Message from our Executive Director: Deb Paine

am delighted to offer you first glance of our newly updated newsletter.

It just so happens that the publishing of this newsletter occurs soon after the honorees of the Business in the Arts Awards have been announced. As Michelangelo sponsor, our gratitude goes to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, for their unwavering support of A&BC during this past year.

Congratulations to all the honorees for making a difference through advocacy and support of the arts in our community.

I hope you can feel the energy that has overcome us here at the Arts & Business Council. We have new digs, new staff and new programs.

In September of ’05, we moved from Phoenix City Hall to the Ernst & Young Building at Two N. Central in Phoenix. We accepted the generous offer, from Bryan Cave LLP, of pro bono offices for the A&BC. Donors like Bryan Cave are hard to come by and we will forever be grateful.

It has been a big program year too. We have a mix of 96 active, new and experienced, volunteers working in our Business Volunteer for the Arts program. Our new volunteers have come to BVA through VolunteerMatch.org and referrals, and are looking to make their mark in the nonprofit arts world. So, if you have a need, we have a volunteer who can help you address it. Please call us for more information about Business Volunteer for the Arts (BVA) program.

In December we gained some new staff that has energized our nonprofit “being.” Because of a generous grant from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, we were able to hire John Alecca as our new Marketing Director. John’s job is to make Business on Board a successful program and to bring light to our organization and its programs. John has breathed new life into our marketing efforts and we are grateful to the Piper Trust for helping us solidify Business on Board (BOB) as our newest program offering. Also, joining us is Jeanette Thomas, our Administrative Assistant (Jack of all trades) who is the glue that binds us together. So now there are three Type A’s in our office that can do almost anything…at least we think so!

We are proud to announce that as of October 2006, we graduated 36 business professionals from the Business on Board program. Business on Board trains business professionals in the art of board governance and then matches them to organizations that need board members. This is a great opportunity to add a new tool to your board recruitment efforts. It really is a “no brainer” to be involved. Call John Alecca (602-364-7453) or me to find out how you can be the recipient of a “trained and educated” BOB graduate.

We have some big plans for this coming year…and we plan on keeping you advised of them. Here are some of the highlights:

We have a workshop season that is a cut above our past offerings. We have included several advanced workshops that we think will answer the marketing needs of the more seasoned arts professional.

We are also providing an “Attorneys Only” BOB class that will assist them in earning some of their required annual ethics training at the tune of 9.5 CLE credits. Look for our flyers.

We hope you like our up dated newsletter and that you continue to support and are involved in A&BC of Greater Phoenix.

Remember, if you ever find yourself saying,” If only we had someone to….”, Arts & Business Council should be the first place you turn to.