BOARD eNEWS

JANUARY 2015

KIM’S CORNER

“Our excellent relationship with the area school systems is key to our success here. In fact, for the first time ever, JCPS created a budget line item of $100,000 in support of StageOne,” said Peter Holloway. Speaking of firsts, StageOne has launched, in partnership with the Center, a new Family Pass this year modeled after the Louisville Zoo and Kentucky Science Center. Since an early October rollout, StageOne has seen over 420 new Family Pass members.

Leslie Broecker commented that Broadway is thrilled with its 14/15 numbers and Lion King, which went on sale in December, will surely sell out. In fact, the Center has already far surpassed its convenience and handling sales goals for the entire run of Lion King. Leslie sites the strength of the sales directly to the variety of shows this season and the high quality, great value performances. In Leslie’s words, “an evening at the Center for a Broadway show is a big deal.”

The Louisville Ballet surpassed its revenue and attendance goals in its production of the Brown-Forman Nutcracker as well. And Kalightoscope at the Galt House, for which we sell tickets, experienced its biggest season ever, surpassing last year’s sales by $116,000.

Hearty congratulations are due to Actors Theatre as Jennifer Bielstein shared with me that A Christmas Carol was completely sold out, and their implementation of pricing strategies led to a wonderful increase in revenue.

Gifts came in many shapes and sizes to the Center this holiday season. Sales were up for our residents, and what’s good for them is good for us. StageOne’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever exceeded its student matinee goals.

Perhaps for me one of the most meaningful gifts was giving back to the community in a very unique way. Peter Holloway from StageOne approached us to partner and offer a free performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for homeless families, starting with a warm breakfast and a visit from Mr. Claus himself. Through a variety of donations, including a fantastic Santa suit from Mary Moseley at the Galt House, a gift was given to all of the staff who were able to serve this tremendously underserved part of our community. Over 500 people, families and children visited us that day with incredible gratitude and appreciation.

I hope all of you had as wonderful a holiday season and received gifts in many ways as we did here at the Center. We thank you for the gifts you give us through your service to the arts in our community.

Jeffrey Jamner has a broad background in arts education and creative programming. He has been the director of school programs at The Kentucky Center since 1998, where he has helped create, develop and direct such programs as Arts Academies for teachers, the Gheens Great Expectations young artist concert and residency program and World Rhythms education programs and cultural marketplace. Jeff is also a classical concert pianist and hearing him perform is a genuine treat.

EMPLOYEEPROFILE

Q: What do you like best about working at The Kentucky Center?A: Designing programs that light up educational experiences through the arts.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?A: A concert pianist.

Q: When did you discover your love for the arts?A: I have loved music deeply for as long as I can remember… in pre-school, I was allowed to

bring a transistor radio tuned to the classical music station.

Q: When someone is asked, “What’s Jeff like?” you hope they answer…A: Helpful.

Q: Best performance you have seen at the Kentucky Center? A: That’s hard to answer – there are so many…Miles Davis, Twyla Tharp & Mikhail Baryshnikov,

the Louisville Orchestra performing Mahler’s orchestral songs Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and The Punch Brothers are among my favorites.

DIRECTOR/SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Q: In two words: How would you describe yourself?A: Passionate and dedicated

Q: As a community leader, why do you want to volunteer at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts?

A: I consider a strong arts program to be a cornerstone of the community. I am passionate about Louisville, especially the growth of the downtown area, and firmly believe the Kentucky Center is the keystone to our City’s performing arts. When I meet with companies considering relocation to Louisville, I love showing the Center’s central location and shamelessly pointing out its prominence in the City.

Q: What have you learned from or about board service? A: Board service can be challenging at times. Most members are extremely passionate in their

views and not everyone shares the same vision. I believe one of the most important qualities of an effective board member is to be able to truly listen and understand the perspective of other members to ensure the best decision is being made for the organization for which you are serving.

Q: What other community causes and organizations do you support?A: I have served on the Board of Directors and continue to support the Clifton Center and the

Cabbage Patch Settlement House. I was involved in the Every1 Reads Program and Meyzeek Middle School. I also support the 21 Century Parks, March of Dimes and The Morton Center.

Q: Best performance you have seen at the Kentucky Center? A: There are so many it’s hard to rank one above the others. I did truly enjoy sharing a night

with friends to see Book of Mormon. None of us knew what to expect and it was delightful.

