and special events.  Joan’s span of supervision included three museums and the development of a nature center, numerous performing arts programs in a community center theater and a 3,000 seat amphitheater, instructional classes, special events that draw crowds in excess of 40,000, art exhibits in two different public locations, public art program, art education, and video program development and production for local, regional and national broadcast.  Prior to her work in Nevada, Joan served as the director and assistant professor of a graduate arts management program at the University of Illinois - Springfield (formerly known as Sangamon State University); director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts; and assistant director of the Oregon Arts Commission.  Presently on a number of local boards and advisory committees, she has served as a board member of the Western States Arts Federation and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and various state arts agencies; and as a national consultant. She is the recipient of the 2001 Nevada Governor’s Arts Award for Service. Always active in the pursuit of excellence in the arts, its administration and growth, Joan continues to add to the experiences that have made working in the arts field a lifelong commitment and pleasure.

Julia Arger (Reno), called “Julie” by her family and friends, moved to Reno from Washington State in 1979 with her husband, Dr. Kosta Arger.  A twin and the youngest of seven sisters, she graduated in 1971 with a degree in English from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.  After a decade of teaching high school English, she focused the next 20 years on raising their three children, daughter Katarena and sons, Anthony and Nicholas. She was an active volunteer member of the Washoe County Medical Society Auxiliary (AWCMS), serving as its president in 1991. She was a founding member of Health Access Washoe County (HAWC) a community health clinic and served on its Board of Directors for ten years.  A constant volunteer in her children’s classrooms, she was also a member of the Junior League of Reno.  She and her family are members of St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Church.  In 1993, she and Kosta, started the Nevada Museum of Art’s highly successful Wine Event, A Taste for Art, chairing it for several years. The Argers own Odyssey Vineyards in the Napa Valley and are partners in Arger-Martucci Vineyards winery located in St. Helena.  Since 1995 she has run their import company, Primavera Imports, importing Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar from Italy.  When you see Julia, she is likely wearing a hat, inspired by her grandmother who was trained as a milliner in the early 1900’s.  Collecting fine art has been a passion for Julia and her husband during their 34 years of marriage and they both share a keen appreciation for all aspects of the arts.

Count Guido Roberto Deiro (Las Vegas). A first generation native Nevadan, Count Deiro was born in Reno on February 18, 1938, the only child of the famous Vaudevillian and musical composer “Deiro,” an Italian nobleman that introduced, named and popularized the piano-accordion at the turn of the century. Count Deiro located permanently to Las Vegas in 1945 when the family became involved in the casino industry. Count Deiro developed his interest in the performing arts by attending the revues that were appearing on the Las Vegas Strip. At his father’s insistence, he was educated at private schools with formal arts curricula. After graduation, and serving briefly in the United States Army, he obtained a business designation from Indiana University. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot’s License, and a Nevada Real Estate Broker and Certified Property Manager license. Success in gaming, aviation and real estate pursuits provided the means by which Deiro could satisfy his desire to help provide opportunities for study and advancement to young artists. In 1968, following an instinctive desire to be involved in the exciting “new” movements expressed in Art Povera, and the embryonic work of rejecting the traditional gallery scene by the minimalists, conceptualists and abstract expressionists of the day, he associated with New York based artists Michael Heizer, Walter DeMaria and Charles Ross.  Acting as a facilitator he helped with site location and construction in Nevada several of the art world’s best known Earth Sculptures – Heizer’s Double Negative and The City and De Maria’s Las Vegas Piece being examples. His desire to expose Nevada citizens to enlightening and entertaining new art statements continues to this day enhanced by the appointment to the Nevada Arts Council. He and his wife, The Countess Joan, have donated their memorabilia and ephemera, as well as several important original works by Heizer and DeMaria and other contemporary artists, to the Center for the Study of Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno as The Deiro Collection. His appreciation for the performing arts and their importance to the culture of Nevada prompted Count Deiro to serve as the Charter President of the Nevada Opera Theatre bringing professionally staged grand opera to Las Vegas. A prolific producer of free reed historical music, Deiro has released on the Archeophone and Bridge record labels numerous CD’s of original Edison and Colombia recordings and published, through Mel Bay Publishers, the nation’s first complete anthology of accordion compositions.  The City University of New York has created the “The Deiro  Archive,”  a library of historical and technical materials covering the history of free reed instruments in America donated by Count Deiro. In recognition of his cultural and philanthropic contributions , Count Deiro was named Citizen of the Month by the City of Las Vegas in 1997 and a drive in Summerlin was named in his honor. In 2006, Governor Kenny Guinn (deceased) of The State of Nevada issued a Proclamation acknowledging Count Deiro’s fifty years of dedication to improving the quality of life of those less fortunate in Nevada.

