DECATUR — Alec Goss has been ready to step into the role of executive director of Gallery 510 since he arrived at the downtown Decatur gallery nearly two years ago.
“I just plan to continue to do what we do with the community and serve the young artists and the local artists,” he said. “We have important programs that we work on.”
Alec Goss has been named as the newest Gallery 510 executive director.
The gallery’s board of directors will introduce Goss as the new director during a public reception on Thursday, March 21, at Gallery 510.
“We’ll have a few light refreshments, he’ll say a few words and we’ll introduce him to the public,” said Barbara Dove, former executive director. “It’s not unlike our First Friday Gallery Walk, but he’s our feature.”
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Goss, a Decatur native, has had a lifelong appreciation for the community as well as the arts.
“I want to do whatever I can to improve and continue, and to do whatever I can to bolster the creative community in Decatur just a little bit more if possible,” he said.
After leaving Decatur, Goss studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, before he returned home in 2017. “He comes to us with some really nice credentials,” Dove said. “I’m very happy to have him step in, and me step out.”
Dove was one of the founders of Gallery 510, an art group aimed at raising awareness of visual fine arts. The community arts program began in 1991. “At that point I was secretary,” she said. “Then when we got a little more organized, I became the executive director.”
Approximately 10 years ago, Dove relinquished the position to another director. Shortly afterwards, the position was open again. “Then I just called myself the interim director, still not wanting to take on the whole job,” she said. “After a while I just stopped putting that word (interim) on the title.”
Dove admits she is ready to give up the role to Goss. “He has been the gallery manager for about a year,” she said. “He did such an outstanding job that I thought he was perfect for this spot.”
Dove said she will remain with the gallery as its chief financial officer. “And I’ll still be around to help with any questions he might have,” she said. “But he’s fully capable of running on his own.”
Goss will be the central figure at the gallery, providing the jobs as sales associate, management, and director for the gallery and retail space. Future plans will include more exhibits, fundraisers and “fun exciting events,” Goss added. “We all just want some fresh ideas to make this place a bit more exciting.”
Community is important to Goss and the Gallery 510 board of directors. “It’s not just the arts. It branches out into all different aspects of the community,” he said. “The arts can do so much. I just want to use art and our amazing local artists to do what we can to be progressive and change people’s minds.”
29 celebrities with Decatur ties
29 celebrities from Decatur
Over the years, Decatur has been the birthplace of and home to many individuals who have went on to find fame.
Here is a selection of just some celebrities from Decatur.
Gary Forrester
Gary Forrester, a New Zealand-Australia based musician, composer and poet who was profiled as one of the major figures in the Australian music scene during the 1980s and 1990s, was born in Decatur and grew up in the Effingham, Quincy and Tuscola areas.
Jenny Lou Carson
Jenny Lou Carson, originally known as Lucille Overstake of the Three Little Maids, was born and raised in Decatur. She went on to write “You Two-Time Me One Time Too Often,” which was the first top country hit written by a woman. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1971.
June Christy
June Christy, an American singer hailed as “one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time,” was known for her work in the cool jazz genre. She was born in Springfield in 1925 and moved with her family to Decatur when she was 3.
Brian Culbertson
Brian Culbertson, an American contemporary jazz/R&B/funk musician, has written and produced over 25 No. 1 contemporary smooth singles on the R&R, Gavin and Billboard Radio charts. He was born and raised in Decatur.
Howard Warren Buffett
A graduate from Mount Zion High School, Howard Warren Buffett currently is a faculty member at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and was previously a policy adviser in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President Barack Obama.
Steve Hunter
Steve Hunter, born and raised in Decatur, is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Bette Midler and Meat Loaf.
Marcia Morey
Marcia Morey, born in Decatur, is a former competition swimmer who specialized in the breaststroke. She represented the United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec.
Richard Peck
Richard Peck is an American novelist who was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2001 for his novel “A Year Down Yonder”.
Icon for Hire
Icon for Hire, formed in 2007 in Decatur, is an American rock band that has had two Billboard-charting albums.
Chuck Dressen
Chuck Dressen was a quarterback for the Decatur Staleys and had a long career in professional baseball, most notably as the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1951-53.
CeCe Frey
CeCe Frey is a pop singer from Mount Zion who finished sixth place on seasontwo of “The X-Factor.”
Charles Earl Boles
Known as Black Bart, this English-born outlaw lived in Decatur during the 1860s before becoming one of the most notorious stagecoach robbers to operate in and around Northern California and Southern Oregon in the 1870s and 1880s.
Homer ‘Boots’ Randolph
Best known for his 1963 saxophone hit “Yakety Sax”, “Boots” Randolph played with the Dink Welch’s Kopy Kats in Decatur from 1948-1954.
Nan Martin
Nan Martin, born in Decatur, was an accomplished stage, film and TV actress who made her Broadway debut in 1950.
Roe Skidmore
Roe Skidmore played 1,300 minor league games, and got a hit in his only appearance with the 1970 Chicago Cubs. He was born in Decatur and attended Eisenhower High School.
Loren Coleman
Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is the author of books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He grew up in Decatur and is a graduate of MacArthur High School.
Herbert Dickens Ryman
Herbert Dickens Ryman, who grew up in Decatur, was an artist and Disney Imagineer who drew the first illustrations of Walt Disney’s vision of a theme park that eventually became Disneyland. His filmography includes Art Director of Fantasia and Dumbo.
RonReaco Lee
RonReaco Lee is a television and film actor best known for his roles as Tyreke Scott on “Sister, Sister” and Jamal Woodson the BET romantic comedy “Let’s Stay Together.” He was born in Decatur.
Alison Krauss
Decatur-born musician Alison Krauss has sold over 12 million albums and won 27 Grammy Awards.
Jeff Innis
Born and raised in Decatur, Jeff Innis was a pitcher for the New York Mets from 1987 to 1993.
David Joyner
David Joyner, best known for his role as Barney, was born in Decatur and graduated from MacArthur High School in 1981.
Stephen Ambrose
Historian Stephen Ambrose, born in Decatur and raised in Lovington, was the best-selling author of books about Lewis and Clark and World War II.
Howard Graham Buffett
Businessman and philanthropist Howard G. Buffett was the Corporate Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman of Archer Daniels Midland from 1992 – 1995 and is the founder of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. He currently resides in Decatur.
Kerri Randles
Most recently known for her worked on Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling,” Decatur-born Kerri Randles also opened the first ever Hollywood Fringe Festival with her one-woman show “Can’t you Hear Me Knockin?”
John Doe
Musican-actor John Doe, born in Decatur, paved the way for alternative rock with his band X before turning to acting in movies such as “Great Balls of Fire!” and “Boogie Nights”.
Bill Madlock
Eisenhower alumni Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock, Jr. was a right-handed hitter who won four National League batting titles and is one of only three right-handed hitters to have won multiple National League batting titles since 1960.
Clarence McClendon
Decatur-born Bishop Clarence Earle McClendon is a gospel musician, the pastor of Full Harvest International Church in Los Angeles, California and the director of Harvest Fire Mega Mass Choir.
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger, the world’s No. 1 professional water ski jump champion, was born and grew up in Decatur.
James W. Loewen
James Loewen, a sociologist, historian and author best known for his book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” was born in Decatur and was a 1960 graduate of MacArthur High School as well as a national merit scholar.
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
