Mea Culpa: This post was supposed to be published on Thursday, August 15, at 5:30 p.m. But the internet gremlins hijacked the post. Drat! Our apologies to the DFW business- and art-loving community.
The Business Council for the Arts (BCA) “Cheers To Change” open house showing off its new digs had all the elements of guests no-showing on the night of Thursday, May 30. In addition to drenching rains with flooding condition earlier in the day swamping even the best parts of North Texas and folks taking off for vacations, there was late-breaking news that had all eyes and ears focused on a verdict decision. And that was for those who still had electricity and online access.
But BCA CEO Stacie Adams and her team needn’t have worried. As the clouds disappeared and a chamber of commerce sunset of soft reds, pinks, yellows and blues served as a backdrop for the downtown Dallas skyline looking like cover girls, the turnout for BCA’s new digs at The Stack was an event planner’s idea of perfection.
BCA COO Jill VanGorden played tour guide, leading guests like Laura Barnett, Lynn McBee and Jeff Netzer to the 14th floor where BCA had moved its headquarters. In the past, BCA had shared space with the NorthPark Center team up north on Central Expressway. But due to an expanding team, more room was needed.
But the news of the night wasn’t just the tour. It was an opportunity to build on the new horizon of relationships.
Along with the sun breaking through, BCA Board Chair Joel Austin took a very brief break from his round-the-clock as Oncor Chief Technology Officer in handling the power outages resulting from the recent sweep of storms that had left thousands without power. He admitted that while it had been a daunting challenge, it had been especially hard on him and the rest of the Oncor family with fatalities resulting from the siege of storms, like the death of one of their lineman [Scott Balentine] who was trying to restore power.
In discussing BCA’s future, Joel said, “We’re on the cusp of yet another step change in being able to execute our mission being good stewards of the dollars that we have, and spending as many, if not all of them on programs to bring arts and culture close to the business community and in Dallas and in North Texas, and bring the business community closer to arts and culture. It’s very much a synergistic relationship.”
Other guests included board member Evan Singer, Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum President/CEO Mary Pat Higgins and TRG Collaboration Officer Rhonda Contreras, who had been instrumental is having BCA call The Stack home.
Falling back on the BCA’s decades of business/arts relationships, TRG provided space at its Deep Ellum very cool building at Commerce and Henry with lots of flexibility, security, parking and a view to kill for.
Stacie told folks that she was “just absolutely floored by the generosity of the incredible TRG CEO Lynn Davie, who saw a need that we had and was willing and open to not only fulfilling that need but really going for the extra mile.”
As Rhonda explained that when TRG was working with BCA on a website, they learned that BCA was looking for a space, and so “It just felt like a partnership to invite them in and to share our home with them. Being around you guys has been fantastic. You have experiences and you have programs that we can actually become exposed to, which helps us to bring creativity to our clients every single day.”
* Photo provided by Business Council For The Arts