WaterTower Theatre Announces Carolyn Beebe as New Corporate Council Co-Chair

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin and Derek Blount, President of the Board of Directors have announced the appointment of Carolyn Beebe as Co-Chair of the Corporate Council (with Derek Blount). Ms. Beebe is Market Leader Commercial Lending in Frost Bank's Addison office.

WaterTower Theatre's Corporate Council was established in 2009 by Derek Blount and Mark Hurst (Hein & Associates) to engage the business community with WaterTower Theatre while providing a number of key marketing benefits for its member companies.

Since then, the Corporate Council membership has grown to 32 companies and includes Ackley Financial, Addison - The Magazine of the North Dallas Corridor, Allied Affiliated Funding, Atmos Energy, Edward Baumann Clothiers, Creative Financial Professionals, Doug Boster Gourmet Catering, Barbara Elliot Interiors, East Teak Fine Hardwoods, Frost Bank, Gary Daigle & Associates, Hudson Peters Commercial, Intercontinental Dallas, Joe's Italian Café, Kamco Properties, Lamb Equine, Liberty Capital Bank, Million Air Dallas, Marriott Quorum Dallas/Addison, Methodist Hospital for Surgery, Oncor, Nissan Foundation, Preston State Bank, Pinnacle Family of Companies, PlainsCapital Bank, Post Properties, Rainmaker Advertising, Sanford, Baumeister & Frazier, CPA, Signature Floors & Interiors, Sovereign Bank, Star Medical, United Surgical Partners International and ViewPoint Bank.

MR. Martin said, "Just over four years ago WaterTower Theatre formed a group called the Corporate Council in an effort to engage the business community with the arts and WaterTower Theatre. Since then, the Corporate Council has become a flagship corporate sponsorship group that has become the envy of many arts groups around the city. Our leadership, which has included Derek Blount, Mark Hurst and Megan Steinbach, have worked tirelessly on our behalf and on behalf of the WTT Board. I congratulate them and thank them for all they have done.

"I am so pleased to welcome Carolyn Beebe as the new Co-Chair of the Corporate Council. Carolyn and Frost Bank have been great supporters of WaterTower Theatre in the past two years. Carolyn's enthusiasm for WaterTower Theatre coupled with her energy, passion and creative spirit make her the ideal person to Co-Chair the Corporate Council."

An annual membership in the Corporate Council is $500. The membership comes with significant marketing, networking and entertainment benefits for member companies. Member dues support the artistic and educational programs of WaterTower Theatre.

Carolyn Beebe graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Finance. She began her banking career in Austin, TX as a commercial lending credit analyst. After 2 years in Austin, she accepted a position in Dallas working as an analyst with Frost Bank. In January 2002, she transitioned to commercial lending for Frost Bank in Addison, serving middle market companies. In March of 2012 she became the Market Leader for the Addison location of Frost Bank.

Carolyn enjoys working in the Addison community and is active in several non-profit organizations, including WaterTower Theatre. Outside of work she enjoys tennis, golf, traveling, and spending time with her nephew, Jack Joseph.

Derek Blount currently serves as President of the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors. He joined the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors in 2006 and has served in the roles of Board Treasurer, Co-Chair of The Corporate Council, Board Vice President and in September 2010 was elected President of the Board of Directors.

Professionally, Derek serves as Area President for Sovereign Bank, a Dallas-based financial institution and past corporate sponsor of WaterTower's annual fundraising Gala. In his role with the bank, Derek focuses on corporate banking including commercial real estate lending, mergers & acquisitions, equipment financing and working capital loans.

A Texas native, Derek received both his BBA in Finance and his MS in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Derek is an active member of American MENSA, an enthusiastic traveler and an avid runner. He is married to Bethany Blount and they have a son, Harrison.

WaterTower Theatre has become a theatrical force of nature through its consistent excellence and sharp programming. Combining Broadway-quality productions with the beauty of an intimate playing space, WaterTower Theatre provides experiences that are powerful and insightful, intense and uplifting. WaterTower Theatre provides the community with an opportunity to examine man's conditions from all perspectives and promotes growth through humor and drama.

Now in its 16th season, WaterTower Theatre began life in 1996 with 136 brave subscribers. Today, with over 2000 subscribers and a budget of $1.3 million, it consistently earns rave reviews in The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer, and other local publications. With 108 Dallas Theatre League Leon Rabin Award nominations and 28 wins to its credit, as well as 16 Dallas Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum Awards, WaterTower Theatre is home to the finest local talent.

A committed and intrepid producer of new work, the theatre has presented 5 world premiere productions and 13 regional premiere productions to date. WaterTower Theatre's tradition of world premiere programming includes the musicals Song of Motherhood and Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues. Dramatic world premieres include Free Fall with Sandy Duncan,Baptized to the Bone by Dave Johnson (which is enjoying healthy post-WaterTower Theatre life), and A Country Life, Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin's southern adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. Both Blind Lemon and A Country Life earned WaterTower Theatre a Dallas Theatre League Leon Rabin Award for Best New Work.

WaterTower Theatre is committed to nurturing emerging talent and expanding audiences. The annual Out of the Loop Fringe Festival strives to present new work by local and national writers. A major part of WaterTower Theatre's educational program partners professional artists and technicians with students at our Summer Performing Arts Conservatory, where students ages 8 - 18 learn "life skills through theatre skills." In addition, master classes and workshops for professional performers offer an opportunity for continued education at the local level.

WTT is privileged to make its home at the Addison Theatre Centre, an award-winning flexible theatre space that can be reconfigured to accommodate each new production. WaterTower's expanding artistic vision, deepening service to the community and growing audiences have led to a unique partnership with the Town of Addison, one aimed at the development of an exciting destination for patrons to experience the best in theatrical and performing arts.

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