Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Doug Elmore.

For much of the 1980s, I took a modular approach to work: Evenings and weekends at the package store and daylight hours substitute teaching, with various summer gigs thrown in for travel cash.

So it was that I got to know Doug Elmore when he came on the scene at Floyd Central, and he was intense, driven and damned good at his chosen career. Later I embarked upon my own career of sorts, enabling me to share pints with Doug at the pub and talk about music -- classical, jazz, whatever. He generally was on hand to deliver color commentary during the era of the Butthead Bass Quartet, too.

He's a great guy, and deserving of this honor.

EXCELLENCE: Floyd County Orchestra teacher Doug Elmore wins state award, by Jerod Clapp (News and Tribune)

... “This award was wonderful because it was given and selected by a bunch of my peers — people who do this for a living,” Elmore said. “Being selected by your peers is great and there are a lot of really fine string instructors in Indiana who have done this for a long time. A lot of people other than me could have gotten this and I would have been fine.”

Elmore has taught orchestra at Floyd Central and Highland Hills Middle School for nearly 30 years. Aside from helping students master their instruments, he said he hopes to spark a passion for music that goes beyond his classroom and permeates the culture of the schools where he teaches.