February 1 marks one year since Alaska Arts Southeast became the owners of 20 buildings and 20.4 acres on the Sheldon Jackson Campus. How did we get this far in just one year?  It is the support we've gotten from all of you that has made it happen. 

At the transfer ceremony in March, Arliss Strugulewski (former Sheldon Jackson Trustee) said, "We are extremely fortunate to have the Sitka Fine Arts Camp come into this community with their vision and leadership. There is a tremendous amount of volunteers, which is a compliment not only to Roger Schmidt (executive director) but to the community and Sitka for what you're bringing to this place." 

This captures how I still feel today. Volunteers have dedicated over 20,000 hours of work to the revitalization of this property. That number is equivalent to ten people (in addition to our staff) working full time, all year.

Donors have contributed $431,000 and an additional $280,000 in materials and skilled labor.  

The campus is now home to after-school arts classes, writers-in-residency, traveling college programs, Sitka's preschool programs and a Ceramics coop, as well as the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.

We have put a lot of heart into this project, but the thing that keeps it going is the fact that each of us make the decision again everyday to keep putting that much heart in.

Last fall, we received an Our Town grant from the NEA to promote community strength though Sitka's rich and diverse activities. It's exciting to work with so many organizations toward partnerships that build on what already makes Sitka an amazing place to live.

A number of things lie ahead, needed to ensure the stability and success of this resource in our community. The roofs on some of the buildings will need to be completely replaced to prevent weather from causing damage to the structures themselves. Weatherization is a priority in all of the buildings for the same reason. For example, by installing rain gutters at Allen Auditorium we were able to prevent deterioration of its exterior, which had been completely restored in the original remodel of the building years ago.

 In one year we've shown that we really can can do it, if we all work together. On behalf of the staff and board of Alaska Arts Southeast, we feel confident jumping into this next year because of all of the support we continue to receive! Thank you.