Outstanding Contributor

Outstanding Bandmaster

The Outstanding Bandmaster award is presented annually by KBA to Kansas Band Directors who have distinguished themselves through their musical accomplishments, service to bands, and excellence in teaching. 

Selection Considerations

  • Kansas Bandmasters Association past membership
  • Service and impact to the Kansas Bandmasters Association
  • Nominations for Outstanding Bandmaster can include: Current or Retired KBA Members (award may be received posthumously)
  • Service has helped “Build Better Bands for Kansas”
  • Contributions to instrumental music education within the state of Kansas.

How to nominate a candidate:

  • Please fill out your name, e-mail address, and phone number in the fields below.
  • Click the “Add” button to enter your nominee’s information.
  • Once you have entered the first candidate, you may enter additional candidates by repeating the process above.
  • When you have finished adding candidates, click “Submit Nomination(s)”

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2024 Outstanding Contributor – Jim Fuchs


Jim Fuchs was born and raised on a dairy farm in Concordia, MO. His introduction to music was as a clarinet player in grade school. He graduated from Central Missouri State University in 1963 with a degree in Music Education, following the lead of his older brother Gerald Fuchs (1995 KBA Outstanding Contributor and the father of college band instructors Jeff and Craig, deceased).

He began his education career in Mound City, Kansas, after learning of the opening from Ray King (1981 KBA Outstanding Contributor), an Education Rep for Bohart Music. This relationship introduced him to the important roles of Education Reps and would ultimately set the stage for the “second verse” of his career years later. He taught in Mound City from 1963 through 1968 before moving to Paola, Kansas where he raised his family and taught until 1984. Throughout his tenure in Paola, he led the entire instrumental program from 5th grade through high school, often leading over 350 students per year spread over four different buildings and was awarded the USD #368 Master Teacher Award. He also was a member of the Kansas Lions International Band Staff for 9 years and a Charter member of the Eastern Kansas Band Directors Association. A lifelong Lutheran, he also served First Lutheran Church in Paola as choir and music director for 33 years.

Mr. Fuchs joined Hume Music in 1984 as an Education Rep, focusing on bands throughout Eastern Kansas. He later performed the same role for Meyer Music for 12 years, retiring in 2022. He viewed the career transition as a natural progression from serving one band to many and he valued the many relationships he formed over those year as a “Road Man”. He has always enjoyed nurturing those relationships by attending and exhibiting at the KBA convention for 40 years.

Jim found his lifelong education philosophy in the words of Martin Luther: “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. The gift of language combined with the gift of song was given to man that he should proclaim the Word of God through Music.” He has sought to share this gift for over 60 years and measures his career not in terms of individual accomplishments but the relationships he’s built and accomplishments of the thousands of students whose lives he has touched throughout his career.


Past Recipients

2024 Jim Fuchs

2023 Bob Bitter

2022 Randy Fillmore

2021 Craig Manteuffel

2020 Jim Mareda

2019 Ed Bartley & Gary Fletcher

2018 Lori Supinie

2017 Craig Johnson

2016 Becky Manning

2015 Reggie Romine

2014 Andy Clark

2013 Richard Fruhauf

2012 Harold Willis

2011 J. Bradley Bone

2010 Ron Allen

2009 Bob Marshall

2008 Paul Rimovsky

2007 Ken Fruhauf

2006 Larry Blocher

2005 Clyde Bysom

2004 Chuck Rouse

2003 Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass

2002 Bill Johnson

2001 Don Corbett

2000 Dee Starkey

1999 Clyde Phillips

1998 James Barnes

1997 Bill Funk

1997 Arch Martin

1996 Denny Senseney

1995 Gerald W. Fuchs

1994 Max Green

1993 Chuck Blackrim

1992 Bob Laushman

1991 Bob Cunningham

1990 Jim Starkey

1989 Leon Hale

1988 Frank Fendorf

1987 Charlie Molina

1986 Bueford T. Roper

1985 Joe Hume, Hume Music

1984 Alton Foster

1983 Cecil Knight

1982 George Johnson

1981 Ray King

1980 Merrill Jones

1979 “Viv” Meckel

1979 Lou Fruhauf

1977 “Cal” Calavan

1976 Lloyd Muir