Arts council selects officers

MEEKER I The Meeker Arts and Cultural Council, Inc., (MACC) met March 5 to ratify articles of incorporation and select a board of directors and officers to guide the organization into a very worthwhile program for the Meeker community.
Directors and officers elected are Gary Zellers, president; Matt Holliday, vice president; Vanessa Trout, secretary/treasurer. Members of the board of directors include Stephanie Kobald, Laurie Zellers, Georgeanne Amack and Bob Amick. Joe Fennessy was appointed as legal counsel for MACC. Also attending were Ellene Meece, president of the Rio Blanco County Historical Society and White River Museum; and Mary Ann Wilber, co-president of the Rio Blanco County Pioneers Association which will host the 100th Old Timers Reunion on June 2 at the Fairfield Center. Other MACC members present were Kami Cochran, Tawny Halandras and Josh Halstead.
The MACC is a community-based coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to the promotion and implementation of a broad spectrum of performing arts, fine arts and cultural opportunities for the Meeker community. Creative industries comprise the fifth largest economic engine in the state of Colorado and can greatly enhance the economy of communities that adopt such programs in the form of jobs, patronage of local businesses and general economic growth. For example, the Creede Repertory Theatre was founded 40 years ago and annually brings thousands of patrons from around the world to attend professional theater productions. More than $4 million is spent in Colorado by those patrons, and the small mountain town of Creede of about 400 people enjoys annual expenditures of more than $2 million.
The Colorado legislature recently created a provision for such community-based coalitions to initiate creative districts which include local businesses, arts and cultural organizations, local governments and special districts. Creative districts become eligible for specially recognized legal status and are eligible for startup grants and fundraising opportunities to promote such growth. Vanessa Trout is coordinating the MACC effort toward qualifying for creative district status.
Many Colorado communities, both large and small, have initiated such organizations to bring professional artists in many aspects of arts and culture to the community to enrich appreciation and participation in arts programs that otherwise might not be available except in large metropolitan areas. Councils are also promoting fundraising and grants for the design and building or renovation of performing arts venues such as theaters and auditoriums to host performances and productions in local communities.
A recent article in the Denver Post described a successful effort in Parker, Colo., resulting in the construction of a new performing arts center and a similar fine arts facility.
The Rio Blanco County Historical Society and the Rio Blanco County Pioneers Association (Old Timers) have also joined with MACC to promote an oral history documentation project in which interviews of county residents and families will be conducted and documented through video recordings and transcription of text to create material for the “This is What I Remember” series of historical remembrance books. A new approach may be to provide such resources in electronic and Internet format to make them more widely available
Other immediate goals of MACC include presenting a dinner theater production in May, possibly hosted at the old elementary school and inviting youth and adults interested in performing or assisting to join in the effort. Other ongoing programs are the Center Stage Youth Theatrical Group that produced “Annie, Jr.,” and “Cinderella Kids” through the ERBM Recreation District in 2010 and 2011. An exciting musical for youth has already been chosen for the 2012 November production. MACC will begin seeking grant and donation resources to bring these programs to the Meeker community.
Membership in MACC is open to any individual youth or adult, and representatives of organizations, governments and special districts who may be interested. The next meeting will be held April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Meeker United Methodist Church annex. For more information please contact President Gary Zellers at 878-0554 or email [email protected].