In the last six months the Ocracoke Alive board has taken large strides to make the organization more effective, more efficient, and more in-touch with our community on and off the island. As a fairly young non-profit we rely on donors, sponsors, and volunteers (like you!) to aid in the success of our many endeavors. We owe you more gratitude than we can adequately express.
At the close of 2015, the members of the Ocracoke Alive board came to an exciting and daunting realization…over the past year we had grown much more than anticipated! With an increase in the number of programs that Ocracoke Alive produces and assists in producing, we have more work than can be asked of volunteers. So we made a few changes….
We Now Have a Home
That’s right! In April of 2015 Ocracoke Alive took over the lease of Deepwater Theater on School Rd. With fresh paint and renovations, we are slowly turning it into our home base. By this summer you will be able to stop in for information, to observe some of our classes, to receive assistance in booking sailing trips on the Wilma Lee, and to purchase cool memorabilia and show tickets for this season’s performances (Blackbeard: An (historical/hysterical) Account, The Ocrafolk Opry, and Molasses Creek). With classes, rehearsals, meetings and weekly shows…this space is starting to feel more like home already!
New Ocracoke Alive Staff Our renewed commitment to expand Ocracoke Alive’s programming began with a strategic planning workshop in November of 2015. In December and January our board officially approved two staff positions, Executive Director and Assistant Director positions.
These were granted to David Tweedie (face, elbow grease, and master organizer of Ocracoke Alive) and to Desirée Christa Ricker (island theater and dance guru). Currently, both these members are on the board, but they anticipate stepping off of the board to support the organization in their new roles. They will be working on development, programming, long term goals, community outreach, marketing, and much, much more.
We have also created a contract position with Laura McClain for Skipjack Wilma Lee curriculum development and implementation. Our intent is for this programming to begin on board the vessel and branch out to include many Ocracoke Island subjects and organizations. We intend to begin trial runs of these workshops in the fall with regional student groups.
Arts Partnership with Ocracoke School We are well into our second week of the 2016 Arts Partnership Program! This 16-week program introduces two artists per week to Ocracoke’s public and home-schooled students, pre-k through 12th grade. With Mexican cooking, polymer clay, baking and theater arts completed, the remaining 14 weeks promise to be just as diverse and exciting. In addition to this program we will still be working with the school on the 2016 Arts Week, which is a full week of art immersion for all classes!
Thanks to Kitty Mitchell, Nancy Leach, the teachers and staff of Ocracoke School, and the artist instructors for bringing this program to life. Also many thanks to our program sponsors, John Charles Saunders, Al & Linda Scarborough, Norma Sigal, Chuck & Liz Hotchkiss, Connie Leinbach, Judith Saunders, and Jim Roberts & Susan DeLaney. You can visit our YouTube channel to find videos of this program in action, and visit our website to find out how you can make a contribution to the program.
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