Lina Belar, executive director of the New York Mills Arts Retreat and Regional Cultural Center has submitted her resignation to the Board effective September 30.
Belar, who has been with the Center since July of 2001, has been active in other organizations as well including the History Museum of East Otter Tail County and the new Veterans Museum, ITOW (In Their Own Words) which opened August 4th in Perham.
"The Regional Cultural Center is a unique and wonderful organization and it's been a great privilege to be a part of it," said Belar. "It has been a 'bright star' for the region and a trendsetter for arts organizations everywhere."
Describing herself as a "cheerleader" for the arts, Belar expanded the center's performance series and increased the center's connection to youth through arts programs and connections with area school districts.
Begun by John Davis in 1991, the New York Mills Arts Retreat and Regional Cultural Center has been recognized nationally for its innovative programming and strong commitment to its mission of providing cultural opportunities for rural Americans. The Arts Retreat program, the Great American Think-Off and the Gallery and Events programs have all flourished during her tenure.
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The Cultural Center board will be meeting Thursday to accept the resignation and plan for the future, said board member Randy Clarksean. Present staff member Lynn Kasma is expected to be named interim director.
The board may consider a "team" approach to replacing Belar, with possibly two directors assigned different duties and areas of responsibility, said Clarksean.
"We've been very pleased with Lina's work. She is very passionate about the arts," said Clarksean.
He said the board is "very optimistic" about the coming year. "We're going to see some positive, fun and creative things over the next six months."
When asked what she thought were the most significant accomplishments of the past four years, Belar talked about the truly regional aspect of the Center. "It fulfills the needs of people from a large geographic area."
The three-year old youth arts program provides services to students age 7-12 in 14 area schools.
"I'm really proud of how the events programming has grown," she added. From nine events per year with an average attendance of 20 people in 2001 to 31 events per year with an average attendance of 64 in 2005 is a remarkable achievement, said Belar. And all this occurred while budgets for the arts were being slashed statewide.
"Now funding is back to about 80-90 percent of pre-budget cut levels and things should stabilize for awhile," said Belar.
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The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center receives about half of its income from Grants which directly support the programming of the Center.
"I'm proud of the diversity in music we brought to the area--from classical music to jazz to avant guard," she said, adding that the visual arts program not only "brought artists to the area, but cultivated local artists...we've had some very professional work here."
"I'll miss working at the Center," said Lina, "but I'll always be a strong supporter of the arts and humanities."
She will continue to work with the History Museum of East Otter Tail County and the new "In Their Own Words" Veterans Museum.
It was getting difficult to act as director of the RCC, while at the same time managing the history museum and launching the new veteran's museum in Perham. Belar took a leave of absence from the cultural center earlier this year in order to concentrate on building the veteran's museum.
