Decorah's Haugen to "Hall of Fame"

Minnesota Music Educators Association Mid-Winter Conference

Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

L-R Row 1 Ted Schacherer - North Fayette, Tom Haugen - Decorah, Liz Fritz - IAAE Mentor Co-chair, Jason Mott - Maquoketa Valley-Delhi, Row 2 Robbie Cole - Centerville, Eric Layden - Clayton Ridge-Guttenburg, Jacob Bohlken - Independence (student teacher).

Tom has served as an IAAE Band observation mentor (through IBARD) to these young men.

By Roz Weis, Decorah Newspapers, Decorah, Iowa

Tom Haugen of Decorah has been selected to the Minnesota Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.

The award will be presented in ceremonies Friday, Feb. 18, at the MMEA Mid-Winter Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.

Haugen, a Decorah native, was a high school band director from 1959 to 1998 in Minnesota and Iowa.

In 2002, upon his retirement from teaching, he returned to Decorah to become a supervisor of music student teachers for Luther College. To date, he has worked with more than 200 student teachers throughout Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

This year marks his 52nd year in the field of music education.

He started his public school education in a one-room country school in the Winneshiek County village of Nordness. He completed elementary school, and junior high and senior high in the Decorah Public Schools.

He was a student of Anna May Davis, longtime Decorah elementary music teacher. He started playing trombone as a sixth grader under the guidance of Russell Platz.

After one lesson, he became a member of the Decorah High School Band, then directed by Platz, who was followed by educators Harold Martins and Art Branae.

Haugen was selected a s member of the Iowa All-State Bands in 1954 and 1955. Upon graduating from Decorah High School in 1956, he attended Luther College, where he studied trombone with Kermit Hendrickson and Robert Getchell. He played in the Luther College Concert Band, then directed by Weston Noble.

Recommendation

In his letter of recommendation to the Minnesota Music Educator Association, Lane M. Powell, director of bands at Fillmore Central Schools, said, "I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Tom for the past twelve years. During this time, Tom has demonstrated that he is simply one of the finest music educators in the Midwest through his mentorship, nurturing of student teachers, scholarship, and service to the profession. His resume and qualifications make him more than eligible for the award, and go far beyond what most might consider to be a successful and productive career in music education. Throughout his career, Mr. Haugen has proven himself to be a successful music educator. His bands have consistently earned recognition at the local, state, and national levels."

Known as a progressive educator, Haugen was also touted for his mentoring.

"Another area in which Mr. Haugen has demonstrated service to the field of music education in the state of Minnesota is his scholarship," Powell continued. "He spent the past 28 years developing systematic rubrics and evaluation tools for marching bands. His Tri-State judging adjudication forms have been used for several marching band competitions and parades, and have been copied and used by several other judging circuits around the nation."

"Tom Haugen has spent a lifetime giving of himself to promote music education. If they were asked, I am certain that countless people would be willing to write a letter of recommendation on his behalf. Tom has always been modest and has not sought recognition for his life's work. The time has come to recognize his many achievements and give credit for the many lives he has touched and improved. I nominate him for the Hall of Fame Award with the utmost sincerity and recommend him without reservation."

Individual honors held by Haugen include: recipient of the Carlo Sperati Award for sevice in the field of instrumental music in 1983; a nominee for the Karl King Award presented annually to an outstanding band director in Iowa; directed the 1973, 2009 and 2010 Luther Dorian Summer Camp Bands; and his 1987 selection as director to the University of Iowa All-State Camp Band. He also served as an all-state judge in Minnesota the past 13 years.

Haugen and his wife Lola run Tri-State Band Judges, which he started in 1982. They service 50 summer parades, five fall field show competitions, and 20-30 band clinics annually. His judging has taken him to 24 states and into Canada. He also is involved in judging for the Minnesota and Iowa State High School Leagues, where he judges solos and ensembles and also judges large group contests for choirs, bands and orchestras.

The couple has two grown children: Mrs. Marty (Kari) Dostalik of Urbandale and Todd Haugen of Story City. They also have two grandchildren, Adam (13) and Haley (11) Dostalik.