President Elect Gail K presided over today’s meeting and Dick Swett was our greeter.
There were 40 Bow Rotarians present and one guest - Mike Habib.
- Gail K brought us up to date on Noreen Christensen’s accident. She broke the fall of her husband and ladder. He is fine but she has broken her arm in three places and also her knee. A get well card is being circulated.
- Recognition Night is June 9th at 5:30 pm at the Hampton Inn. There will be no meeting on June 10. The Last Board Meeting for the year is this coming Monday June 6. On July 1 the “Gail force winds” will blow in.
- Reminder that Road Side Pickup is tomorrow, June 4. Rotarians are to meet at the end of I89 Park and ride at 8 AM. Bring heavy duty gloves and good walking shoes.
Sargent at Arms
Bryant S. began by explaining his lateness…all about getting the children to school on time. An honorable goal! There were no birthdays to celebrate. We thank R&T Electric, Merrimack County Savings Bank and The Lighting Place yet again for their advertising fines.
Happy Bucks
- Ben K. was happy for his child’s team competition showing at the International Destination Imagination 13 out of 75 teams.
- Robert L. was also very happy that Bow High School Team placed 11 out of also approximately 75 teams.
- Gerry C. announced that Concord’s Downtown Market Days will be June 23-25 this year and that they are looking for volunteers for 1-2 hour shifts. He asked his fellow rosarians to go on line to see what volunteer positions are available.
- Paul R. let us know that he has sold his Bow home ( Happy buck for us??) and is building a new home on South Street in Concord.
- Steve D. was very pleased to escort his daughter to Denver for her summer experience, however, when landing in Baltimore their plane blew TWO tires on its way to the gate. Needless to say they missed their connection but once in Denver enjoyed the Rockies game. He also attended an outdoor concert where he realized he was not part of the "biker" crowd that was also attending in mass.
- Dean C. thanked Ira and The Lighting Place for “fixing a lamp” that neither of them could really fix. It only worked when hung on the wall so it left the shop quickly before it acted up more!
- Jeremy K. just returned from a ten day trip to South Africa with his family. Wonderful time! Upon his return, his business Cobb Hill was awarded the Pinnacle Award by the Chamber of Commerce. Congrats!
Program
Our program today was the Capital Center for the Arts - CCA. Our speaker was Nicolette Clark, Executive Director. Having been educated at both Soring field College and receiving a Master’s degree from Harvard, Nicolette has been both a dunce performer and an administrator of the arts.
She joined CCA as Executive Director in 2007 and has since help the Center grow in attendance, expand and provide more diverse offerings. In 2007, there were on average 70 performances a year which has now grown to 200 this year. She has also overseen the adding of much technology to the Center.
CCA is the largest nonprofit venue in NH able to seat 1300. The complex includes the Chubb Theater, the Governors Hall and the Benjamin Kimball House. All are used for performances as well as meetings, and other events. The Capital Theater was constructed in 1027, closed in 1988 and was reopened after much renovation in 1995.
Nicolette recommends all types of performances from the large theater to the Spotlight Café resented in the Governors Hall. There are also intimate performances held in the Kimball House built in 1825 and renovated into a Victorian house in 1880.
CCA mission is to inspire, educate, entertain, and to strengthen community bonds. They are doing all of this well. They are focused on a variety of performances to attract all ages of audience. The school program is also robust. They have taken over the large Christmas performances for the Concord area involving performers of all ages in the yearly 12 DAYS of CHRISTMAS.
Their budget is $2.6 million per year with 70% of the revenue coming from performance. CCA has 13 Full time staff and 5 part time and 250 volunteers. This year 80 community events have taken place there and 162 performances.
Their challenges are booking events for a small theater. They do not control dates or fees charged by performers. They are also facing an aging infrastructure. 85-95% of the attendees come to only one show per year so that needs to expand. Nicolette asked us to become members and talk with us about the exciting shows coming this summer and Fall.
When asked what the casino business in NH would do to CCA, Nicolette replied that it would be devastating. The casinos build their own venues as loss leaders and artists would rather perform there due to size within any one state.
Respectively Submitted,
Jeannie Richards
