MADISON-MORGAN CULTURAL CENTER HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING VIRTUALLY!

Madison, GA - The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center held it’s annual meeting on July 20, 2020 at 4:00PM via Zoom. There were 30 participants, including the board of trustees, advisory board, staff, and MMCC members.

Board Chair, Betsy Morehouse gave special recognition to board members rotating off the board: Alla Campbell, Rita Dennard, Marty Fierman, and Meghan Holmes. “You’ve done a great job, It’s been a pleasure to have you on the board. We loved having you and hate to see you go” stated Betsy Morehouse.

Rita Dennard shared her remarks on leaving the board: “I just want to say thank you to the board, for these 4 years, it has been a pleasure to meet all of you and I don’t think I would have ever become friends with some of you on the board if it had not been for this experience.”

Wayne Vason began the Advisory Board report with a moment of silence to recognize the passing of Civil Rights leader and Congressman, John Lewis. Mr. Vason spoke of the friendship between John Lewis and Benny Andrews and recalled meeting John Lewis in 1982 at Benny Andrew’s first exhibition at the Cultural Center titled, “Georgia Artist Comes Home.” Wayne Vason spoke of an opportunity to dedicate Cultural Center space to a Benny Andrews permanent exhibition: “We are in the beginning stage, it’s exciting, timely and in many ways this exhibition has great potential.”

Kim Brown, Executive Director gave her remarks and special recognition as she presented the Volunteer of the Year Award to Sally Hoge: “Sally Hoge went way beyond the pale that was required of her position. She chaired one of the most successful fundraisers ever hosted by the Center: A Roast, Toast & Tribute to Christine Lambert. Thank you so much Sally.”

Betsy Morehouse announced the the slate of newly appointed officers:

Chair - Betsy Morehouse

Vice Chair - David Burbach

Secretary - Jan Manos

Treasurer- Steve Briley

Board Chair, Betsy Morehouse welcomed 5 new trustees to the board: Lee Abney, Cheryl Bland, Kate Booker, Sally Hoge, and Christine Lambert. “Thanks to all of you for coming on the board, we look forward to serving with you and we thank you for your willingness to take on the task.”

New Board of Trustee Bios:

Lee McCullough Abney, born Augusta, Georgia, 1976; admitted to bar, 2000, Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia and Court of Appeals; US District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

Education: University of Georgia (A.B., 1997); University of Alabama School of Law (Juris Doctor, 2000). Phi Alpha Delta. Member, Farrah Law Society. Judicial Clerk, Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, 2000-2001. Partner at Lambert, Reitman and Abney, LLC law firm.

Member/Activities: Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Bar Association. State Bar. Madison Kiwanis Club (Past President), Kiwanis District Governor 2016. Madison-Morgan Chamber of Commerce (Past President).  Leadership Morgan County 2003. Madison Boys and Girls Club (past board member). Ironman Competitor/Finisher 2012. Habitat for Humanity (board member), Madison-Morgan Cultural Center (past board member). 

Cheryl Bland, a native of Gray, GA has been a resident of Morgan County for the past 15 years. The retired educator, received her BS ed from GA Southern, MS from Fort Valley State, advanced degree from Troy State University. Additional training was received Nova Southeastern University.

A life long patron of the arts, she has been an enthusiastic supporter and was a youth docent community  the Tubman Museum in Macon, GA. She is the former director of the Morgan County African Museum here in Madison. She also serves on the Board of the Steffen Thomas Museum. She hopes to make art more inclusive and inviting to all communities. Further involvement includes District I representative on the Morgan County BOE, member of  ALPHA Kappa Alpha Sorority and the local NAACP. She is also a member of Union Springs Baptist Church and is the mother of an adult son, Ben. 

Kate Booker, has lived in Madison since 2008. She is a registered nurse, and a published textbook author, and has taught nursing at several colleges and universities in the Atlanta area. Kate is the Director of Quality and Safety Integration for Piedmont Newton and Piedmont Walton Hospitals. She is also a course writer for E-Dynamic Learning. Kate has served on the vestry for Church of the Advent in Madison, and on the board of Stefan Thomas Museum of Art. She has been an avid supporter of the arts in Morgan County. Kate is married to OJ Booker and is the mother of twins Alex and Sabrina, who attend Morgan County High School.

Sally Hoge, Worked 25 years in corporate America. Serves or has served on many boards: JOSEPH’S COAT (Current) FORMER: Morgan Fund/Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta (Chair)Mount de Sales Academy/ Macon Morgan County Historical Society Morgan Memorial Hospital Foundation St. James Catholic Church Meals on Main Outreach Sally’s presidencies include: Morgan Memorial Hospital Auxiliary St. James Women’s Club Magnolia Garden Club Madison Ladies Garden Club. Sally is a native Georgian UGA  Grad: BA in English Madison resident for 23 years Married to Arnold Hoge 30 years.

Christine Davis Lambert has been an integral part of the history of the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center since its very inception. In the 1970s, she and her friend Adelaide Ponder were instrumental in planning an adaptive reuse for the old school, and then they spearheaded the fundraising drive to restore the building. When the Cultural Center opened as a regional center for the visual and performing arts in 1976, she was a member of the first Board of Trustees, where she has served many terms in the years since.

In 2016, Chris chaired the Cultural Center’s major capital campaign “Sustaining a Place That Matters,” followed in 2018 by the “Back to Our Roots” campaign to refurbish the grounds of the Center.

Chris received the Governor’s Award in the Humanities in 2011, a reflection of her service as a leading preservationist, volunteer and philanthropist for humanities in the State of Georgia, as well as Madison.

She has served on the boards of numerous other organizations, including the Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Morgan Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Georgia Historical Society, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Georgia College and State University Foundation.

Most recently, Chris was the inspiration for the Cultural Center’s most successful fundraiser in its history, when the community came together in 2019 to “Roast, Toast, and Celebrate” this amazing lady on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

Board Chair, Betsy Morehouse made the closing remarks: “We’ve got a tough year coming up and no certainty of what will be possible and funding is a tough challenge, we are hoping everybody can contribute what they can, call trustees or staff with thoughts and ideas. We need to all be together for this next year.”