The slate of candidates for the 2017 Educational Theatre Association Board of Directors election has been finalized.
The filing period for ballot petitions has expired without any petitions having been filed. Thus the ballot will carry the five names put forward by the EdTA Nominating Committee for two director seats.
The election will begin on August 11 by way of online balloting. All members in good standing as of August 3 will be eligible to vote. Members will receive voting instructions via email on August 11, making it essential that members’ information is up to date with EdTA’s membership department. Voting will close on September 15 at 10:00 a.m. CST, during the 2017 EdTA National Conference in Nashville.
A compilation of the candidates’ responses to an election questionnaire can be found in the 2017 Election Library.
The candidates are:
 | Mark Drum. New York, New York. Currently serving on the New York Thespians board. A Thespian alum, he is a former International Thespian Officer and former State Thespian Officer from Michigan. Has represented the EdTA National Office at Thespian events in four states in 2016-17. Recipient of the 2017 Daron Hawkins Advocacy Grant. Workshop instructor and guest artist at the International Thespian Festival. |
 | Marti Fowler. Chesterfield, Missouri. Has served on the Missouri Thespians board as secretary and conference chair. Developed Practical Technical Theatre, an instructional set of DVDs. Was a member of the Fine Arts Task Force with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that developed a fifth grade fine arts test and grade-level expectations. Recipient of the EdTA Standing Ovation Award. Has sponsored three future educator scholarships. |
 | Phillip Goodchild. Ruskin, Florida. Has taught theatre, technical theatre, and creative writing and directed the Thespian troupe at Lennard High School since 2009. Teacher training consultant, facilitator, and board member of the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project at the University of South Florida. Actor, director, playwright, and published writer of short fiction. |
 | David Tate Hastings. Olathe, Kansas. Has served as co-chapter director for Kansas Thespians. Since 2002, has taught theatre at Olathe South High School, which won EdTA’s Outstanding School Award in 2013; previously taught drama, communications, and electronic media at the middle school level; and before entering the teaching profession, worked as a retail banker for several years. |
 | Scott Walker. Milwaukie, Oregon. A current member of the EdTA board of directors; served one term as Oregon chapter director and three terms as an Oregon chapter board member. Past president of the Oregon Theatre Educators Association. Has taught for 24 years at Milwaukie High School/Milwaukie Academy of the Arts, of which he was a founding member. Recipient of the Melba Day Sparks Henning Memorial Award. |
