SAAC
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BOARD & STAFF

BOARD

All board members are very active volunteers. You may see one painting pumpkins, loading up tents, driving a cart, hanging an art show, or helping award grants and scholarships. Several board members are working artists, who provide valuable input as part of our efforts to connect with the broad community of arts in the Starkville area.

Officers 2020-2021

Mary Switzer, President
Ashia Gandy, Vice-President
Walter Diehl, Past President
Nancy Lifer, Treasurer

Allison Julien, Secretary
Christine Rogers-Kelly,
Members-At-Large
​

Additional Board Members

Alex Bostic
Emily Corban-Camp
Patricia Cox
Rosa Dalomba
Callie Ellis
Latalla Harris
​​Thomas La Foe
Rachael Potts
Duston Price



COMMITTEES

SAAC is supported by hundreds of volunteers each year. CDAF alone requires more than 200 to plan, coordinate, and execute a one-day event (and that’s without a lightning storm, tornado, or global pandemic). We operate through a handful of planning committees (both formal and informal). In FYE 2020, these included:

  • Art in the Park (Allison Julien, Mary Switzer, Alex Bostic CoChairs)
  • AiPP (Exhibits) (Walter Diehl, Chair)
  • Art Partners (Allison Julien, Chair)
  • Community Events (Ashia Gandy, Chair)
  • Cotton District Arts Festival (John Bateman, Emily Corban, CoChairs)
  • Finance (Nancy Lifer, John Bateman, CoChairs)
  • Forks & Corks (Duston Price, Rachael Potts, CoChairs)
  • Fundraising (Jon Turner, Chair)
  • Grants (Callie Ellis, Jon Turner, CoChairs)
  • Summer Scholarships (Christine Rogers-Kelly, Chair)
  • #StayAtHomeFest (John Bateman, Andrew Rendon, CoChairs)

SAAC and CDAF are both supported by a number of subcommittees and community partners, who are not listed here.

STAFF

Executive Director, John W. Bateman

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In 2017, in a strategic move forward, the Board of Directors hired its first-ever Executive Director, John W. Bateman. A graduate of Starkville High School, John is a former attorney and published writer with extensive nonprofit experience. He spent a decade advising more than 100 grant and scholarship-making foundations across a broad range of issues, helping distribute more than $100 million in awards. From 2010 to 2015, John served as the Administrative Officer of The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation in NYC, managing compliance, grant making, and other functions. In 2016, he received his Master of Arts in English from the University at Buffalo’s Innovative Writing program and is an active, award-winning writer. His southern gothic novel, Who Killed Buster Sparkle?, was released June 12, 2019 by Unsolicited Press. John is also recipient of a 2018 Mississippi Film Alliance Emerging Filmmaker Grant. John’s experience as a working artist will help ensure that SAAC continues to build programming that meets the needs of the Starkville arts community.

Email John
here.

AmeriCorps VISTA

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SAAC is very excited to have been the recipient of a project assignment with The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University. The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University links community-minded volunteers with community-based agencies fighting poverty, to develop the educational and economic skill-sets and opportunities of citizens who live in poverty, and provide housing, transportation, and food assistance to individuals living in poverty. SAAC was approved as a site location for The Maroon Volunteer Center AmeriCorps VISTA Project at Mississippi State University in Fall 2019.

The AmeriCorps VISTA member for Arts Programming will build capacity by coordinating volunteers for SAAC programming, streamlining communication and promotion, and securing financial resources. 

​Our current and past VISTAs (in alphabetical order) include:

Juliette Reid (Fall 2019 - Fall 2021)

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In January 2019, Juliette became an intern at the Starkville Area Arts Council through an Internship in English class at Mississippi State University. Originally from West Plains, Missouri, Juliette graduated from Mississippi State University in Spring 2019 with a BA in English with a Linguistics minor. As an AmeriCorps VISTA  for Arts Programming with the SAAC, her role is to help recruit and manage a volunteer pool; manage social media, press releases, and newsletter promotion; and identify financial resources for funding arts education programming in the community. Juliette believes that the preservation of art at the community level is important because of its fundamental importance to human expression. Art was made long before even formal written language to help keep stories alive. Science may improve our health and longevity but art is what makes long life worth living. Juliette hopes to continue work with non-profits, someday working with humane societies to help them build capacity and help animals find their forever homes.

SAAC Internship & Workstudy Program

Much of our success hinges upon communication with funders, the public, our members, and our volunteers. In Fall 2017, SAAC launched a formal internship program in part collaboration with Mississippi State University's Department of Communication. In Fall 2018, this program expanded to include a workstudy opportunity through Mississippi State University.

​Our current and past interns (in alphabetical order) include:
  • Laney Butts (Fall 2019 - Spring 2020)
  • Danny Clark (Summer 2018)
  • Gracie Conn (Summer 2020)
  • Emma Crumpton (Summer 2019)
  • Madilyn Holden (Spring 2018)
  • Laken Jones (Spring 2018)
  • ​Jerneisia McGee (Fall 2018 - Spring 2019)
  • Colleen McInnis (Summer 2018)
  • Brittany Mizell (Fall 2017)
  • ​Juliette Reid (Spring 2019 - Summer 2019)
  • Gavin Wasson (Summer 2019)
Interesting in becoming an intern? Apply below!
Those interested in workstudy opportunities should
​contact MSU for eligibility.
Internship Application

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or just feel like saying hello, feel free to stop by our downtown office during office hours, give us a call, or shoot us an email. We'd love to hear from you!
Address: 
101 South Lafayette Street, Suite 18
Starkville, Mississippi 39759

Email: 

director@starkvillearts.org
arts@starkvillearts.org

​Phone:  662.324.3080 
Social Media
Want to stay updated on the latest news and what we're up to? Check out our social media and follow us there!
SAAC
CDAF
Websites
Starkville Arts
Starkvegas Art
CDAF
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Our newsletter
Keep up with area arts news and events with our semi-monthly newsletter.
Click to Volunteer!
We need you - whether or not you're an artist! Our biggest 2 events (Art in the Park and Cotton District Arts Festival) require dozens of helping hands, so jump right in!
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101 South Lafayette Street, Suite 18
Starkville, Mississippi 39759
arts@starkvillearts.org
director@starkvillearts.org
662.324.3080
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©2020 Starkville Area Arts Council. All Rights Reserved.
​#starkvillearts #starkvilleartscouncil #starkvilleareaartscouncil
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: SAAC is an equal opportunity organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, operation of programs, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for the public, all members of our staff, volunteers, vendors, and artist communities.
  • Home
    • Board & Staff
    • SAAC Mission & History
    • Public Disclosure
    • COVID-19 Update Page
  • Programs & Events
    • Art Education & Outreach
    • Creative Economy >
      • Betty Jane Chatham Retrospective
    • Discretionary Grants & Awards
    • Fundraising >
      • Forks & Corks
      • 25th Anniversary Cookbook and Celebration
    • Other Projects (Current & Past) >
      • Arts in Excellence Awards
      • Barn Quilt Trail
      • Join Hands
      • Music Trail
      • Untitled!
  • Blog & News
  • Donate & Help
  • Resources