Expect Broad Brush-Stroke Impacts From Arts Merger

TC Ticker: 3 October 2014                                                                                                                           By Luke Haase

The merger between Petoskey's Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) and ArtCenter Traverse City, first reported on by The Ticker in July, is now a reality. The CTAC board gathered late Wednesday in Petoskey to vote in favor of the deal, which could have significant repercussions on the local arts scene. The union will deliver the region's largest population center -- and donor base -- to the Petoskey-based CTAC. ArtCenter Traverse City, meanwhile, joins a financially credible powerhouse. The merger is not a surprise, given the new realities of arts and dollars throughout the state. Many small, community arts organizations struggle to secure funding. Meanwhile, Governor Snyder's administration has emphasized regional collaborations in everything from economic development to road funding to the arts. Proponents say the new Crooked Tree could help build a northwest lower Michigan arts umbrella brand that could secure grant dollars smaller groups could not have access to on their own. Crooked Tree Board President Bill Millar says the organization will operate much like a college with two campuses and will have staff in both cities. The new organization will be lead by Tony Ryner, incoming CTAC president. A transition team will begin to iron out specifics in the coming weeks and months. Merger conversations began in earnest in January, when CTAC Executive Director Liz Ahrens and a small Petoskey contingent visited Traverse City to explore a partnership. Initial ideas centered around the sharing of programming -- say, having a visiting musician or show perform in both Traverse City and Petoskey. But "very quickly after that we concluded if we’re going to do this right, it would have to be a full-on merger," says Paul LaPorte, ArtCenter TC president. LaPorte says the combined group's efforts are likely to focus initially on the visual arts, given that film, theatre, creative writing, and music are "already being done so magnificently by groups here now." The merger will undoubtedly also have an impact on the future of the Traverse City-owned Carnegie Building. Both ArtCenter Traverse City and the current tenant, The History Center of Traverse City, have expressed an interest in using some or all of the building after The History Center's lease expires in December. City Manager Jered Ottenwess tells The Ticker, "I believe the merger would enhance their (Crooked Tree and ArtCenter) ability to provide services and fulfill the arrangement described in ArtCenter's...proposal for use of the Carnegie." Mayor Michael Estes notes, " Once merger details evolve, I can see Crooked Tree as a very significant player in Carnegie Building discussions," adding that he envisions a "cultural center" shared by several groups. An ad hoc committee consisting of three City Commission members will have their next meeting Monday morning; City Manager Ottenwess says the committee is committed to having a recommendation "in time for the first City Commission meeting [in] December." LaPorte calls it "mandatory" that Crooked Tree have a Traverse City home, "especially now, with elevated expectations." He says the group remains very interested in the Carnegie Building but is also exploring two other local options. Permalink

Child & Family Services helps teens again.

From the TC Record Eagle - 15 September 2014 -

CFS to absorb program
BY SARAH ELMS selms@record-eagle.com | 
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 11:45 pm

TRAVERSE CITY — Child and Family Services of Northwestern Michigan will take on a local effort that provides shelter and support for high school students who are unable to live at home.
Catholic Human Services, Inc., began the Host Homes program 10 years ago and is passing the torch in October.

Marybeth Novak, Catholic Human Services’ prevention programs coordinator, has been at the program’s helm since its inception. She said it targets teens who want to get out of an unstable home life without dropping out of school.

The program places teens in safe homes with adult supervision through graduation. Novak is still totaling the numbers but said at least 170 teens in the five-county area benefited from Host Homes in the last decade.

“We worked with good kids who were coming away from troubled backgrounds and needed that stability and support to get them through high school,” she said.

The program is entirely funded through local grants, but it’s become increasingly difficult for Catholic Human Services to sustain.

Novak is gearing up for retirement in the next year or two, and she wants to make sure Host Homes is in good hands before she leaves.

“Our coffers were getting very, very empty, and it just seemed like a good time all the way around,” she said of the change. “I couldn’t have come up with money to start this year.”

Child and Family Services this year absorbed Third Level Crisis Intervention Center and now works with youth in the foster care system as well as with homeless and runaway youth who stay in the Pete’s Place shelter.

Courtney Russell, who will supervise the Host Homes program at CFS, said it makes sense to add it to the mix.

“It’s a really good fit because we have a whole spectrum of services that are put in place to support the youth in our communities,” she said. “It’s a middle-ground support service to help youth stay in a family environment to support them to continue their educational goals and grow into a healthy adult.”

Russell said CFS officials will continue to apply for local grant funding to support Host Homes, and they may be able to obtain some state funding down the road.

What’s most important to both organizations is that the region’s struggling youth have a safe place to go.


“I can’t thank the people who supported this program since its development enough,” Novak said. “In my professional career, it’s probably the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.”

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