Joe Hall
Read Joe Hall's success story in OFFBEAT magazine. Coming Soon.
In Addition:
It is a pleasure to write a success story about Joe Hall.
How do we measure success? Maybe we simply can't; but, as I walked quietly into one of Joe Hall's accordion classes recently, I heard him calmly explaining to two aspiring accordion artists that the instruments were not to be "banged around." It seems that these two young boys had fallen in love with their teacher and their accordions. Having started Joe's classes with beat up, borrowed instruments, now ready for the next stage of development, had talked their parents into buying them new ones.
Now, I am a parent. I know how frequently children decide they will try something new only to give up when it became obvious that the hobby required work and more work. Joe Hall had bridged that gap.
And, not to be deterred, these lads were serious. Joe Hall is serious too. He can recognize talent and he sees something that makes him work at developing that talent. I am certain he would not have let the parents "waste" money (probably $3,000 for an accordion). But, the proof is there -- Two new accordions in Joe's class.
In a cultural economy, how do we measure success?
Well, maybe it is not a huge commercial contract, but because of sponsorship from the Acadiana Arts Council (Decentralized Arts Funding "DAF") the accordion maker sold two accordions, Joe earned a little money from teaching, musical tradition was passed on, and all because Frederick l'Ecole des Arts, Inc., our nonprofit 501 (c) (3) volunteer-driven organization provided an opportunity for an artist to share his talent with those who seek to learn.
We call that SUCCESS!
Betty Roy
Executive Director