WaterTower Theatre Elects New Directors and Officers

WaterTower Theatre has announced the election of four new Board Members, as well as a new slate of Officers. The Board voted unanimously to install the following Executive Committee Officers: Chairman Derek Blount, President Paul Shultz, Vice President Stan Graner, Treasurer Jimmy Niemann, and Secretary Rose Colarossi.

The Board was pleased to re-elect Michael Canterbury and Debbie Staggs for their second terms as directors.

WaterTower Theatre also welcomes the appointment of four new Board members: Grace Daniels, Phil Longacre, Kathleen Messina, and Karol Omlor. WaterTower Theatre's Board Resources Committee was Co-Chaired by Barbara Daseke and Stan Graner and includedBoard Chairman Derek Blount, and Managing Director Greg Patterson.

WaterTower Theatre's Board of Directors consists of leaders in the fields of business, publishing, education, law, finance, community activism, real estate, and the arts who volunteer their time and expertise on behalf of the organization. The newly elected memberswill join current Board members Rosalind Benjet, Derek Blount, Michael Canterbury, Blake Clemens, Rose Colarossi, Barbara Daseke, Buddy Frazer, Stan Graner, Laree Hulshoff, Margo Keyes, Jeff Laceky, RoBert Mayer, Jr., Jimmy Niemann, Wade W. Owens, Corky Pledger, Paul Shultz, and Debbie Staggs.

"I am so pleased to welcome Grace, Phil, Kathy, and Karol as new directors. Each of them will bring unique and important skills to WaterTower Theatre's board," said Chairman Blount. "I'm also thrilled that Paul Shultz has accepted the position of President of the Board. His extensive background as an executive manager in the consulting field, combined with his love and support of the arts, makes Paul an ideal choice to serve in this important leadership role."

"We also wish to extend our gratitude to outgoing President Ben Cunningham," continued Blount. "Ben has been a stellar example of leadership throughout his tenure on the WaterTower Theatre Board."

"WaterTower Theatre's Board of Directors led by Derek Blount and Paul Schultz is one of the most highly effective and engaged non-profit boards in the DFW Metroplex" said Managing Director Greg Patterson. "With our new officers and leadership in place, our future will be solid and secure as we enter our 20th Anniversary Season, complete the search for a new Artistic Director, and look to the future with confidence."

"I am so pleased that Derek Blount has agreed to serve as Chairman for a third term," said Patterson. "Derek has served as both our President and Chairman with distinction and continues to provide the kind of solid leadership a growing arts organization requires."

About WaterTower Theatre's Chairman of the Board:

Derek Blount currently serves as Chairman of the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors and has served as the Co-Chair of the Corporate Council since its inception. He joined the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors in 2006. Since joining, Derek has served two terms as Board Treasurer, one term as Board Vice President, four terms as Board President and two terms as Board Chairman.

Derek is an award-winning author who has been published in MENSA Magazine. His works include family-oriented ("The Three Christmases of William Spencer") as well as thriller novels ("Hostile Takeover" and the upcoming "Second Son"). Derek also serves as President of Happy Prince Media, LLC, a media and consulting firm with a focus on creativity and innovation.

Derek's earlier professional experience was centered in the financial industry including corporate lending roles with JPMorganChase and international banking syndicate Credit Agricole. Derek also helped establish the Dallas commercial banking division for CapitalOne Bank and served as Area President for Sovereign Bank.

A Texas native, Derek received both his B.B.A. in Finance and his M.S. in Marketing from Texas A&M University. Derek is an active member of American MENSA, an enthusiastic traveler and an avid runner. He and his wife, Bethany, have two vivacious boys. Learn more about Derek's books at derekblount.com

About WaterTower Theatre's President of the Board:

Paul Shultz is the General Manager of Slalom Consulting's South Region businesses. He has decades of experience as an executive leader, business strategist, systems integration, and organizational improvement professional.

Before joining Slalom, he served as The Managing director of enterprise applications at Protiviti, a global business consulting and internal audit firm. Previously, Paul was The Managing vice president of the Southwest market at Hitachi Consulting. He held a number of leadership positions prior to Hitachi Consulting including CIO of Edisto Resources and NRM Energy. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in business administration from Baylor University. Paul joined the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors in 2015.

About the New Directors:

Grace Daniels is an Area Manager at Oncor Electric Delivery, the largest transmission and distribution utility company in Texas. She represents Oncor in local government, civic, and community initiatives with a maIn Focus on fostering relationships and providing support in regards to energy delivery and/or related concerns of city management. Ms. Daniels has also been involved in several community volunteer programs including the Junior League of Dallas. She enjoys singing and working with the youth at House of Prayer Church in Oak Cliff.

Phil Longacre is a retired computer geek and business person whose arts involvement reaches back to piano and clarinet lessons in early grade school. Later, Mr. Longacre enjoyed playing in pit orchestras for community theatre productions, and was actually onstage in the chorus for a few very amateur productions as an adult. He's been an avid patron of musical and theatrical companies for virtually his entire life, and also sings in choir and various vocal ensembles at church. He is a proud SMU graduate, with degrees in engineering and business.

Kathleen Messina is a long time lover of the arts. Ms. Messina has watched the arts grow in Dallas/Ft. Worth during her 44 years of residence here. She has been an active member of many women's arts groups in Dallas. Having been brought up in New York City, she was introduced to the arts at an early age, and considers the arts a necessary component in adding pleasure and enrichment to one's life.

Karol Omlor was born in Dallas and grew up in Celina, a small town just north of Frisco. Ms. Omlor went to college at the University of North Texas, and began her college life as a theatre major - changing later to an English major. After college she lived in Denton before moving to Newport News, Virginia, where she lived and taught English for 4 years. After returning to Texas, Ms. Omlor taught English and Spanish for 10+ years before giving up her career for a full time role as a community volunteer in 1984. Since that time she has supported many theatre organizations in Dallas.

About WaterTower Theatre:

WaterTower Theatre, celebrating its 20th Anniversary Season, is one of the leading regional theatres in North Dallas and Texas. It is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, DFW Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News,The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 28,000 patrons annually.

WaterTower Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Town of Addison, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Shubert Foundation. WaterTower Theatre is supported, in part, through the generosity of Atmos Energy, Barbara and Bob Bigham: the Baylor Oral Health Foundation, Don and Barbara Daseke, Frost Bank, Liberty Capital Bank, Mary Kay Inc., Million Air Dallas, Nissan Foundation, Pinnacle, Rainmaker Advertising, Slalom Consulting, Table 13, Target, the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors, and Women of WaterTower.

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