The Wright County
Monitor
Big Ram Page 11 Breast Feeding Support Group Page 8
144th year Number 33
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Official newspaper of Wright County
Former Clarion resident David Hilker receives award Being honored for achievement in music industry By Les Houser
David Hilker admits that it is both a complete surprise, and great honor, to be selected to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Association (IRRMA). The award will be presented during a ceremony on Labor Day weekend at Arnold’s Park. “Iowa is filled with awesome music and incredible talent,” said Hilker, who now makes his home in Phoenix, Arizona. “There has always been a fabulous nurturing environment filled with wonderful teachers, musicians and opportunities here.” Hilker was born in Clarion during the time that his dad was pastor at the First Lutheran Church. When he was around four, his family moved to Cedar Rapids however he credits Clarion for his earliest memories. “I would spend hours listening to anything and everything my parents played on their hi-fi record player,” said Hilker. He then left high school after the 10th grade to pursue his music career, admitting now that his education has been “from the school of hard knocks.” He explains that these days, you can get a degree in any number of areas such as recording engineering, music publishing, film scoring, etc. “None of that existed when I was a kid, and I didn’t want a standard music degree as it didn’t address the areas of my musical interest,” said Hilker. Feeling that learning does not end in the classroom, Hilker set out to learn everything he could about every facet of the business. “It’s been an incredible education, one that has forced me to think outside the box which has proven essential in surviving the ever-changing landscape of the music business,” said Hilker. The result of that has given him a 40-year career which has taken Hilker from a musician to a band leader, then recording engineer, producer, songwriter/composer, studio owner, artist manager and now music publisher and record label executive. He is currently the owner and CEO of Whirled Music Publishing, Inc. and independent label Fervor Records of Phoenix. Before talking about his present business, we need to review the beginning of his love for music of all kinds. Hilker recalls that when he was in the Fifth grade his mother took him to see the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, which happened to coincide with his older brother playing him cuts from a Jethro Tull album. “Both blew my mind,” said Hilker. A few years later, he started music lessons from Arnie Erickson of Cedar Rapids. “He profoundly shaped my goals and thinking,” said Hilker. “He also landed me my first gig with his son Craig, who was a guitar legend in his own right.” Hilker’s very earliest influences were groups like Tower of
Power and The Sons of Champlin, along with artist Herbie Mann. “My first paying gig was playing flute for an Armstrong’s Department Store Christmas commercial at age 14,” said Hilker. “It was great, and I remember thinking ‘I got paid for this? I’m in! Now I need to figure out how to do this forever!’” Hilker never pursued a solo career, but became a lead singer for bands along with playing both flute and saxophone. The journey took him to hundreds of bars, clubs and nightspots throughout the U.S. and Canada through the 70’s and 80’s. “Major venues included the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, the Arizona State Fair and a variety of outdoor festivals,” said Hilker. “I’m being honest when I say that my career as a musician didn’t escalate to the level I had dreamed it would. That’s when I quit touring and seriously focused on song writing and recording.” Hilker’s interest in recording goes back to his days in junior high. “As kids, Craig Erickson and I would spend hours with his father’s tape decks recording songs,” said Hilker. “I always took every opportunity to get into a recording studio with my bands and co-writers.” In 1990, Hilker and his business/ songwriting partner John Costello started a commercial recording facility and independent record label based in Phoenix. “We’ve written and recorded literally thousands of songs since,” said Hilker. In 1996, one of those songs landed in the hit film ‘As Good As It Gets’ starring Jack Nicholson. Things started rolling from there, as they were soon signed by Fox Music to write music for the Fox Family channel and Fox Kid’s Cartoons (now ABC Family). That was followed by several Los Angeles publishing companies, including Universal and BMG, hiring the duo. “In 2002, we decided to start our own publishing venture,” said Hilker. “Now John and I have had music on literally every U.S. television network, in dozens of films and international ad campaigns.” Hilker feels very fortunate to have been embraced by Hollywood as a premiere supplier of songs used in hit television shows and movies. “My goal is to find some of the great music Iowa has produced and give that exposure on a national scale, especially music recorded before 1989,” said Hilker. “We’ve been extremely successful landing vintage songs in shows like Mad Men, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, The Amerikans and The Carrie Diaries for examples, as well as lots of major and independent films.” Hilker has also had the opportunity to work with a lot of well known names in the music business, including DJ Z-Trip, Waylon Jennings, Wayne Newton, Bill Champlin, Donnie
Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction Outstanding musicians, promoters, ballrooms, a disc jockey and more will be inducted and honored during the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Association’s Hall of Fame 2013 induction ceremony on Labor Day weekend. The two-day event will be held Saturday, August 31 through Sunday, September 1 at Arnold’s Park near Lake Okoboji. Performing bands to be inducted include The Doctors of NW Iowa, Salt River of Des Moines, Dogs On Skis of Iowa City, Legs Diamond of Sioux City, Jonesin’ of SW Iowa and The Memory Brothers of NE Iowa. Individual entertainers include The Noteables of Des Moines, Pat Rouse of Des Moines, Max Carl Gronenthal of Omaha, Bill Terry of Emmetsburg, Steve Grams of Sioux City and out of state honorees Hot Rod Chevy Kevy of Sioux Falls, S.D. and the incomparable B.J. Thomas of Texas. Oklahoma’s Wanda Jackson enters the Hall of Fame in the Women Who Rock category. Mrs. Roy (Mom) Uffleman of Burlington
will receive the Matousek Family Lifetime Achievement Award. Recipients of the IRRMA Lifetime Achievement Award will be David Hilker of Clarion (now living in Phoenix), Kirk Kaufman of Fort Dodge and Phil Jones of Oskaloosa. McElroy Auditorium and The Runaway Nightclub of Sioux City will be inducted in the Ballroom category. Support people of the Class of 2013 are Gordon Finneran of Fort Dodge and Darrell Hein of Clear Lake. Frosty Mitchell will be inducted in the Disc Jockey category. Hunt’s Booking Agency & Recording Studio enters the prestigious class in the Booking Agent/Promoter category. The Music/Video Store to be honored this year is Triad Productions of Des Moines. The 2013 Spirit Awards are for those who continue to promote and honor rock & roll, and will be presented to Buzz Anderson of Waterloo, The Lakes News Shopper of NW Iowa and Tom and Margo Weih of Tipton.
DAVID HILKER
Osmond, Mister Mister, America, Milli Vanilli, Apollonia, Klymaxx, B2K, Buster Poindexter and Super Stereo among others. They are also in the midst of launching the band Fayuca on the MTV channel. “What has been the most exciting for me is working with lesser known or totally unknown folks,” said Hilker. “You don’t have to be famous to have amazing talent or to be relevant as an artist. My publishing company and record label have embraced this and have created some major opportunities for this type of artist.” Hilker probably has to occasionally wonder how this could have all happened to him. “I’ve been fortunate to have been in the music business my entire life,” said Hilker. “I have went from playing cover songs at the Minor Lounge in Cedar Rapids, before I was even old enough to be in such establishments, to my current client roster which includes ABC/Disney, NBC/Universal, FOX, CBS, Viacom, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony and others. It’s been a fantastic journey, and I really am living proof that if you are focused and persistent you can achieve your musical goals.” He is also looking forward to returning to North Iowa to accept his award. “Iowan’s really appreciate all genres of music and understand why music is important, and the IRRMA is just one example of this,” said Hilker. “I have always felt extremely blessed to have grown up in this area. It’s truly given me the foundation for everything I do today, and I’m thrilled to come back to my Iowa roots to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
$1.00 per copy www.clarionnewsonline.com
Hometown Inn to become Super 8 by November By Clae Goater The Clarion Hometown Inn on Highway 3 will be converting into a Super 8 within the next 90 days. The conversion will include updated rooms, expanded breakfast options, and possibly a pool and Jacuzzi. “We’re really excited to join this great franchise,” said motel manager Lynn Thompson. “I think this is a great opportunity.” Thompson said that the motel does not expect to shut down during the changeover. “We’re making some changes as we go. We’ve put in new beds and painted the rooms. We’ve resided the building. We’re doing some landscaping starting this week,” Thompson said. “We’re lucky that we’re able to make changes as we stay open.” Besides a fresh coat of paint, each of the new rooms will come furnished with a refrigerator. The Super 8 will also have a suite room that comes with a couch and TV. There’s also a good chance that the new motel will have a pool and a hot tub, although it has not been decided yet. “I think the chances are great that we get the pool. We have room to expand to the north and the west of the building,” Thompson said. “I think it would be a great thing if
we got a pool for the motel. I think it would attract families and do a lot to draw people in. Currently, the Clarion Hometown Inn has an average room rate of $53.37. Thompson says that she does not expect the rate to increase, and if it does, it will only be by one or two dollars. Current studies by Super 8 indicate that the Clarion Hometown Inn is losing to the competition in nearby communities. Currently, the motel is averaging three room nights per night, with an average of 4,687 room sales per year. Thompson thinks that switching to a nationallyrecognized chain will help increase their room sales. “People recognize Super 8 going down the highway, where they might not recognize the Clarion Hometown Inn. An individual doesn’t know what type of experience they’re going to
get,” Thompson said. “Super 8 is known to be good and has a good reputation. I think it will get a lot of people who, otherwise, might be willing to drive to Humboldt to go to a Super 8.” Super 8’s study indicates that no more that 1,000 annual room sales could be attracted back to Clarion by switching to a national franchise. Thompson says that the switch to Super 8 will not come with any changes to management or staff. “We have the same owner, just now it’s a part of the franchise,” Thompson said. “I’m looking forward to what the future brings, and I’m really excited,” Thompson said. “I think that switching to Super 8 will give us an opportunity to do a whole lot of positive things.
