Citing the need for more arts programs, KDH approves Mustang Music Outreach lease

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on June 9, 2026

(Left to right:) Musician and Mustang Music Director Ruth Wyand, musician and First Flight High teacher Ted Mitchell and proud grandmother Cathy Weeks were among the speakers at the June 8 meeting.

By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice

Following impassioned messages of support during the public comment period at their June 8 meeting, the Kill Devil Hills Commissioners approved leasing part of the old Fire Station to the Mustang Music Outreach Program.

The nonprofit organization, founded in 2012 by Ruth Wyand, and Mike Dianna, provides music lessons to kids in the community between the ages of 8 and 17, offers scholarships and also puts on concerts. It’s part of the group’s mission to “cultivate [young people’s] interest in music through world-class, professional music performances, residencies and monitoring programs.” Mustang Outreach Program

Under the agreement, the Mustang Music Outreach Program will pay $1,200 a month in rent for a five-year lease for approximately 3,400 square feet on space in the old Fire facility at 1634 N. Croatan. After the initial five years, there is the potential for two renewals of two years each.

During public comment at the June 8 meeting, a number of speakers highlighted the value of the program, sometimes in personal terms. One thread that echoed through their comments was the connection between music instruction and experience and young people’s well-being.

Several speakers noted that the lease will allow the program to move into a bigger space that could expand capacity and offerings. In her remarks, musician and Mustang Music Outreach Program Director Ruth Wyand reviewed the history of the program, and said it had outgrown its current space in the Seagate North Shopping Center in Kills Devil Hills.

Assistant Music Director Amanda Williams, pointed out that the teachers in the program are in the music industry. It is “well-known that schools have long suffered from underfunding of the arts,” she said, adding half-jokingly that “this is setting kids up, not just for failure, but for more crappy music in the world.”

Sheili Gates, President of the Mustang Music Outreach Program Board of Directors, said the program “provides significant public value…affordable and accessible arts programming enriches the quality of life, enriches community connections and makes Kill Devil Hills an even more attractive place to live, work and visit.”

The impact on kids was a central element of the remarks from Laura Willingham, who has two children in the program and is a volunteer herself.

“I don’t know a kid that’s not going through something,” she said. “I have seen these programs really change lives.”

Kathy Weeks, who has a grandchild in Mustang Music Outreach, stated that “he has been mentored by professional musicians” there. “It has enriched his life beyond measure,” she added.

Following public comment, the Kill Devil Hills Commissioners weighed in, with several stressing the need for arts programs and instruction in the county.

“Dare County offers many sports and recreation opportunities, but there is room to expand access to music and arts programs,” said Mayor John Windley, who called Mustang Music Outreach “a natural choice.”

In her remarks, Mayor Pro Tem Ivy Ingram cited local surveys reflecting the need for more recreational activities outside of sports.

“I think it’s important for the public to know that isn’t just us saying this is what we want to do. There’s data that proves that [programs like Mustang Music Outreach] is what’s needed in the community.”