{"id":64599,"date":"2015-11-14T11:39:54","date_gmt":"2015-11-14T16:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=64599"},"modified":"2015-11-14T11:39:54","modified_gmt":"2015-11-14T16:39:54","slug":"lockwood-blais-to-retire-in-spring-2016-from-eoh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=64599","title":{"rendered":"Lockwood-Blais to Retire in Spring 2016 from EOH"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Patti<\/a>
Patti Lockwood-Blais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Earlville, NY \u2013 Nov. 2015) Just three years after Patti Lockwood-Blais took on the job of executive director at the Earlville Opera House, the New York State Council on the Arts recognized EOH as \u201cparticularly vital to the cultural life of New York State.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 13 years as the guiding force who has steered growth and programming while also serving as the Opera House\u2019s most visible public ambassador, Lockwood-Blais announced that she is retiring from EOH.<\/p>\n

“I love my work on behalf of the community at EOH but I need more time and flexibility than the position allows,\u201d Lockwood-Blais said. \u201cI still deeply support the mission of this wonderful organization and have pledged to help the new executive director in any way to guarantee its stability during our transition.”<\/p>\n

Opera House Board President Bruce Ward said: \u201cI have seen firsthand how Patti’s skills and knowledge, drawn from long experience, have kept our organization on a healthy track fiscally while growing our offerings. \u00a0\u00a0Continually seeking new ways to engage the community,\u00a0Patti has built a reputation for fine programming that has won awards and recognition from leading arts organizations, and still kept our bottom line in the black.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emblematic of that recognition was the Council on the Arts coveted \u201cPrimary Organization Status,\u201d awarded to the Opera House in 2006. The status honors select arts organizations for \u201cthe quality of their arts services, their stature as arts institutions\u2026 or the importance of their contributions to a significant population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1970s, EOH was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Through community and foundation support, the Opera House on Earlville\u2019s Main Street has gone through a constant process of renewal and upgrading. During Lockwood-Blais\u2019s management more than three quarters of a million dollars worth of capital projects have included work as varied as adding new galleries to repairing the roof. The historic theater is a renowned performance venue for national artists and local entertainers alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlville Opera House has grown and prospered under Patti\u2019s tireless leadership,\u201d Ward said. \u201cThe positive impact we have on the community is a direct result of Patti’s passion for her work and the friendly warmth she brings to all her interactions with our patrons, artists, and supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the many initiatives undertaken by EOH with Lockwood-Blais as director:<\/p>\n

Worked with county tourism offices, Upstate Institute and other agencies to build audiences;<\/p>\n

Reached out to the community through collaboration with Hamilton Village Concert Series, Cazenovia & Oneida;<\/p>\n

Expanded from one to three galleries, received gallery funding from NYS Council on the Arts, and dramatically increased both the professionalism of the shows and attendance at gallery events;<\/p>\n

Expanded opportunities for regional artists with the use of the Arts Cafe Gallery;<\/p>\n

Developed outreach to kids and teens in KidsArt and TeensArt programs;<\/p>\n

Expanded Holiday show and sale and annual quilt show;<\/p>\n

Sponsored workshops for Hamilton Music Mix, Black History, artists, songwriters, and writers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatti\u2019s leadership has brought the Opera House to new heights of excellence in the arts,\u201d said Ward. \u201cNow that she has decided to pass the baton, we face the challenge of finding someone who can serve the community as well as she has, and bring us in exciting new directions. \u00a0I am confident the deep well of talent in central New York will yield another special person to take us there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patti Lockwood-Blais will continue in her role as president of the statewide New York Multi-Arts Center Consortium (NYMACC).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Earlville, NY \u2013 Nov. 2015) Just three years after Patti Lockwood-Blais took on the job of executive director at the Earlville Opera House, the New York State Council on the Arts recognized EOH as \u201cparticularly vital to the cultural life of New York State.\u201d After 13 years as the guiding force who has steered growth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}