A Feel Good Friday surprise for a woman who has spent 50 years supporting the arts in eastern Idaho

EastIdahoNews.com and Ashley in Idaho Falls and Pocatello are partnering to honor people in our community for Feel Good Friday. Every week, we surprise someone deserving of special recognition.

We recently received an email about a woman who has put in countless hours helping with the arts in eastern Idaho. It said:

There’s someone in this community who has been a major supporter of the arts for nearly 50 years in her current role who doesn’t like the attention but could certainly use some praise.

Gayleen Meservey has been part of a nonprofit called Sounds Choir/Sounds Summer Musical and will be putting on the 46th annual production this year with her as Director. She also runs a quaint store called The Costume Shop that has supplied shows throughout the decades with costumes that aid in converting the cast into the characters they’re portraying, from the brothers of Joseph to the von Trapp family to a castle full of people turned into household items, which she’ll be doing for this year’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

The shows she puts on – along with several other volunteers in the community – continue bringing people into the area from all over every June so they can experience Sounds Summer Musical’s continued guarantee of family-friendly entertainment that is performed at a level above your typical community theater.

Anyone who’s been in her productions has incredible respect for her talent at directing and her ability to spot and develop talent on the stage. While she’s seen in the playbill for the musicals, she sits quietly in the audience and never takes a bow – giving all the credit for the enjoyment of the performances to the cast and crew and orchestra.

We decided to surprise Gayleen before closing night this week and thank her for what she’s done! Watch in the video player above.