The Festival’s annual meeting is a time of transition for our board of directors. We say farewell to those directors who have completed their terms and we welcome new members to the board.
Amy Caputo, completed her term as president and is now our past president. As past president, she won’t have to worry quite so much about our 7:45 am board meetings. Amy and her husband Nick volunteer at the Festival’s Silent Auction, so even though she’s no longer our board president, I’ll still have a chance to work with her.
Our new board president is Bob Hicks. He’s CEO of Persea Naturals LLC and is the minister at Upper Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania Furnace. Bob also serves on the board of directors of the Centre Foundation.
Yvonne Gaudelius is our new vice-president. She’s an associate vice president and senior associate dean for undergraduate education at Penn State and a faculty member in the College of Arts and Architecture. It’s still possible to hear a touch of her native Canada in Yvonne’s voice.
Kristen Coombs was elected treasurer of our board. She’s the founder of Kristen Coombs Financial Advisors in State College. Her firm focuses primarily on financial planning and investment management for individuals and business owners. In addition to her investment advisory business, Kristen is the owner of New Life Financial, LLC, a financial divorce planning firm.
Our board secretary, Kathleen Raupach is an instructor in Penn State’s Recreation, Park, and Tourism program. Since 2004, Kathleen has been guiding students in the successful planning and implementation of 20 annual special events to benefit local nonprofits, state parks, and campus organizations.
One new member joined the Festival’s board.
Since 2001, Heidi Nicholas (pictured) has been a principal in Nicholas Enterprises, a State College based firm that engages in the development and management of commercial and multi-tenant residential real estate. She holds degrees in fine arts from the University of California at Los Angeles and completed her graduate education at Cornell. She currently serves on the board of FNB Corporation in Pittsburgh.
Heidi has been involved in numerous civic and community organizations in the State College area. These include the Centre Foundation, ClearWater Conservancy, and Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania.
Carol, Jennifer and I are looking forward to working with our board to produce this year’s 53rd Festival. Founded in 1967 by the State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State University’s College of Arts and Architecture, the Festival means five days of visual and performing arts programming each July. Approximately 125,000 people visit the Festival each summer. The Festival is considered to be a quintessential part of the Penn State experience.
It’s not too early to mark your calendars now. The 53rd Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be from July 10 through July 14, 2019. Children’s Day will be July 10. The Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition will open on Thursday, July 11 and continue through Sunday, July 14.
I hope to see you there!