At its 2022 Annual Meeting on Jan. 25, the Moundridge Arts Council opened the virtual doors of a Zoom video conferencing session and convened available members to recap the previous year’s efforts to promote the arts within the Moundridge community.
The non-profit organization also elected a new slate of officers.
Todd Vogts was elected president; Betsy Davis was elected vice president; Rick Krehbiel was elected treasurer, and Berni Kaufman was elected secretary.
Lory Fisher and Betty Nesbitt remain on the board as at-large members.
The meeting marked outgoing president June Krehbiel’s final meeting as a board member, along with at-large member Mark Stucky. Both have served since 2016.
Prior to the elections, Krehbiel summarized what the Moundridge Arts Council accomplished during 2021.
Because of the pandemic, the board met only once in person, but tools such as Zoom and Google Meet allowed for monthly meetings.
COVID-19 prevented the 2021 Annual Meeting, so the board selected officers with several continuing roles they had the previous year: Krehbiel served as president, Mark Stucky as vice-president, and Rick Krehbiel as treasurer. Ann Zerger took the position of secretary.
Others on the board at the beginning of 2021 were Betty Nesbitt, Lory Fisher, and Dawn Abrahams. Early in the year Vogts, Kaufman and Davis joined, and in March Dawn Abrahams resigned from the board.
Vogts set up a website, which serves as an online home for the organization and another way to reach members and the community.
The organization was renting a space owned by Moundridge Lumber Company that was to be used for workshops and other events. However, due to the pandemic, in-person events didn’t seem appropriate, so the board chose to stop renting the space, which also helped save money.
By May, the organization had moved out of the space and sold or disposed of items that had been stored in the building.
In the future, the board will use community spaces for in-person activities or meetings.
Art pieces by Carl Krehbiel, which had been donated to the organization, were sold on eBay or donated to the school or other nonprofits. More pieces remain available for purchase.
Early in the summer, to help Moundridge High School art students, the board voted to help fund a trip to Taos and Santa Fe.
On Labor Day Weekend, the Moundridge Arts Council hosted a community concert featuring the Kelley Hunt Acoustic Trio. They held it at the Moundridge High School football stadium.
Finally, the organization sponsored a Christmas lighting contest during the holiday season.
June Krehbiel said the Arts Council was able to accomplish all it did despite the pandemic because of the community.
“Thank you to all of you who have supported us during the year,” she said during the meeting.
Before the 2022 Annual Meeting came to a close, Vogts solicited ideas for activities the organization should pursue.
Music performances and theatrical performances were the most common suggestions.
“I’m excited by the ideas members brought up,” Vogts said. “It shows that people are invested in the arts and want to see the community benefit from creative expressions and cultural appreciation.”
The ideas also made Vogts feel the council needed to be as active as possible.
“People were excited to brainstorm activities and events, so we need to strike while the iron is hot,” he said. “We need to develop a plan and implement it as quickly as possible.”
Vogts said he hopes to schedule a board meeting for next month and create a calendar of events.
“I would love to announce a slate of activities and events we are planning so people can put them on their calendars and plan to attend,” he said.
Vogts also has a few other ideas for the organization.
“I’m a journalism and communication guy, so I would like to increase our visibility in the community,” he said. “I have some ideas to accomplish that, but I want to discuss it with the rest of the board first.”
Regardless, the board aims to support the community and help people experience and appreciate the arts.
“I’m excited for this year,” Vogts said. “I think we can accomplish a lot, and I hope the community enjoys whatever we come up with.”
The Moundridge Arts Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist area residents of all ages in understanding and appreciating the arts, to provide public art for citizens to enjoy through performing arts, visual arts, and literature, and to offer opportunities for continued learning and involvement through workshops, lectures, programs, concerts, exhibitions, and other activities.
Visit www.moundridgearts.org for more information about the Moundridge Arts Council.
