Mark Fauser has been a television and movie actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He had parts in such shows as Jag, Evening Shade, Coach, SeaQuest, and Quantum Leap. He moved from Hollywood to Marion, Indiana in the early 2000’s and proceeded to help build up the Community School of the Arts as the Executive Director. He has continued to add value to the Marion community as the Director of Marketing for the City and currently serves as a Creative Development Consultant for Marion Community Schools. He has a love and passion for helping the community and has a desire to give back. His relationships with such stars as Jim Caviezel, Kelly Ripa, Billy Bob Thornton, and his mentor Burt Reynolds were key as he was able to get them to help the Community School of the Arts in various ways. In 2006 he won the Marion Grant County Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award. In 2007 he won the Indiana University Public Service Award and the Grant County Community Achievement Award. He was presented with the 2011 Indiana Governor’s Arts Award for his work as a writer, actor and his leadership for the Community School of the Arts. He lives with his wife and three children in Marion, Indiana and works out of a home office that is decorated from wall-to-wall with action figures.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- What it was like to work in Hollywood
- Building pride and raising money in a school district
- Going to school with Brad Pitt and Sheryl Crow at the University of Missouri
Dan Wood is the Executive Director of the National Christian College Athletic Association. He joined the NCCAA national office staff in 2000. Dan was the recipient of the 2016 Professional Excellence Award from Southern Wesleyan University’s (SWU) School of Education. He serves on the Advisory Board of Sports Spectrum Magazine, is a member of Greenville Connect Ministry, and as a member of ALIVE Wesleyan he has provided leadership in building and capital campaigns and youth ministry. Prior to his time with the NCCAA, he was involved in Christian Higher Education, beginning in 1987 as a professor, coach, and Athletic Director at Christian universities. Dan was awarded NCCAA and NAIA Coach of the Year in Men’s Soccer and Men’s Golf; received the NCCAA Meritorious Service Award; and was inducted into SWU and Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Larry DeSimpelare is the commissioner of the Crossroads League, which is arguably the best NAIA conference in the country when it comes to combining national-level competition and an emphasis on character-building. The Crossroads League has schools from the state of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Before becoming a commissioner, Larry served as a collegiate men’s basketball coach at Cleveland State University, Rutgers University, Kent State University, Eastern Michigan University and Concordia University. Along the way, DeSimpelare helped guide those programs to three league titles, eight NIT berths and four NCAA bids, where he helped Eastern Michigan take out Duke and Cleveland State upend Wake Forest in a pair of opening round upsets.