The Zoe Talbert Award is designated to honor a WSL Past President of Keynote status (a member with 25 years or more in the WSL) who has served in one or more of the following capacities: WSL Ball Chairman, ETSO President, TASO President, served as a member of ASOL Volunteer Council, served as a member of the Texas Commission on the Arts, and continues to participate in leadership roles to promote symphonic music and music education.

Recipients of the Zoe Talbert Award:

LaVerne Gollob
2014 Recipient

LaVerne Gollob is a tireless volunteer who continues to provide outstanding service, support, and promotion of symphony orchestras.  She served as president of WSL from 1991-1992 and tri-chaired the Ball in 2010. Locally, she chaired the Tour of Homes for Historic Tyler in 1995, was the President of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Association in 2002-2003, and chaired the Bethesda Fundraiser in 2012.  In addition, LaVerne served as the 2010 President of the Texas Association of Symphony Orchestras (TASO).  In the TASO organization she tri-chaired the annual conference in 2003 and 2014, co-chaired the Juanita Miller Concerto Competition, and was an advisor to the Board in several capacities.

Mildred Witte
2005 Recipient

Local Level – Women’s Symphony League

• By-Law Chairman and Long Range Planning
• Season Ticket Sales Chair and Kinderkonzert Chair
• President-Elect and President 1988-89
• Instituted a “Placement “ program
• Instituted “Active” and “Associate” membership
• Season Ticket Sales Chair – won ASOL Season Ticket Sales Campaign “Red Hot Season” –only “sold out” year for ETSO
• A financial supporter of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra through the annual fund
• Chaired the Season Ticket Sales for the second time in 2001-2002

She joined the Board of Directors of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Association in 1987.

State Level – She joined TASO in 1987 as the delegate from the WSL of Tyler.

• By-laws Chair
• TASO Conference Chair 1993-94
• President of TASO 1994-95
• Underwriting for Juanita Miller State Youth Competition 2001 and advisory member of the TASO board
• Supervised and aided her daughter in the design and activation of the TASO website last year
• Appointed to the Texas Commission of the Arts by Governor Rick Perry in 2001 to serve for a period of 6 years.
• Artistic Advisory Chairman for North East Texas

National Level – She was nominated and elected to the Volunteer Council of the American Symphony Orchestra League in 1993 and served through 2001.

• Editor of the newsletter “The Recorder”
• Chair of the Education and Program Committee for the Volunteer Conference Track of the 1999 ASOL Conference in Washington, D.C.
• Chaired the Symphony Store for ASOL Conference
• She continues her leadership role by mentoring several leagues/guilds in southeast Texas and Louisiana within ASOL Mentoring Program.

She has held numerous leadership roles in many civic associations in Tyler. During all her volunteer activities through the years, she has been married to Tyler periodontist, Doug Witte and raised SIX children.