EMILY BUSBY - GUNTERSVILLE

Emily Busby makes pottery under the name of Em’s Pots. Her work is often found year-round in downtown Guntersville stores such as the Red Elephant Marketplace and at the annual Art on the Lake Festival in Guntersville, the Kentuck Arts & Crafts Festival in Northport, and the Moss Rock Festival in Hoover. 

Emily has also been a regular exhibitor during MVAC’s Holiday Art Markets in November-December each year. Emily says that encouragement from MVAC made her try out for Kentuck Art Festival in Northport, and now she’s exhibited during their huge October show for several years. \

Emily is a retired Nurse Practitioner who lives with her husband on a bluff overlooking the Guntersville River Bridge.

The MVAC Board looks forward to her “potterly” contributions to MVAC’s programs.

jOHN DERUMS -

GEORGIA MOUNTAIN AREA

A native of Columbus, GA, John moved to Georgia Mountain from Ft Myers, FL about nine years ago after retiring from the local Parks & Recreation Department as a supervisor.  He is married to Debbie, and has three children - Taylor of Greenville, SC; Jacob of Littleton, CO; and Megan of Los Angeles, CA. John's parents and older siblings immigrated from Latvia via Germany (where one sister was born), and then settled in Columbus, GA. However, John does not speak Latvian! A fun fact is that their family did not celebrate birthdays as much as "Name Day" - which is rumored to be a European tradition.

Since arriving in the Guntersville area, John volunteers at the Guntersville Museum guild as a docent and has played ukulele with the Ukesters for several years.  John is the creator/maintainer of the Ukesters website and created the entire digital presence for the recent Uketoberfest held at Civitan Park in 2024. John's interest in the arts is as an admirer although he dabbles in photography and videography, and of course ukulele playing as mentioned above.

The MVAC Board voted John onto the board during 2025, and now he’s up for election by the full MVAC membership for his first three-year term. He has been instrumental in securing a large screen TV for Art Forum presentations, speakers and antenna for music in the gallery, MVAC event photography, event tent for concerts, and so much more.

JENNIE MCBRIDE - GUNTERSVILLE

Jennie has been involved in some type of art her whole life. She is a writer and a visual artist as well as an amateur living room musician. She recently won the People’s Choice Award in an international memoir contest.

After moving to Guntersville in 1983, she began volunteering for Mountain Valley Arts Council and the Whole Backstage. She became assistant director of the MVAC in 1993 and was made director in 1997. Before retiring in 2005, the Council had grown from an annual budget of $34,000 to $87,000 and the membership had doubled. She wrote many successful grants during that period, but her proudest achievements were to introduce the area to local and visiting artists in the gallery and creating the Summer Concert series, the predecessor of the concerts we have today.

Jennie lives with her husband, Jim Goshorn, who is a metal sculptor.  She continues to write and is working on a book of personal essays and memoir pieces. She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany and volunteers for the Epiphany Outreach Ministry, the Guntersville Lion’s Club and the Guntersville Friends of the Library. She and Jim live with 3 cats and a dog and enjoy having numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The MVAC Board voted Jennie onto the board during 2025, and now she is up for election to a three-year term by the full MVAC membership.

HEATHER MCCANN - ALBERTVILLE

As a seasoned leader and organizer, Heather most recently served as president of the Guntersville Lions Club and concurrently manages her own organizing and furniture restoration business.

She was raised by two artistic parents, Jennie McBride and sculptor Jim Goshorn who live in Guntersville.

Heather has honed her ability to build robust communities with her extensive experience which spans 30 years in management and with her roles as a volunteer coordinator and event coordinator.

Heather collaborated with Alabama State Parks for 11 years surrounded by the natural splendor of North Alabama, which has gave her with invaluable insights for tourism marketing endeavors.

Heather’s unwavering commitment is to contribute positively to the well-being of my community. The MVAC Board looks forward to her work with MVAC.