Springfield Scene Magazine Tenth Anniversary Issue/Nov/Dec 2014 The King and I at the Muni in 2006. Photo by Donna Lounsberry better half, and who was I to ignore the sage wisdom of a man who had always offered me sound advice while working together at the station.   Oddly enough, that cover shoot had a hint of my future in it. Terry Farmer, the wonderful photographer who took the picture, suggested we go to the Hoogland Center for the Arts to use as our setting. I was still working at NewsChannel 20 at the time, and though I had done several shows at the Hoogland already, I didn’t have any clue how much that building would change my life.   We took the photo in the lobby, using the colorful carpeting as a backdrop. Terry stood on a tall ladder, while Claire and I sat on the floor in the middle of one of the wonderful colorful curly-cue swirls that are woven into the pattern of the carpet. That particular photo was used on the inside of the magazine, and it is still one of our very favorites.   Jump ahead 3 years, and I found myself working part-time at the Hoogland, producing shows and events to raise funds to help keep the organization running. Jump ahead another four years, and I found myself leaving a career I had spent 25 years cultivating, to start a brand new adventure of working full-time at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, first as the artistic director, and now as the executive director.   When Don passed away in 2011, his dear wife Betty bravely decided to keep Springfield Scene Magazine alive. It was then that I volunteered to help in any way I could, and Betty brought me aboard to write about some of the different people and events in the local arts community. It has been quite an honor to be associated with such a fine publication, under the leadership of Betty Hickman, and now Bill and Miriam Stokes.   The Hoogland Center for the Arts opened just a year before Springfield Scene Magazine hit the racks of local bookstores for the first time. So much has changed in the arts community over the passing years. The Muni, New Salem’s Theatre in the Park and the Springfield Theatre Centre continue to present high quality local community theatre performances, and have been joined by the Hoogland Center for the Arts, the Legacy Theatre, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and a number of independent groups that have joined the 61