Meeting Report from March 6, 2001

Meeting

Rotary Wheel

Report

March 6, 2001
By JACK SMYLIE

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     Judith Alien, president of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and Spirit Square Center for Arts and Education, Rotary's guest speaker, gave an enthusiastic report on the Center's progress. She should know, for she was consultant to Doug Booth's original planning committee before being hired as manager in 1992.
     Prior to coming to Charlotte in 1990, she directed the Bushnell Center in Hartford, Connecticut, for five years. With a bachelor's degree from the University of Rhode Island, she consults with arts organizations and conducts seminars in communities developing arts programs.
     Under her leadership, Blumenthal has become one of the top centers in the nation. Its budget has grown from less than $5 million to almost $17 million, and during the '99-2000 season 530,000 people took part in almost 3,900 activities in its different locations, including Belk, Booth and Studio theaters in Blumenthal, and Duke Power and McGlohan theaters at Spirit Square.
     Such volume makes the Center a growing part of Charlotte tourism, attracting visitors from many states. For example, more than 60,000 tickets have already been purchased for the current four-week run of "Phantom of the Opera," with buyers coming from 25 states and the District of Columbia as well as the Carolinas. During its 1999 eight-week run, "Phantom" attracted 131,000, including visitors from 24 states. In 1997 "Miss Saigon" drew 74,000 from 37 other states and the United Kingdom.
     Using conservative multipliers, the Center's economic impact quickly runs to millions in added business for Charlotte's restaurants, bars, hotels, and parking decks, and makes the city a cultural as well as a sports mecca for the region. Has Charlotte's investment in the Performing Arts Center paid off? Handsomely!
     PAC provides housing for the city's fourteen resident companies, including the Charlotte Symphony, N. C. Dance Theatre, Opera Carolina, Community School of the Arts, and Charlotte Repertory Theatre, to name a few. More than that, the Center's professional staff provides support and assistance to these groups, making each more successful in its own area.
     And as a "presenting" company, PAC imports the best available talent to enrich the region with a large menu of opportunity. After "Phantom" came "Ragtime," Larry Gatlin in "The Civil War," Carlota Santana's Spanish Dance Company, Duke Ellington's Orchestra, and Hotlanta Dixieland Jazz Band.
     PAC's Education Institute, now in its third year, helps schools integrate arts into the curriculum to support basic skills and socialization. Patterned after similar efforts at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, it extends its long partnership with the Northwest School of the Arts to other schools, currently University Park Elementary School and Ida Rankin Elementary School in Gaston County's Mount Holly. These partnerships provide integration of the arts with basic skills, live performances (e.g. four public performances of "Carousel" by Northwest students this weekend), and teacher training projects using arts to teach science and math. As a result of this good work PAC has been selected as a national partner of Kennedy Center. Adjacent counties are calling for information and assistance with similar projects.
     A Marketing Services Organization has also gained national attention as a model for marketing non-profit arts organizations. Initiated by a grant from the Knight Foundation, this $1.7 million agency combines marketing budgets of arts organizations to create more professional and effective results. A new vice president for marketing with experience in large New York agencies is expected on board shortly.
     All in all, this was an excellent report on the success of Charlotte's public/ private partnership in the performing arts!
     President Don began the meeting requesting Duke Ison to introduce and welcome many visiting Rotarians and guests. Tom Hutchins' Health and Happiness reminded us of upcoming birthdays and Worth Williamson's anniversary, as well as the humorous possibilities of cell phones.
     After the pledge of allegiance, Howard Chadwick led the singing of "When the Saints Go Marching In," and George Thompson gave the invocation.
     Mark Norman introduced Andy Calhoun and Rob Thomas introduced Harry "Skip" Berry as the club's new members, who were then given committee assignments by President Don. Don Haack presented a club banner from the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Club, which sponsors a nationwide Rotary ski project. Mary-Stuart Brooks called for volunteers for the Sugar Creek Community Center's ESL program.
     Additional Rotarians at the head table included new members Russell Ranson, Monteic Sizer, and Cynthia Marshall, as well as Dave Guilford and Hal Bouton, who introduced the speaker.

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