2012 Arts Hall of Fame Inductees
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2012 Arts Hall of Fame Inductees Communication Arts/Broadcast ~ Ellen Goldberg ‘97 Goldberg graduated from UMS-Wright in 1997 where she was Editor of the Crimson and Grey, Varsity Cheerleader Co-Captain, and Senior Class Secretary. She received the Alumni Spirit Award and the Publication Award and was a member of the Cum Laude Society, the National Honor Society, Interact Club, and Students Against Drunk Driving. From UMS-Wright, Goldberg went on to Tulane University where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. While at Tulane, she was selected for the Dean’s Honor Scholarship and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She also served as an intern for the NBC News Channel in Washington, D.C. while studying Journalism at American University for a semester. Goldberg’s reporting career began in 2001 in Meridian, Mississippi at WMDN-TV where she was a general assignment reporter and a fill-in anchor for the 6 and 10pm newscasts. She then moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where she was a reporter and fill-in anchor at WECT-TV. In 2003, Goldberg moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was the solo anchor for the weekend evening newscast and lead reporter for the investigative team at KOAT-TV. When Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride, turned up in Albuquerque, Goldberg was the first reporter at the scene and provided reports for CNN, ABC News, and television stations across the country. She is currently with KXAS-TV in Dallas, Texas serving as the live lead reporter for the 10pm broadcast and a fill-in reporter for the NBC News Channel and MSNBC. Since moving to Dallas, Goldberg has covered New Orleans Mardi Gras and Hurricane Dolly for NBC News. Goldberg has been nominated for the Lone Star Emmy’s for General Assignment Reporting in both 2008 and 2010. She has also received numerous awards, including: the New Mexico Broadcasters Association First Place Award for Investigative Reporting in 2007 and also for Breaking News in 2006, The Edward R. Murrow Regional Award for Continuing Coverage in 2005, the Associated Press First Place Award for Enterprise Reporting in 2003, and the Electronic News Association of the Carolinas First Place Award for Investigative Reporting in 2002. She credits UMS-Wright with instilling in her the importance of honesty and ethics through the emphasis of the Honor Code. Goldberg shares, “In my job, I face ethical questions almost daily, and they are much easier to make because of the moral foundation I developed at UMS.” Goldberg’s civic activities include Ronald McDonald House Young Friends, Young Texans Against Cancer, and the Miss Dallas Pageant, where she serves as a judge. In 2011, she also ran three half marathons in Dallas, New Orleans, and New York. Literary Arts/Publications ~ Cammie East Cowan ‘63 Cammie East Cowan graduated from Julius T. Wright School for Girls in 1963. She was a National Merit Finalist, Wrightorian Academics Editor, Junior Classical League President, and National Honor Society Treasurer. Her junior year, she was class Secretary and was class Parliamentarian her freshman year. She was a member of the Pierrettes, the drama club, and played Lady Catherine de Burgh in Pride and Prejudice and served as the stage manager for Stage Door. She enjoyed the Pixie Players projects and also enjoyed working for the Joe Jefferson Players in the box office. She was also a member of the Special Chorus throughout high school. During her junior year, she won first place in the talent show for her piano performance. She received the Chemistry award, the Daughters of American Colonists History Award, and was awarded a medal at graduation by the Alumnae for her accomplishments in creative writing. After graduating from JTW, she attended Wellesley College near Boston. She later transferred to the University of South Alabama after marrying P.D. East. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1968 and then worked with her husband until his death in 1971. In 1974, Cowan began working with the Mobile Press Register as a feature writer in the Living Today Department. She was later named Associate Editor of the Living Today Department and then moved to the newsroom where she became the Assistant Editor of the Mobile Press City Desk. While at the Register, she also designed and edited the first edition of the celebratory Mardi Gras sections. One significant moment in her career was reporting on the derailment of the Amtrak train wreck in Big Bayou Canot in 1993. She also recalls getting to stop the presses on three occasions due to significant events. She considers her highpoints to be interviewing Mario Buatta, Nolan Miller, Bob Mackie, Oleg Cassini, Judith Viorst, Dr. Art Caplan, Chef Pierre Freney, and Chef Nick Malgieri. She was also