Birch Creek Announces New Members to the Board of Trustee

Egg Harbor, Wis. (October 19, 2020) – Birch Creek is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to its 18 member Board of Trustees.

Diane Taillon, Owner/Broker of Arbor Crowne Properties, joins the Birch Creek Board for the first time, effective at the October 2020 Board meeting.

Taillon says, “One of my attractions to Birch Creek is that it brings together students and faculty from across the US and abroad. During my medical career, I had the opportunity to teach abroad to college level students in Kenya, East Africa and learned that international environments such as this create an understanding of cultural differences in the classroom and the local community. Birch Creek is fortunate to have the infrastructure to bring people together from all over the world. I appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Birch Creek Board.”

Diane has been in the real estate business since 2003. She is licensed in Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida and is known as an organized, enthusiastic real estate broker with a contagious, positive attitude. Taillon is a graduate of the Realtor Institue as well as the Institute of Luxury Real Estate. Prior to her career in real estate, Diane was a Pediatric Orthotist who developed the largest Orthotic practice in Northeastern Wisconsin. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Northwestern University and was a teacher in Nairobi, Kenya while part of the US Peace Corps.

As a prior Board member and long-time Associate volunteer, Sam Carmen is familiar with all aspects of Birch Creek Music Performance Center. Carmen comes from a background in labor relations including as an education and field representive and as a lead negotiator for multiple unions. He worked for 28 years with the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association as chief negotiator and as their executive director for 14 years.

“What a joy it is to be back helping with Birch Creek Music Performance Center,” says Sam Carmen. “Thirteen years ago, my Door County neighbors, the Bithers, suggested I needed something to get involved with and they brought my wife, Vicki, and me to our first Birch Creek Associates meeting in 2007. I began my connection to Birch Creek through volunteering as an Associate, making popcorn for the summer concerts, and I was hooked. It has been a treat to watch young music students come to the program and grow up around Birch Creek and, in a few cases, come back as members of the faculty. I am proud to have played a small part in the legacy of Birch Creek, the role it plays in the arts community in Door County and Wisconsin and the growth and the evolution of the program. I look forward to many more years with Birch Creek.”

After a full year under the leadership of Board President Miriam Erickson, Steve Gomoll is returning to the position of President of the Birch Creek Board of Trustees. Gomoll was President of the Board for six years before taking a one year leave from that position in 2019.

The future looks bright with such a strong mix of talent, experience and dedication serving on the Board to enthusiastically fulfill Birch Creek’s mission of providing intensive, performance-based instruction to promising young musicians by immersing them in a professional, mentoring environment.