Stacy Kies Endres (Reno) is a long-time writer, publications coordinator and teacher in Nevada.  As a freelancer, she contributes to numerous magazines, newspapers, websites and other publications in Nevada, California and Hawaii.  During her wide-ranging career, Stacy taught English and journalism at the secondary and university levels. She served as publications coordinator at Renown Health System, vice president for communications and member relations at the Nevada Hospital Association, public relations practitioner and grant writer at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and fine arts publicist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also coordinated numerous special events. She holds a Master of Arts in Speech Communications, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and teaching credentials in English and Journalism – all earned at the University of Nevada, Reno.  Her newspaper feature writing and reporting includes work at the Reno Gazette-Journal, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas Sun and Carson City Nevada Appeal. Born and raised in Texas, she moved with her family to Las Vegas in the early 60s and has lived in the Reno-Carson City area for more than 40 years. She is married to James Endres, government affairs executive director at McDonald Carano Wilson law firm in Reno/Las Vegas. Arts and culture, lifestyle, nature and animals are her favorite feature writing topics. She enjoys reading, knitting, hiking, cruise biking and the outdoors. Stacy’s newest career path is in the voice-over and voice acting field, and she currently volunteers with the Nevada State Library Talking Books program.

Barbara Good (Henderson), Ed.S., serves as Coordinator of Elementary Fine Arts with the Curriculum and Professional Development Division at Clark County School District in Las Vegas.  In this capacity she supervises over 650 K-12 Music and Visual Art teachers in all aspects of curriculum development and implementation and all teacher training.  Barbara  has an extensive teaching and administrative background in the arts, with forty years of service to PK-12 public schools and universities in Ohio,  Oklahoma, Montana, Tennessee and Nevada.  Professional responsibilities include facilitator for the Southern Nevada Arts Consortium, chair for the CCSD Any Given Child collaboration with the Kennedy Center, and  membership and leadership on numerous arts advocacy boards and committees.  She is currently serving as one of ten arts educators nationwide to write the new National Core Arts Standards (PK-14) for Music Education. As part of this National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, she will chair the committee to develop the standards and assessments for grades PK-5 music education. Spare time is spent reading, hiking, skiing, weaving, and spending time with her husband, Jonathan (Chair of Music Dept. at UNLV) and her sons in Montana.

Ryrie Valdez, Reno, is the current owner/buyologist of Ryrie’s Art & Home, in Reno, NV. Her gallery is a showcase of color and inspiration exhibited in paintings and handcrafts. As the storyteller for local and regional artists, she takes great pride in connecting the artist with the customer by sharing details about the artist and their works.  Ryrie’s art education began in the cultural-rich city of Berkeley in the 1960’s and early 70’s.  She attended UC Berkeley, taking undergraduate work in fine art and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Art History.  After graduation, she moved to Tahoe City, CA, taught art in the elementary schools and learned the art of picture framing. In 1980, she started the gallery/frame shop, Frames by Ryrie, which was a source of personal and public pride for 27 years.  Ryrie was very active in the art community in Tahoe City, and was a founding member of Sierra Artist’s Network, currently named, North Tahoe Fine Arts, a non-profit organization that promotes the arts in North Tahoe.  She was also a member of the Board of the Tahoe-Truckee Gallery Association, which united the galleries in the North Tahoe, Truckee, and Incline areas.  In 2006, Ryrie and her husband moved back to city life, in Reno, and a year later embarked on the journey of creating a new business, Ryrie’s Art & Home.  When Ryrie is not in her gallery, she is on the tennis court, socializing and playing in leagues.  She is on the Board for Reno Tennis Club, and through the work of the Board, the club was awarded a grant last year from the United States Tennis Association to resurface the six courts and make general repairs.  Ryrie continues to share her passion for art with her customers and her community and looks forward to new adventures.