John Kern, a Michigan native, couldn’t help but be intrigued when Chris Moore first told him about the idea to bring Vicksburg’s old paper mill back to life. Despite his Michigan roots, John still hadn’t known much about the village of Vicksburg or its paper mill, but when he visited in Summer 2015, he knew immediately that he wanted to be a part of this project and help bring Chris Moore’s vision to life.
In September 2015, John and his wife Jackie permanently moved to Vicksburg to be fully immersed in this project. With an extensive background across several disciplines—primarily education but also audio and video production, marketing promotions, and public speaking—John became The Mill’s spokesman for arts, culture, and placemaking, engaging with local schools, universities, and other entities in the community to generate excitement about restoring The Mill.
In 2017, John worked with then COO, Jackie Koney, Chris, and Associate Residency Director Fran Li to create the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency. The residency was designed to serve artists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, affording them the time, space, and support to grow their practice while using the former Lee Paper Company Mill as their muse. Since its inception, Prairie Ronde has hosted artists from around the world. After the pandemic, the residency began offering local and regional musicians the opportunity to perform live in Vicksburg. In late 2024, the residency launched Come As You Art—a quarterly speaker series devoted to further supporting artists and delivering more meaningful cultural programming to Vicksburg.
In addition to his work with The Mill, John has served on the board for the Vicksburg Farmers’ Market and has volunteered extensively through local aid organizations.
After graduating from Michigan State University in 1988, John continued his education, earning a supplemental degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis and completing Masters coursework at the University of Washington in Seattle.
