Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 16:14:32 -0400
From: Brian Bock
Subject: Chatham Arts Council
There has been quite alot written in the past week or two about county funding for the Chatham Arts Council. Unfortunately, the CAC gets pulled into the controversy when individual candidates, commissioners, or residents express opinions that are considered political.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know the executive director, Cheryl Chamblee, and have been impressed with her work. She and I disagree on the funding issue but I know first hand that Cheryl works very hard to keep politics out. I also know that she and the board have been working to reach out to the broader community as they develop short and long term goals. Since she has asked for my opinion on some of these topics, I can safely say she is including conservatives in the outreach effort.
I understand that it can difficult to separate an individual’s comments from the organization but I hope that we can all try. I would be the first to call Cheryl if I thought they were politicizing the council. As she has reminded me more than once, they are about art not politics.
We may disagree on how to fund but we all agree “the arts”, in its many forms, is one of the reasons Chatham County is a great place to live.
Brian Bock