On Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011 a board of directors was officially elected by the general membership marking the official creation of a San Juan County Arts Council. Its mission: to promote and integrate the artistic resources of the county for the creative economic development, education and overall well-being of the community.
Board members are represented by persons from San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands. The newly elected board members of the SJCAC are: Teddy Deane, Krista Strutz, Helen Machin Smith, Emily Reed, Debbie Pigman and Liz Illg from San Juan. Sylvia Chesley Smith and Dennis Ryan from Lopez and Lance Evans and Jane Alden form Orcas. Officers will be elected at the December meeting to be held on Orcas on Dec. 1.
For membership, general information or a copy of the SJCAC Comprehensive Plan please e-mail: info@sanjuanartscouncil.org.
So, who was elected?
The following people were elected to the board of The San Juan County Arts Council on Thursday, Nov. 3.
Krista Strutz – San Juan
Emily Reed – San Juan
Teddy Deane – San Juan
Liz Illg – San Juan
Helen Machin- Smith – San Juan
Debbie Pigman – San Juan
Jane Alden – Orcas
Lance Evans – Orcas
Dennis Ryan – Lopez
Sylvia Chesley Smith – Lopez
This seems to be a predominance of San Juan people. I do not like this, because so much of the major performance/theatrical/visual arts are happening on Orcas Island. An explanation of “why” the predominance of San Juan people would be welcomed! Is it because that’s were the county monies are?
Elected by the general membership of what?
Yes, the Arts Council is San Juan centric at the moment. Two reasons: First, the start up grant was given by the San Juan Community Foundation. It began from a critical needs task force, and members on the original committee signed on from this task force. The mandate however was to create a county-wide organization and I whole heartedly agree that this is the proper course for the council to follow. Second, Orcas and Lopez interest has been sparse with the exception of Jane Alden who has been dedicated and instrumental in the formation of the Council. We are extremely happy to have Lance Evans, Sylvia Chesley Smith and Dennis Ryan on the board now and we hope that their involvement in our communities will spur more interest and commitment. We turned down many people from San Juan because of our desire to create equal geographical representation. To date we have found no one from Shaw or other non-ferry served islands, but we’re looking. Meetings will rotate monthly now on 3 islands.
If you would like to become a member of the San Juan County Arts Council, e-mail me at info@sanjuanartscouncil.org with the island you are on. There are no dues, individual membership is free. We have been focused for the last two years in getting the Council up and running and we still have a ways to go in that department, but we hope to assist existing art organizations and provide more access to all arts in the County eventually. I encourage you to request a copy of our comprehensive plan and check it out. Currently we have a little over 200 members total and over 50 from Orcas. It’s all about commitment. If you have the energy and time to help, we would love your involvement. We are an all-volunteer group and are sincerely interested in making this a successful county-wide endeavor.
Along with Jane Alden, I am pleased to be on the Board of the Arts Council, representing Orcas Island. As Teddy Deane has pointed out, the formation of the organization was San Juan-based. Yes, I share the concern that groups and organizations tend to be located on Friday Harbor or San Juan Island, sometimes to the apparent exclusion of the other islands. However, it was abundantly clear that the Board supported equal representation for all our islands’ arts. Meetings will rotate through the islands. As this group grows I firmly believe it will be fair-minded and reach across all the San Juan Islands in representing and promoting the Arts.