The inaugural meeting of the reformation of the Effingham County Council for the Arts has been set for Jan. 7 at the Effingham Chamber of Commerce.
Plans for the board call for a few more members and for ex-officio seats for each of the Effingham cities and for the county and the IDA. Rick Lott, who has been a non profit executive director for nearly 20 years, said he thinks there is a great desire for more arts programming in the area. He said the first meeting will be largely organizational and anyone who has worked with this or other arts groups, or who are just interested in the arts in Effingham County, are welcome to attend.
It’s been several years since Effingham County had an arts council but a group of community leaders says it’s time to build it again.
Marsha Lott is joined by a number of community leaders in re-establishing the council. A vote will be taken at Thursday’s meeting to formally elect a board of directors and the officers for the first six months. The proposed first slate of officers consists of Effingham Schools Assistant Superintendent Greg Arnsdorff as vice chairman and Citizens Bank vice-president Barbara Oglesby as secretary/treasurer for the group.
Other board members will include: Effingham Hospital CEO Norma Jean Morgan, Tess Hynes of the Effingham Chamber, Rincon city planner LaMeisha Hunter, Rick Terrell of Coca Cola, Andrea Huff of the Effingham Community Orchestra and Tamara Tyre with the Effingham Theatre.
The group believes that one reason it had been difficult in the past for an arts council to thrive was a lack of governmental support. The group has just filed with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office for reinstatement of the arts council. Once that’s done, the arts council plans to file with the IRS for 501c3 non profit status so it can apply for arts grants.
The group plans to start a membership drive soon. Membership levels will be geared to individuals, families, and businesses.
Anyone interested in the council or this meeting are welcome to attend or to contact Rick Lott at ricklott@sbcglobal.net or call (912) 228-2028.