Q: What is your life motto? A: Be honest, dependable and have a sense of ownership in all actives.

PROFILEBOARD MEMBER

WHO’S

WHO

Doug Owen, Cassidy Turley Harry K. Moore, was elected to the Foundation board in 2013. Since that time, Doug has been actively involved in the Facilities and Foundation Nominating committees and has been a great resource to the Center’s venue project.

KENTUCKY CENTER BOARD MEMBER

DOUG OWEN JEFF JAMNER

COMM

UNITY

NEW

SCOMMUNITY NEWS

WHAT

’S NE

WWHAT’S NEWDARK LADY OF THE SONNETS

The Kentucky Center enters into a new partnership with Kentucky Shakespeare, presenting Dark Lady of the Sonnets, a one act radio play that will be released as a podcast later this year.

STAFF HOLIDAY PARTY

The 2014 Staff Holiday party, and pajama party, was a big success.

ArtsReach, a program of The Kentucky Center, is made possible with support from Louisville Metro Government, The Norton Foundation, WHAS Crusade for Children, Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation, RLR Foundation, Mark Edwards Violins, D’Addario Music Foundation, Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, Ernst & Young and The Kentucky Center Endowment Fund with additional support provided by Brown-Forman, Yum! Brands, Inc. and other private donors.

THE KENTUCKY CENTER ARTSREACH IN COLLABORATION WITH THE OFFICE OF MAYOR GREG FISCHER AND RIVER CITY DRUM CORP PRESENTS

KEEPERSDREAMOF

THE

A COMMUNITY

ARTS CELEBRATION

OFDR. KING’S VISION

SUNDAY JANUARY 18 5PM4:00-4:45 PM PRE-SHOWACTIVITIES IN MAIN LOBBY

THE KENTUCKY CENTER - WHITNEY HALL501 West Main Street, Louisville, KY

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

PRESENTATION OF

FREEDOM AWARD

by Mayor Greg Fischer

Artwork by Victor Sweatt

Please mark your calendars for Business First’s What’s Brewing on Wednesday, January 28 at 8 am.

The topic of the breakfast is “What does the future of the performing arts in Louisville look like?” and Kim is a panelist along with Christen Boone of the Fund for the Arts and Teddy Abrams, Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra. Advance registration is required.

KIM BAKER TO BE A PANELIST AT THE NEXT WHAT’S BREWING

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM WASHINGTON

Madeline and Jerry Abramson enjoyed their first Holiday dinner in the White House.

Over the past ten years, the Gheens Great Expectation program has thrived thanks to the generous support of the Gheens Foundation. You are invited to attend a special reception in honor of the Gheens Board and their Executive Director, Carl Thomas. The event will take place at The Kentucky Center from 5:15-6:15 PM, followed by the free Gheens Great Expectations Concert at 6:30 featuring the Louisville Orchestra, Louisville Youth Orchestra and Gheens soloist Jinjoo Cho. Ms. Cho will also attend part of the reception. Please RSVP to Jennifer Webb 566.5195 if you plan to attend.

TO HONOR CARL THOMAS

ABBY SHUE RECEIVES VANDERBILT SCHOLARSHIPVanderbilt University announced that Kentucky Center Vice-President Abby Shue was selected as its Class of 2016 recipient of the Executive MBA nonprofit sponsorship.

FUNFACTS

CONGRATULATIONS MICHELLE!Congratulations to Michelle Veit on receiving her Certification to present Development Dimensions International’s (DDI) professional development programs. DDI is the company the Kentucky Center has chosen to be the foundation in the career development of their employees. Classes continue in the Barnes Human Resource Center, including a session on Communicating for Leadership Success. This highly interactive class teaches ways to conduct effective discussions that meet the needs of your team members and the business, as well as effective feedback that encourages team members to keep doing what they’re doing well and provides guidance around what they could be doing better. The BHRC plays a key role in the culture shift President Kim Baker talks about in this WDRB news story.

SANTA CLAUSThe first touring Broadway show to play Whitney Hall was the First National Tour of the musical Cats in January of 1984. Since the holidays were ending, the company was getting rid of their holiday decorations and left this 18” tall plastic Santa Claus here. Since then, he has watched over everything we do on stage. He sits on a concrete beam on the upstage right wall where he has been for over 30 years. He gets a bath every couple of years and goes back to his perch. Being superstitious in this business, we are afraid of what might happen if he went away.