The HCAC Organization
The Hampshire County Arts Council Inc. (HCAC) is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501 (c)(3) membership organization, launched in 1994.
Our Mission
Hampshire County Arts Council sees the arts as an integral part of daily life and believes that an art-rich environment enhances the quality of life for residents and for visitors. To fulfill this mission, the HCAC encourages the development, recognition and appreciation of those in the local community who pursue the arts as performers, musicians, artists, photographers, writers and more. To create a more diverse knowledge, enhanced experiences, and greater enjoyment of the arts, the HCAC also works to bring artists from around the world to expand the cultural possibilities for the community.
Our Website
The Hampshire County Arts Council’s website aims to provide a timely and economical means of connecting county residents and those in the surrounding region to the arts. Free periodic Arts Alerts assist in meeting that aim.
Our Meetings
All members and interested individuals are invited to attend the monthly board/planning meetings, at which the organization’s activities are planned and policies are established. These meetings are generally held the first Tuesday of each month at 4:30 PM, in Romney and an Annual Meeting of Members is scheduled each April.
Our Policy
The Hampshire County Arts Council welcomes persons with disabilities at all of its events and activities. To request accessibility services to participate, contact (304) 834-8369 or performances@hampshirearts.org in advance and we will do our best to accommodate. WV Relay Operator for information on performances: 711-834-8369
HCAC Officers & Directors
ACTIVITY COORDINATORS
- Arts & Music Festival Coordinators: tba
- Workshops Coordinator: Dale Brady
Board Bios
Alona Martin
has lived in Hampshire County for 5 years, having moved from Northwest Ohio. She works at Anderson’s Corner, and has joined the Honey Bee Choir and the All Hands In Puppeteers since coming to the area. Her main passion is theatre and she has directed or been involved with over 50 productions, from set building, to stage manager, to running the light/sound booth, pianist in the pit orchestra and being on stage. She loves going to the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Her favorite directing experiences were “Death Of A Salesman” and “Sixty-Five Roses”, written by her father. She and her husband own 50 acres in the country and are currently trying to figure out how to, legally, get a distillery up and running. They love visiting National Parks and camping.
Dale Brady
brings her passion for theatre and writing to the Hampshire County Arts Council. With a BFA in Theatre, she loves directing and stage-managing and has been known to get on the stage herself from time to time. Some of her favorite productions from the past include The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband and The Sanders Family Christmas (part of the Sanders Family Trilogy). She stage-managedAnnie Get Your Gun for her thesis, started out as Assistant Director for Amadeus and worked with the Black Theater Ensemble at Western Carolina University. Writing is one of her passions and she writes poetry and fiction as well as articles for publicity in local newspapers and enjoys bringing the arts to the public. A hobby is collecting seashells and studying the oceans.
Ibi Hinrichs
is the coordinator for HCAC’s Spring Fine Art Show. One of the first places she connected with when moving to Hampshire County 16 years ago was the “What’s Happening in Hampshire County” page on the Arts Council’s website. This is a boon to all people interested in arts, music and community. Going to her first art show in 2010, she was impressed by the talent in the area and wanted to help the efforts to support and grow this community. Arts and music are definitely the heart of us as human beings. We have such a marvelous ability to express wonder, awe, social concern, mystery, pain, beauty, complexity and simplicity through art and music. Such an undertaking takes us further along in the process of becoming our best selves. Ibi retired from 30 years as a caterer, 4 years as a professional photographer and 9 years as an assistant for a department at Navy Federal Credit Union, all these overlapped in certain years. Today she enjoys photography, painting, print work, writing, illustrating children’s stories and supporting community arts events.
John R. D’Amico
is a Professional Commercial Illustrator, Product Designer of Collectable Giftware’s, Fine Artist, Graphic Designer and Mural Artist. He is a Graduate of The Art Institute of Philadelphia, USA. He has worked for Internationally known Companies such as The Franklin Mint, Bradford Exchange, Hamilton, Ashton-Drake, Hawthorn Villages, Hummel and Disney to name a few. He uses a mix of mediums as needed from Airbrushing to Computer skills such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Daz 3D Design and Website Applications. He has taught classes of Airbrushing to youth in the Summer Arts Camp. John is instrumental in planning, designing and creating the murals for the town of Romney. Visit John D’Amico’s online portfolio at http://damico.mixform.com/
Ken Caldwell
During a 40-year period of teaching Transcendental Meditation (TM) to 10,000 people and training 100 TM teachers in 12 countries, Ken gained an appreciation for many types of music and art forms. He noticed that exposure to and participation in music and art were important contributors to day-to-day happiness in many cultures. Hampshire County Arts Council’s commitment to increasing local exposure to art and music has enriched his life and those of his many friends and neighbors. Ken is active in the community serving as an Arts Council Board member and Secretary, as Secretary of the Hampshire County Convention & Visitors Board, and as a docent for The Nature Conservancy’s Ice Mountain Preserve.
Luanne Smith
has been researching and telling the story of the Town of Romney’s crucial role in women gaining the right to vote since 2020, which was the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment becoming part of the U.S. Constitution. She has been involved in organizing events, preparing exhibits, and creating geocaches and a walking/driving tour of Romney to tell the story. She joined the HCAC in 2023, became a member of the Board, and attained the organization’s assistance in developing an event to honor Marlin Lane Rankin, a blind alumnus of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind who played a key role in the 1920 West Virginia House of Delegates to gain women the right to vote. A history major in college, and a trained analyst from a career in the U.S. Navy, her background has helped her develop this history, which will explain why Romney was a town that had to be won for women to gain the right to vote.
Nancy Judd
has lived in Hampshire County, WV most of her life. She taught in the public schools and WVSDB for 30+ years. She is a sometimes tutor for neighboring children. She was co-director of HCAC’s Summer Arts Camp, a member of the Shenandoah Knitting Guild, Mountain Artisans and is currently a member of the River House Photography Club and the Hampshire County Co-op where she offers knitting, paintings and gifts of sentiment as well as classes in knitting and pysanky. She has been a chaperone for the HHS Italian Exchange under Rita Hott visiting Genoa Italy’s Deledda School and touring Greece and Austria with the group. She has performed at festivals and events in Hampshire County and other locations in WV and the region as musician, singer, actress and storyteller as well as summer stock in Bloomfield, Indiana. Her artwork can be seen in and on businesses and homes locally and in the region. She lives near Kirby, WV.
Robin Pancake
retired from Hampshire High School, where she taught art for many years. A practicing artist, she creates many commissions in stained glass, and has created numerous logos for various community organizations including the Romney250 Celebration. A founding member of Hampshire County Arts Council, Robin has served as a director, president, visual arts chair, Fall Fine Art Show coordinator, sketch group coordinator, Art Camp teacher, and participant in the annual Studio Tour. She teaches art at Hampshire County Special Services (Sheltered Workshop) and is active in General Federation of Women’s Clubs Romney Club and Romney United Methodist Church.
Lee Ann Wiiki
has been a resident of Hampshire County since 2022. She was drawn to move herself and her business to Hampshire County after numerous recreational trips to WV during the pandemic. As CEO of Lintu Solutions, an Information Technology and Cybersecurity services government contractor, which she moved to the county in 2023, she partners with US Federal and State governments & advises CIOs on applying rapidly evolving tech & innovative business models to their mission goals. Lee Ann is a lifelong supporter of the arts. She strongly believes our communities need to invest in the arts not only to honor our local culture and enhance our lives, but also to foster creativity and opportunity in our economy. She grew up dancing and participated in theater in her younger years, and is currently an artist and writer in her leisure time.