Tom Hayes - Chairman: After almost three years of service on the Board of the AAAC, Tom was elected Chair on September 10, 2009. He is dedicated to the success of the organization and leads with an essential open door policy that has been graciously extended to the community as well as to the staff of the AAAC. He has sat on the board of Building Bridges, a local organization dedicated to promoting racial harmony, and continues to have an interest in the ongoing discussion and implementation of a more color blind society. Tom was born in Oklahoma, but made his way to Asheville in 1981. He started his own business in 1988 which he continues to operate as Thomas Hayes Construction, a limited liability company with an unlimited building NC contractor license.
Larry Golson, OD - Vice Chairman: Larry received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Georgia, and a Doctorate of Optometry at the Southern College of Optometry in 2002. He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and moved to Asheville in 2006 to start his own eye care facility, Envision Eyecare. He has traveled to Central and South America on service trips providing eye care to residents in underdeveloped countries and donates services locally to the Lions Club and Prevent Blindness North Carolina. In addition to his position as Vice-Chair of the Asheville Area Arts Council, Larry is a Rotary member and supports Asheville Greenworks.
Kelly Gold: is a Broker with Beverly-Hanks & Associates specializing in residential real estate. An avid art collector, Kelly has been on the Board of Directors of the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center since 2005. She recently served as Treasurer and is currently Secretary. Kelly co-curated an exhibition at the museum and has co-authored an exhibition catalog which won the NC Museum Council's 2007 award for best limited color catalog. In 2007, she was a guest curator and writer on "Living By Design: Mid-Century Modern" for the Asheville Art Museum. In 2008, Kelly was the chairperson for the second annual "Mobiles Over Asheville" fundraising gala in downtown Asheville. Most recently, she was a contributing writer on a book for the Catawba Valley Historical Association to be published in 2009. Kelly also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts League of the Carolinas, a non-profit art school of drawing and painting founded by fresco artist, Ben Long, to preserve and develop the traditions and techniques of the Old Masters.
