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A Few Words From Debbie–A Foundation of Passion and Enthusiasm

A Few Words From Debbie

A Foundation of Passion and Enthusiasm

A close friend and colleague often tells me, “Your passion is showing!” And indeed, it does! When you love what you do and find excitement in every nuance you become what our friends at Project for Public Spaces call “zealous nuts” or better yet, what Dale Carnegie labels as “flaming enthusiasm.” For 35 years, I’ve been able to work in the arts and the nonprofit sector, and never once have I consider doing anything else.

But I don’t think I’m the only one that exudes those traits. Enthusiasm and passion seem to be the foundation for Arts Council staff members. As we begin our 51st year of operations, the Arts Council has added a team member who is also passionate about the arts, obsessed with making Lansing a better place and has already shown her enthusiasm for the work that is cut out for her.

We are very pleased to announce that Therese Roth has joined the Arts Council as our Development Director. While Therese’s professional background is in the medical field, her long-time work as a board member in charge of development with the Michigan Institute of Contemporary Arts (MICA) has given her true insight in creating and overseeing revenue generation and building strong relationships with corporate and individual donors. She’s got a “can do” attitude and is going to be a great addition to our team.

Enthusiasm will rule as we start the second half century of the work of the Arts Council to support, strengthen and promote arts, culture and creativity. As Roald Dahl states, “If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”  Here’s to our next 50 years!

Happy New Year!

Deborah E. Mikula
Executive Director