City Elections set for Tuesday, November 5 Nomination papers for the November 5, 2013 City Elections may be filed with the city clerk starting Monday, Aug. 26, until Thursday, Sept. 19. Serving on the City Council as either the mayor or a council member is a great way to give back to your local community. To hold office in the city; a candidate must be an eligible elector. The candidate must meet the same qualifications required to vote and be a resident of the city he or she plans to serve. Most the cities in the area only require 10 signatures from a qualified voter to file nomination papers. All candidates may obtain nomination papers from the City Clerk’s office, all candidates must complete and submit an Affidavit of Candidacy with their nomination papers. All the following council member terms are set to expire Dec.
31:
Clarion Mayor Mike Nail – four year term City Council – Kirk Rier, Duanse Asbe, and Cory Abels – four year terms Goldfield Mayor Tom Stevenson – two year term City Council – Jill Sorensen, who was appointed to finish Stevenson position; Kevin Reed; and Steve Whyte – four year terms. Dows Mayor Larry Klatt – two year term. City Council – Don Lane, Loren Lienemann, and Judy Gorder – four year terms. Eagle Grove Mayor Darrell Determan – four year term City Council – Kendall Johnson, Ward 2; Walter Lorenzen, Ward 4;
and Josh Schilds, at large member – four year terms Belmond Mayor Alan Mattison – two year term City Council – Earl Kalkwarf, Sidney Swenson, and Harlan Tulp – four year terms Hospital Board Trustee – Frank Beminio and Terri Havens – four year terms Park Board Trustee – Al Kollasch – six year term Candidate’s guides area available at city hall, Auditor’s office or Secretary of State’s website at: hhtp://sos.iowa.gov./elections/cities/ html.
Clarion Theatre holds annual meeting, two new board members elected By Les Houser
The annual meeting of the Clarion Theatre Group, LLC was held on July 22. Along with the Board of Directors, major donors, service groups and some volunteers attended the meeting. Board President Steve Burkheimer presented a recap of the previous fiscal year, which ended July 1. “It’s been a successful year for us,” said Burkheimer. “We showed 50 movies over the last year, with 13,813 paid attendance. We ran two promotional movies. ‘Bully’ was well attended by kids and adults from all over the county. We were also proud to present the national premiere of ‘Pershing’s Patriot’, which brought in patrons from all over the Midwest.” There was an election for two new board members, as the terms of Kim Heller and Barb Mussman were up at this time and neither was seeking reelection. The two that were elected for their first term were Carol Townsend and Mandy Dames. They will join holdover members Norm Carlson, Andrew Dencklau, Pat Kirstein and Burkheimer. Two new projects are in the works at the theatre, with one of them starting by fall. It will be easy to keep track of the progress on this one. “Our marquee will be upgraded,” said Burkheimer. “We’ve accepted a bid, and work will start in the next month or so. We are also beginning the early work of expanding the stage, and will be setting up a committee for that to obtain quotes and determine how much it would be used.” Burkheimer said they will take volunteers from the community to help with that. Just contact one of the board members listed above.
Burkheimer also wishes to use this opportunity to thank co-managers LeAnn Johnson and Maggie Solis for helping to run the theatre, to Kim and Barb for their past service as board members and all the volunteers who truly make it all work. “Thanks everyone that has came to support the theatre,” said
Burkheimer. “We have truly gotten county-wide support, and even have several people from Webster City after their theatre closed. It’s good for the community, as they are also spending money at other places in town too.” Johnson also feels everything is going well. “We’ll be glad to
take more volunteers if anyone is interested,” said Johnson. “You must be at least 18 on up. Just call the theatre, go to our website at: www. clariontheatre.com or come in when we’re open to sign up.” The theatre phone number is 515-602-6606, and the email address is: clarionmovie@ gmail.com.
Clarion Theatre Group Board Members
Board members for the Clarion Theatre Group LLC are (front row, left to right): Mandy Danes, new board member; Pat Kirstein, board secretary; LeAnn Johnson, theatre manager; Kim Heller, retiring board member; Barb Mussman, retiring board member; (back row): Norm Carlson; Carol Townsend, new board member; Andrew Dencklau; and Steve Burkheimer, board president.