New trustees appointed.
By: Marjorie Censer
The Arts Council of Princeton amended its bylaws, chose new members for its board of trustees and presented awards during its annual meeting Thursday.
The mood was celebratory as Wendy Mager, president of The Arts Council’s board of trustees, welcomed members.
"This is the first annual meeting ever when we have had approved plans for the renovation and expansion of this building," Ms. Mager said to enthusiastic applause.
The council’s members approved amendments to the bylaws that reduced the minimum size of the board from 23 to 15 and lowered the number of trustees constituting a quorum from one-half to one-third. Additionally, the revision allows the board to waive the trustee term limit of two consecutive terms for "good cause."
Marsha Noveck, nominated to the board, said the amended bylaws would "make us a slightly more flexible organization.
Upon first count, The Arts Council did not have the quorum of members necessary to amend the bylaws. The quorum required 40 members, and only 32 were present. Jeff Nathanson, executive director of The Arts Council, asked those present who were not members to join and enough attendees did so to create a quorum. They unanimously approved the amendments to the bylaws.
The council presented a list of eight new trustees to be added to the board for terms that will end in 2008. They were Consuelo Campbell, JoAnne Carchman, Anne Ferguson, Dana Hughes, Marsha Novick, Janet Stern, Ray Stratmeyer and Albert Wise.
The members also approved Anne Reeves, founding director of The Arts Council, as an ex officio member of the board of trustees.
The Arts Council presented awards to two who helped run a collaboration with HomeFront, the Lawrence organization that works to end homelessness. Roughly a dozen children from HomeFront come to The Arts Council every Thursday for an afternoon workshop. Chris Marchetti, a HomeFront employee who drives the students each week, and Eva Mantell, the program’s coordinator who planned the activities, received awards.
The Verizon Foundation and the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust received the corporate award and the foundation award, respectively. The Verizon Foundation funded the printing of this year’s issue of "Underage," an anthology of poetry written by children.
"They grasped right away the significance of this anthology," said Ms. Stern, who presented the award. "We’re very grateful to them."
The Arts Council’s members ended the meeting by hearing more about the plans for the new building.
Peter Bienstock, a trustee and chairman of the capital campaign for the expansion project, updated members on the status of the fundraising campaign. He said The Arts Council has raised about $4.5 million, and must now collect roughly $4.8 million more, $2 million of which has been earmarked for endowment, with additional money designated for relocation and other expenses.
The immediate goal is to have in-hand 80 percent of the $6.6 million building costs before beginning construction in early September. To do so, Mr. Bienstock said The Arts Council must raise $940,000 this summer.
"That’s a tough one, but I think we will be successful," he said.