Alumni Awards - Alumni Stewardship and Service Award — Third Floor John and members Steve Mark '76, Todd Shusterman '74, Terry Van Zee '74, Ted Grubb '74 and Steve McCombs '74
For this award we honor not one but five people, all members of the band Third Floor John, for the alumni stewardship and service award. This award is given to those providing exceptional stewardship and service to the college and demonstrating the spirit of the mission of Central College in stewardship and service in their environments.
While all successfully have reached out to others on an individual level, it is what they’ve come together to do as a group that deserves special recognition.
After reading a newspaper article in 1997, Steve Mark became involved with a charitable organization called Songs of Love, devoted to providing personalized songs to children and young adults facing difficult medical challenges. After the success of Third Floor John’s Homecoming reunion concert in 2004, their first performance in 30 years, band members learned of the Songs of Love foundation and listened to recordings of the songs Steve had written for children. The group agreed to get back together on an annual basis and assembled at his Arlington, Texas, recording studio a year later to write and record TFJ’s first Songs of Love for two special children. This summer, the members met for the fourth time at the home of Steve McCombs in Pella, where the band completed another round of writing and recording personalized songs for what is now a total of eight children.
Steve Mark became a recording engineer and producer and has engineered and produced for scores of musicians in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well for his own solo album with original songs. He currently owns and operates a successful audio and video production business called Applause Audio Video in Arlington.
Steve McCombs has been on staff at Pella Community schools since 1989 and is in charge of the percussion program at the high school including the marching percussion section and ensembles. He directs the 5th and 8th grade bands and teaches lessons at all levels, has a private studio and is an affiliate instructor at a nearby college. He has served at the state level in many musical capacities and has been performing himself off and on for nearly 40 years.
Since 1979, Todd Shusterman has been teaching in Rockville, Centre, N.Y. He directs three concert bands, a very limited marching band, a jazz group and is involved with theatrical shows and an in house television studio. He also performs on weekends at a variety of engagements. He and a friend started another band in Long Island called Southern Grace and opened for such acts as Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Sherri Austin, Hal Ketchum and Reba McIntyre.
Ted Grubb received a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Massachussetts and moved to Colorado Springs in 1981. After 15 years in clinical practice, he now works for the Center for Creative Leadership as a senior faculty member, a non-profit organization that provides leadership development training and consultation for individuals, teams and organizations.
Terry Van Zee of Urbandale has been a warehouse operations manager, air traffic controller and for the last 25 years, a salesperson and director of service for Prairie Pella, Inc., a distributor of Pella windows and doors. Terry’s been very involved with his church, international missions, various civic organizations and still finds time to sing, bike, hike, woodwork, play guitar, travel and spend time with family, much like his bandmates.