able to interview Pat Conroy, who was in Mobile to speak at Julius T. Wright School for Girls. She is widely known for the columns “Yesterday’s News.” She retired from the Mobile Press Register in 2009. Cowan received numerous awards for reporting from the Alabama Women’s Press Association, the Alabama Press Association, and the Mobile Historic Development Commission. She contributed chapters to Literary Mobile honoring the Tricentennial of Mobile and Moments with Eugene, a memoir of the late Eugene Walter. Over the years, Cowan has been asked to speak at numerous historical and study groups. Cowan shares that her parents and their store, the Haunted Book Shop, “encouraged a lively interest in arts and letters” at a young age. Her parents made certain that she attended and appreciated the ballet, concerts and other such events. As she accepted this award, she remembers her dear husband who passed away in 2005. Performing Arts ~ Rick Hirsch ‘64 Hirsch graduated from UMS in 1964. At UMS, he was a member of the Cadet Chorus, Band, Crack Platoon, the folk group The Sportsmen, and the Springill Avenue Temple youth group. He attended the University of Alabama and received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. While there, he served as the Vice President of the Student Union and President of the Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity. He returned to Mobile in 1968 to work with his family’s business, Bay Paper Company. In 1969, Hirsch helped found the 70s rock and roll band Wet Willie with whom he was a guitarist and songwriter. The band had success on the Capricorn record label with a Billboard Magazine top 5 hit Keep on Smiling and other hits such as Countryside of Life. In 1977, Hirsch moved to Los Angeles (LA) to record and tour with Cher and Gregg Allman as they prepared their album Allman and Woman. He then became a member of Gregg Allman’s band and recorded one album Playin’ Up A Storm. Hirsch joined Bonnie Bramlett in 1978 to tour with her and record the album Memories. In 1980, he began working with Joan Armatrading on two world tours and three albums. He joined Billy and the Beaters, a group of session musicians and songwriters in LA, in 1982, and they had a number one Billboard hit, At This Moment. In 1987, Hirsch opened IN SYNC STUDIO in LA which recorded music, jingles, and videos for clients including NBC Sports, ESPN, Olympics Barcelona and Seoul, and Simon and Schuster. He had various songwriting projects with artists such as Chip Taylor, writer of Wild Thing. In 2004, he opened a second recording studio STUDIO H20 in Mobile where he is currently working on three projects. Since 2005, Hirsch has released two instrumental CDs, No Regrets and Instrumentality, and is working on a third. Hirsch’s performances are too numerous to list, but he shares highlights that include playing at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium, the Budokan in Toyko, the Greek Theater, Hollywood Bowl, the New Orleans Superdome, and also in Yugoslavia. Along the way, he shares that they have received a few platinum CDs including Bonnie Raitt and the group Alabama, an achievement award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Hirsch also performed with many admirable artists including Bobby Whitlock, James Burton, Eric Burdon, Jim Keltner, Delbert McClinton, Willie Nelson, Lou Rawls, and Merle Haggard. Throughout his career, he recorded several CDs, and appeared in several films and TV shows such as the Tonight Show and the original Amercan Bandstand with Dick Clark. Hirsch’s civic activities have included performances for benefits and organizations such as The Starlight Foundation in LA, the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon, the Welcome Home Benefit for Vietnam Veterans, and most recently Save the Gulf Coast in Gulf Shores Alabama with Wet Willie. He has also served as a judge for the Distinguished Young Women, formerly America’s Junior Miss, pageant, and many songwriter and performance contests. He is proud that his niece and nephews are keeping the Hirsch name alive at UMS-Wright. Visual Arts ~ Julie Hall Friedman ‘77 Friedman graduated from Julius T. Wright School for Girls in 1977 where she served as the Art Club President, Junior Historical Society President, Wrightorian Staff Art Editor, and a cast member of the UMS Theater Guild The Crucible. She also participated in the Chorus, Deep South Model United Nations, and Presidential Classroom. She received the Award for Excellence in Arts both her junior and senior years. Friedman also painted the music room mural, as well as the watercolor of the Dauphin Street campus. After graduating from Julius T. Wright, Friedman attended the University of Alabama. There she received the Mary M. Morgan Art Award and Scholarship and was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta (History Honor Society), and Phi Beta Kappa.