Difiore honored with Center for Arts and Education

Roene B. Difiore believed that anybody could sing, and she could turn anybody into a singer. As does the Center for Arts and Education.

Difiore, who was placed in Dixie State College's Hall of Fame in 1998 for her impact and many years spent at DSC, was not only the founder of the Program Bureau, but also the reason many lost souls found themselves at Dixie State.

Difiore,a student who then turned into a music teacher at DSC, was known for her keenness to talent and community. She came to Dixie for its undeniable spirit and kept the legacy going through involvement in the performing arts, former student Ernie Doose said.

"She was the most amazingly unusual and enthusiastic being I had ever met," said Karl Brooks, an old friend and colleague of Difiore. "She wasn't afraid to tell people they could do better and always seemed to find the kids who had hidden talent."

Doose, a student of Difiore and the director of the new Roene B. Difiore Center for Arts and Education, said without Roene he wouldn't have accomplished what he has in his lifetime.

"All my life I was told that I was stupid and that I wouldn't amount to anything," Doose said. "But when I met Difiore she told me that I wasn't stupid that I just needed to learn through my creativity."

Doose met Difiore when he was a shy, awkward kid who had a hard time learning quickly.

"Dixie State College has always focused on the individual, and Difiore's lifelong goal was to not only do that, but also bring each individual together," Doose said. "She wanted to be able to take the student body president and the slow learner and link them hand in hand to sing together. And she did."

The Roene B. Difiore Center for Arts and Education was founded Nov. 10, 2011, and the school's main focus is to give students the opportunity to learn creatively. Doose said the center will be a creative resource for schools who hope to help their students learn. He also said they will be programming educational art into the schools as learning systems.

"It doesn't matter if they struggle with math or science or whatever else, they can learn those art forms here through visual and hands-on learning," Doose said. "We can teach them how to use their creativity to learn the basics."

The center will be open to children from kindergarten to 12th grade. Doose said the center will have no waiting list, and he hopes to never have to turn a student away.

"Roene was unafraid to do or try anything, and she always seemed to find people with the most beautiful voices who didn't even know it," Brooks said. "I always knew when I was trying to sell individuals on Dixie State that taking them into Difiore's classroom would do it."

Brooks said Doose was one of Difiore's biggest successses along with many others.

"She helped him find his talent and gave him the enthusiasm to entertain," Brooks said.

Her name and legacy will be remembered through the Difiore Center for Arts and Education, located at 307 N. Main St. or the old Hafen house. The center is scheduled to open June 25, 2012, Difiore's 92nd birthday.

"I always wanted to keep her name as the heart of Dixie Spirit," Doose said. "So her name will live on."