Honored Guests, members of the Board of Directors, members and friends of the agency, as Executive Director of the Arts Council of Johnson County, it is my pleasure to present to you the 2009 State of the Council.

Tonight is a time to reflect on our accomplishments and look forward to our future successes.

To simply say that we’ve been busy over the last year grossly underestimates all that we as an organization have achieved.

In the span of fifteen months the Council has successfully transitioned new leadership; bringing in a new executive director and electing a new board president while at the same time creating the agency’s first staff position and hiring Susan Pals as our Administrative Assistant.

We’ve strengthened our infrastructure raising ACJC professional operations to an even higher standard by adopting an annual development plan, expanding our grassroots support base, and creating a new organizational structure that better aligns our committees and task forces with the Council’s goals and community’s needs.

And we’ve expanded and grown new and existing relationships within the local and regional arts community. By reinvigorating the JoCo Arts Marketing Co-op, which has grown from twelve to twenty-five member organizations, the Arts Council and those participating organizations have taken a significant step forward in cultivating a stronger arts coalition. Reinforcing this idea of collaboration has been the launch of our new website, thanks in part to great support from the County, our biweekly smART Events e-blast, the newly developed Arts JoCo networking events and partnerships with organizations such as the Johnson County Museum, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art and the Carlsen Center on ACJC initiatives.

By the same token, the Arts Council has made it a priority to nurture a stronger relationship with the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City; working with them on the Arts & Economic Development Roundtables and arts advocacy issues.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize that all of what we have accomplished in the last year is the direct result of our dedicated board, staff and volunteers and the continued generosity of our supporters.

As we look to the next year, our dedication to enhancing the quality of life in the community by strengthening the arts….to ensuring Johnson County and the Kansas City metropolitan region continue to be a community of choice remains steadfast.

In the coming months ACJC will hold a series of forums for the Arts Community. Our goal is to better understand the challenges and issues facing Johnson County artists, arts educators and arts organizations so that we can better serve them. We anticipate the research gathered from the forums will also prove valuable for our upcoming strategic planning process.

Furthermore, we will continue our efforts to raise the community’s and thereby the region’s arts profile by promoting Johnson County’s economic and cultural development through the arts.

Specifically, through the marketing committee and feedback from the Arts Forums we hope to launch a campaign celebrating Johnson County’s arts and cultural resources and the value they bring to our community.

We will also maintain and explore new partnerships with the Johnson County and Metropolitan cultural community on initiatives including the JoCo Marketing Co-op, the Metropolitan Kansas City Public Art Consortium, the Arts & Economic Development Roundtables and Shooting Stars.

As well as continue our efforts to educate the business and civic community on the benefits of maintaining a strong arts sector.

It is important to note that our ability to achieve these goals, carry out our mission and vision relies not only on the talented people involved with our organization but on our continued understanding that to strengthen the arts, we as an arts community must work together both locally and regionally.

I look forward to working with all of you again throughout 2010 and celebrating our continued success at next year’s Annual Meeting.