With the resignation of executive director Debbie Goldman, the members of the Council for the Arts of Herndon are regrouping to make the summer festivities successful amid the search for a new director.
Vicky Dorman, president of the council, said that with such an strong board, the nonprofit, local arts agency can take its time to find the right person for the position. Hiring of an executive director is expected to occur in August.
"We [the board] all cross organizations in this town so what one person doesn't know, another one does," said Dorman.
DORMAN SAID that the board has received some resumes for the position, and while it would like to see someone who is familiar with the area, it would not shut out other possibilities.
Member of the board and search committee Eileen Curtis, president and CEO of the Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce, looked to George Mason and American universities specifically for their arts administration programs to generate resumes. The new director should have the ability to promote the council and excite the public about programs and goals, she said.
Grace Wolf, vice president of the council and a representative of Wolf Studios and Fox Mills GNC, is also on the search committee for the new director. Wolf said that the committee will consider the council's plans for the next five years and choose someone whose attributes are consistent with those goals. After the search committee is finished with its job, a separate interview committee will finish the process.
IN THE MEANTIME, former executive director Karen Cobb has stepped in to head the Labor Day Jazz and Wine festival. Cobb had served as executive director for nine years before Goldman arrived in September 2003.
"Her institutional knowledge is invaluable," said Dorman. "She never really left us."
Intern Drew Statz said he is handling the operations in the office, and thus far everything has been going smoothly. He said that there are no plans for slowing down in the absence of a director. With prior experience in the arts realm, Statz is overseeing the eighth annual Blues Fest scheduled for July 24 at Frying Pan Park.
In addition, the council has a Friday night concert series running through the end of August. Offering everything from a Jimmy Buffet tribute band to '80s modern rock, the free concerts are held on the Town Green in historic downtown Herndon, www.herndonrocks.com.
The Saturday Bluegrass series is held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Herndon. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver is scheduled for July 17, 7:30 p.m.
AS FOR FUTURE PLANS, Dorman said that the council does not want to do what has already been done.
In collaboration with the Northern Virginia Technology Council, a high-school computer-arts competition is in the works for the fall. Dorman, whose son helped brainstorm the idea, said that the council needed to create something the younger generation would appreciate. Dorman said that the interest in the competition is amazing.
"Whatever we do creates a community," said Dorman.
Visit the Council for the Arts of Herndon at www.herndonarts.org.