Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 30, 1990 TAG: 9006300031
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jeff DeBell
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Revenue from corporate contributors and other sources of so-called unearned income fell far short of projections while, on the spending side, the museum was hit by about $100,000 in unbudgeted expenses for furnishings and other costs related to the expansion into Center on Church.
Director Ruth Appelhof said she expects spending for the year to exceed income by about $80,000.
To meet immediate cash flow problems, the museum has dipped into a new bank credit line and has been authorized by the board of trustees to borrow against the museum endowment as needed.
Officials say they plan to repay the debt in short order with the proceeds from anticipated grants.
At its meeting this week, the trustees adopted a $645,140 budget for fiscal 1991. That is some $127,000 less than the spending plan for 1990. Among other things, the new budget projects corporate contributions at $42,000 - less than a fifth of this year's elusive goal.
Injecting a note of optimism into otherwise grim budget discussions at this week's trustees meeting, David Goode said the new figure was "conservative" in light of the museum's recent addition of a full-time fund-raiser to its staff.
Doris Chrisman has announced plans to retire after 22 years with the museum. She is volunteer and membership coordinator and staff liaison with the museum store.
Before joining the staff 11 years ago, Chrisman worked an equal number of years as one of its most tireless docent volunteers.
A much newer staffer, education director Pat Villeneuve, also has left to take a museum and teaching position with the University of Kansas. She came to the museum just nine months ago.
Villeneuve will be replaced by Mark Scala of Richmond.
Scala has a bachelor's degree from Penn State and master's degrees in painting and art history from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has teaching, gallery and curatorial experience in addition to his work as an artist, and currently is regional editor of the New Art Examiner.
Scala will start work Aug. 1.
Ballet gets director
Roanoke Ballet Theatre has found its second artistic director in Diana Gonzalez, who will join the company on Aug. 1.
Gonzalez is an alumna of the National Ballet School of Canada and was a scholarship student with the School of the American Ballet. Among her references was a letter of recommendation from Agnes de Mille. The legendary choreographer has been resetting some of her dances, and Gonzalez has been assisting her for two years.
As part of her audition for the RBT post, Gonzalez conducted a class of dancers from both the Roanoke company and from the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center ballet corps. The latter reportedly were so impressed that they want to continue working with Gonzalez in addition to their studies in Lynchburg.
Gonzalez succeeds Barbara Muller, who resigned last February after 12 years as Roanoke Ballet Theatre's founding artistic director.
Roanoker wins at beach
Roanoke artist Tim Shepherd copped the best-in-show award at this year's Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach.
He won with a seven-piece series of "altered" photographs titled "Conchiferous Cycles D'Amour."
The Virginia Beach Art Center gets to keep the photos, but Shepherd gets a prize of $2,500 in addition to the prestige of winning the 35th annual show of work by some 350 artists from the U.S. and abroad.
Public TV award
Blue Ridge Public Television has won the annual Charlotte Hill Volunteers in Fund-Raising Award, and is giving Roanoke artist John Will Creasy most of the credit.
Creasy has played a large part in planning and promoting the station's annual fund-raising auction of original work by artists and crafts people in the region. Last year, the event raised $49,000 in one afternoon.
The Charlotte Hill Award is made annually by National Friends of Public Broadcasting and is named for a former president of the group.
Krisch picked for board
Heidi Krisch of Roanoke has been elected to the American Symphony Orchestra League board of directors.
Krisch is a vice president of the Roanoke Symphony and a past president of the Roanoke Symphony Association (formerly the Roanoke Symphony Auxiliary).
She was elected to a one-year term on the ASOL board at the organization's annual meeting, which was in Washington.
by CNB