Arts council wants to be known countywide The Monmouth County Arts Council (MCAC) will be reaching out to parts of the county where it is not yet well known, according to the council’s new president. “I would like to see more activity in some corners of the county where we’re not as well known like southern Monmouth County,” said Peter J. Lyden III, newly elected president of the arts council, which celebrated its fifth anniversary last year. Lyden, senior director, franchise and government affairs for Comcast, told the arts council’s annual meeting that he will draw on his background in government relations to “put us in front of appointed and elected officials and let them know what we are doing.” “These five years have been a way of laying a foundation to the point where we can step up and become visibly a part of the Monmouth County community,” he said, adding that the council is well known in Red Bank and northern Monmouth but needs to build recognition elsewhere. Members of the arts council elected officers and new board members as the MCAC began its sixth year. Lyden succeeds Alice Berman, who has served as president of the board of the arts council since it spun off from the Count Basie Theatre to become an independent entity in July 1999, who will continue as a director. Also elected at the MCAC annual meeting were Holly Lyttle, vice president, Jennifer Loch, secretary, and George M. Feldman, treasurer. Lyden paid tribute to the “vision and leadership” of Berman, who noted that the arts council moved into new, expansive quarters this year at 107 Monmouth St. in Red Bank. Mary Eileen Fouratt, MCAC executive director, said the council is working on an arts plan for the county, which is being carried out in collaboration with Monmouth University in West Long Branch and the Monmouth County Planning Board with the assistance of ArtsMarket, a consulting firm. She said the process is already under way and involves gathering broad input through forums, including interviews and roundtable discussions and a survey that will be mailed out and also be available on the Web site www.monmouthartscouncil.org. Initial results of the information gathering, indicate “a need on the part of arts organizations for stronger marketing of arts events, a need to work with municipalities, a need for more educational opportunities for young people in and out of school.” “We’re midpoint in this analysis,” she said, “and we will use it to inform goal setting for an arts plan.” She said there is still time to have input in the process through the survey. “The more input we have, the stronger the plan will be,” she said. “The comments will be taken seriously. We feel we will have a plan for how to strengthen the arts for artists and arts organizations.” “The community cultural plan gives us the opportunity to reassess and see what the needs still are,” added Berman. “It’s not about what’s been accomplished in five years, it’s about going forward. It’s really important to see what work we need to do to best serve this community.” Four new seats were open for election, and two were up for re-election at the meeting. Berman and Henry Green, retired from the Brookdale Community College faculty, were re-elected to three-year terms. New board members elected are: Louis A. Rodriguez, executive director of the Latino Chamber of Commerce; Richard M. Tarabour, director of service provider segment marketing for Cisco Systems; William J. Szilasi, vice president of Morgan Stanley; Judy Mumford-Guerry, founder and owner of Mumford Designs, Red Bank. Other board members include: Daniel Green, Kenneth Bianchino, Carolyn Charles, Sujatha Devarajan, Evander Duck Jr., Greta K. Ellis, Robert Nisivoccia, Rosellen Otrakji, Lynn Reich, Lorraine Robinson-Hilton and Judy Stach. “Each person has different gifts they bring to the table,” Berman said. “Each brings a circle of influence so that we reach out to more and more of the county as time goes on.” “These five years have been a way of laying a foundation to the point where we can step up and become visibly a part of the Monmouth County community, Lyden said. “We can do a much better job of letting people in the county know what we’re doing.” — Gloria Stravelli