A Change in Leadership at the Chenango Arts Council

NORWICH — The Chenango Arts Council has new leadership.

On June 30, Victoria Calvert Kappel, executive director, stepped down from her position after 15 years to explore new opportunities. 

The Chenango Arts Council (CAC) has been a community anchor for participation, education, and quality of life in Chenango County for the last four decades, Kappel said in an interview with The Business Journal News Network before her departure..

Kappel attributes a lot of the success and stability of the organization to the long-term leadership it has had. For 34 of its 40 years, CAC has had only two executive directors, Kappel and Lucy Funke, who served for 19 years prior to Kappel. In addition to the steady management, Kappel also praises the work of a consistent, strong board of directors who “get the organization and have no hidden agendas.”  

Prior to moving to Norwich from Chicago in 1999, Kappel was already familiar with upstate New York from visiting her sister who lives in Greig in Lewis County. In fact, Kappel liked the area so much that she and her husband were married in Constableville, also in Lewis County. Then, when she was ready for a change from Chicago, upstate New York was on her list of places to peruse for a new career. 

As much as the position was the right fit for her 15 years ago, Kappel knows that stepping down at this time is also the right move. Wanting the board to have enough time to find her replacement, at the January board meeting, Kappel announced her decision to leave at the end of the fiscal year, June 30. Before the end of January, the selection committee had already met to put in motion the executive search.

Though she is not retiring or planning on leaving the region right away, Kappel says she’s looking forward to the next thing, though she’s not quite sure what that is yet. “All things are possible,” she says. 

Kappel recalls her time at CAC fondly, saying “It was a good fit, a happy fit.”

As for the board’s new executive director selection, Kappel says, “I heartily agree with their choice.”

The new leader
On July 1, Diane Batson-Smith joined CAC as the new executive director. She fills the third full-time staff position alongside program director Michelle Connelly and operations manager Joyce Zummo.

Most recently coming from the Martina Arroyo Foundation in New York City as its executive director, Batson-Smith’s background also includes producing movies in Hollywood, managing the Clarksville Arts and Heritage Council in Clarksville, Tenn., and acting as the designated agent for the Tennessee Arts Commission to grant funds throughout Tennessee.

Batson-Smith looks forward to working and living in Norwich, and says she plans on finding a place to live that’s within walking distance to the office. 

“People here are seeped into what the arts can do for the community,” Batson-Smith says. “There’s a lot of potential here.”

She hopes to use her background to expand the program repertoire that CAC can offer, potentially including a film series, a theater program for new plays, and more outreach to the schools and communities the council serves. “Of course, one does not do this work alone, so the board would have to agree and the staff as well, as it does often create more work,” says Batson-Smith.

Her career expertise in the arts goes beyond theater, film, and education outreach; she also designs hand-sewn heritage wool quilts. In 2013, Batson-Smith formed a small textile business, NY Textile Company, with her son, which will now be located in Chenango County. The fabric for her quilts is made by Thistle Hill Weavers, a small custom-weaving mill in Cherry Valley, in Otsego County.

Council operations
A focus on earned income will be a big priority for the CAC board moving forward, with facility rentals and online tickets sales as two opportunities Kappel sees for growth in this area. The council’s theater, gallery, conference room, and studio classroom are all available for the public to rent. CAC organizational members can use the William J. Hall Conference Room once a month for meeting purposes at no charge. 

Located at 27 West Main St. in downtown Norwich, in a building that used to house Norwich High School, CAC occupies 10,601 square feet on the first floor of what is now called the Norwich Center Office Plaza. The structure is managed by the Chenango Housing Improvement Program. The other half of the former school is occupied by Norwich Senior Housing. 

The Chenango Arts Council’s main office used to be the high school principal’s office, the gallery was once the cafeteria, and the former school auditorium is now the 514-seat Martin W. Kappel Theater, named for Kappel’s late husband. 

Martin Kappel worked as the technical director for CAC. After he passed away, the board voted to name the theater in his honor. 

Expanding the staff is also a goal for the CAC, though Kappel says when it will happen depends on state funding, which the nonprofit will not know about until December. The next hire for the council will concentrate on facility rentals and earned income opportunities. 

Kappel says she has also done everything she can operations-wise to make sure that Batson-Smith’s transition is as smooth as possible, including already having the budget and season set for the next fiscal year. “She’s not going to have to play catch-up,” says Kappel.

CAC’s annual budget ranges from $350,000 to $375,000. The budget doesn’t vary much from year to year, says Kappel. Almost $100,000 of the budget represents pass-through funds for the decentralization grants distributed each year. 

A program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), decentralization grants support local decision-making in public-arts funding for arts and cultural organization across every county in the state. CAC operates as the decentralization  site for Chenango, Broome, and Otsego counties, and has $99,400 allocated for a three-year cycle. 

In April, CAC distributed this year’s funds to 54 nonprofit organizations and artists in the three counties. This year, the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation in Binghamton provided an additional $10,000 for funding in Broome County.

Contact Collins at ncollins@cnybj.com

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Chenango Arts Council
27 West Main St.
Norwich, NY 13815
(607) 336-2787
Chenangoarts.org

Founded: 1975
Employees: 3 full time
Volunteers: 35
Service Area: Chenango, Broome, and Otsego counties

Mission: The Chenango Arts Council says it supports life-enriching art throughout the greater Chenango region.

Programs and Services: Performance series, gallery series, decentralization funding for Chenango, Broome, and Otsego counties, classes and workshops for all ages, special events.

Recent Organizational Highlights: Long-time executive director, Victoria Calvert Kappel, is leaving the council after 15 years service. She will be replaced by Diane Batson-Smith, an arts administrator with career highlights spanning several cultural sectors.

Planning/Fundraising Outlook for 2014: Semi-annual benefit, “Parked Under the Stars,” planned for November 2014, annual 5K Allegro Run for the Arts takes place each May, additional fundraisers and grant-seeking efforts are ongoing.

Key Staff:
Executive Director:
Victoria Calvert Kappel (until 6/30/14)
Diane Batson-Smith (starting 7/1/14)
Executive-director’s compensation from 2013 IRS 990: $55,835
Program Director: Michelle Connelly
Operations Manager: Joyce Zummo

Board of Trustees (Officers)
President: Lisa Natoli, Natoli & Natoli Law
Vice President:  Van Mason, retired educator
Treasurer: Joseph Skundrich, NBT Bank
Secretary: Jeff Genung, Chobani, Inc.

Board Members
Sheila Briglin, community volunteer
Donald Brown, II, Chobani
Ann Coe, Norwich Business Improvement District
Stephanie Coggins, community volunteer
Henry Drexler, artist
Mary El Emerson, community volunteer
Alexandra Erath, Voss Group
Emma Golden, Golden Foundation
Geoff Magnani, retired educator
Michael McCormack, Norwich/Sidney Pennysaver
F. Sheldon Prentice, NBT Bank
Edith Revoir, Area Agency on Aging
Dominic Shea, Wells Fargo Advisors
Grayson Stevens, retired educator