Three to be inducted into Lexington Two Fine Arts Hall of Fame on October 15

Lexington School District Two invites the public to an induction ceremony this month for three individuals selected to the district’s Fine Arts Hall of Fame.

The three — Sarah Elizabeth Jones, Frances Steadman Maddox, and Barbara Jean Ward  — will be recognized for their contributions to the arts during an induction ceremony, set for 5 p.m. Thursday, October 15, at the Lexington Two Performing Arts Center, 3205 Platt Springs Road.

The Lexington Two Fine Arts Hall of Fame recognizes individuals and groups who have demonstrated excellence in art, music, theatre, dance, or creative writing. An inductee may be a graduate of Airport High School or Brookland-Cayce High School; a Lexington Two educator who greatly contributed to arts in the district; a community member(s) who has given time and resources for the advancement of the fine arts in Lexington Two; or any combination of the three. Inductees are selected by a committee of Lexington Two stakeholders.

Here are this year’s inductees:

Hall of Fame – Sarah Elizabeth Jones

Sarah Elizabeth Jones: Sarah Elizabeth Jones was a camera assistant and a member of the International Cinematographers Guild in the film industry. At age 27, while working on a movie, she was run over by a train. The director had placed his cast and crew on an active trestle, without permission from the railroad. News of her senseless death created a wave of grief and anger throughout the world film community, carrying with it a call for safer film sets. Sarah was honored in the 2014 Academy Awards broadcast, by the Society of Cinematographers and by thousands of movie slates throughout the world. Sarah was raised in West Columbia.  She attended Northside Middle School and Brookland-Cayce High School, where she was active on the swim team, as a cheerleader and numerous other activities, often seen with a camera in hand. Her teachers, mentors and friends all shared a hand in shaping Sarah into a focused, determined individual, knowing she wanted to enter the world of cinematography in the film industry. She went on to the College of Charleston, graduating with a degree in media communications and a minor in film studies. While at the College of Charleston, she was an intern on the TV show Army Wives, filmed in Charleston. From there she went to Atlanta to work on The Vampire Diaries. Among other productions she worked on were Furious 7, The Walking Dead, Drop Dead Diva and others. It was the first day of working on the movie Midnight Rider in 2014 that Sarah lost her life. Following her death, her parents, with the help of key people within the film community, formed the non-profit Safety for Sarah, with a mission to foster awareness and accountability for safety on film sets. While Sarah is no longer with us, her spirit and energy live on, encouraging young people to follow their dreams and to be able to enter the wonders of creating films within a safe environment.

Hall of Fame – Frances Steadman Maddox

Frances Steadman Maddox: The gift of music came to Frances Maddox in early childhood. In second grade, when she began piano lessons, she already knew she would become a music teacher. Frances grew up playing piano in church and at community events, and she was well known in her town as a talented pianist throughout her school years. Along with piano, Frances played oboe and clarinet in the Laurens High School Marching Band. She continued to excel in piano and conducting classes at Furman University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in music education. While teaching chorus and music theory at Airport High School, Frances earned a master’s degree in music education with an emphasis in music theory from the University of South Carolina. Frances was truly a master at managing the details of every day lesson plans, and she could stand with great stamina playing piano and directing a classroom full of eager singers all day long. She shared her musical talents by assisting students in preparing for performances, whether Madrigal stage choir, solo and ensemble competitions, community and church performances, Governor’s Carol Lighting, and much more.  Her calm and kind nature nurtured her students, earning her the name “Mama Maddox.”  From posture to pitch, breath to harmony, she taught singing skills that would serve her students’ vocal successes for a lifetime. Along with being a mother and a classroom teacher, Frances served in Lexington School District Two as the Fine Arts Department chair and was selected Lexington Two District Teacher of the Year in 1982. At Airport High School, Frances was selected as Teacher of the Year in 1976, and years after her 2006 retirement, she was inducted into the Airport High School Wall of Fame. During her teaching career, she served as President and Board Member of the South Carolina Music Educators Association, President of the South Carolina Choral Directors Association, and was a National Association for Music Education member. Many of her students embraced a lifelong love of music, with some following in her footsteps in choosing careers in music education, including some in Lexington Two.

Hall of Fame – Barbara Jean Ward

Barbara Jean Ward: Barbara Jean Ward was born in 1942 in Columbia. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. As a child she drew and painted, finding beauty in the colorful way that she saw the world. In the early 1960s, she studied in New York at Columbia University and lived in Greenwich Village. This was a time when the winds of change sculpted new thought and expression artistically, musically and culturally. It was during this time that Barbara was inspired to share her love for art with children. In 1965, Barbara began her teaching career as a first grade teacher at the original Heathwood Hall Episcopal School. The following year, in 1966, she was hired to teach art at Fulmer Middle School in Lexington Two. She was joyfully animated as a caring teacher who called her students “Tweety Birds” and “Little Flowers.”  Her warm and inclusive classroom was a garden of growth filled with music, laughter, learning, and creativity. She inspired students who previously thought they had no talent to have the confidence to create art and value it. More importantly, she encouraged them to value themselves. She made a positive and lasting impact on her students and fellow colleagues, many of whom remained lifelong friends, and many of whom went on to become teachers themselves. During her career in Lexington Two she taught at B-C Grammar School No. 1, Pineview Elementary School, Northside Middle School, as well as in adult art classes after school. In addition to teaching art, she helped write the elementary and middle school art curriculum for Lexington Two. Barbara Jean Ward retired in 1996 and went on to share her talents for years as the artist for Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. She is recognized yearly at the South Carolina State Fair in the student art exhibit by the Little Flowers Award, in honor of her exceptional career of teaching art to children and leaving a legacy of love for lifelong learning and creativity.

The three newest Lexington Two Fine Arts Hall of Fame inductees join members William E. Ackerman, Dr. Deborah Smith Hoffman, Vicki Stilwell Horne, Jeremy Hudson, Larry Francis Lebby, Jacquelyn “Jackie” Moore McNeill, Eva Pilgrim, Steven Whetstone, and Keith Williams.