Gahl-Mills will oversee an organization which has given grants of more than 33 million dollars to area arts concerns in its’ two year existence. 

The grants are funded by the cigarette tax county voters authorized in 2007. Gahl-Mills says that track record of strong community support for arts and culture strongly influenced her decision to accept the offer to come to Cleveland.

In taking the helm, Gahl-Mills says one of the first orders of business is to increase public awareness of the organization, and how it operates.

KAREN GAHL-MILLS: “CAC is doing great work, and to a certain extent it is a bit invisible in the community, so one of the things that we can do is to raise the profile of CAC, and help folks understand how their tax money is going to work in their communities.”

Gahl-Mills selection from among 81 candidates is a bit of a homecoming, as she spent her teen years in Northeast Ohio, graduating from Westlake High School.

The Arts Council gave Gahl-Mills a four year contract. She’ll begin her new job in February.

In our little corner of the world, John Kenley is best known for creating a legendary chain of summer theaters that brought big shows and Hollywood stars to small towns. The Kenley players ruled the midwest between 1957 and 1995, giving many a fledgling actor valuable experience from a master of the craft.

Back in February of 2007, Dee Perry caught up with the irrepressible impresario by phone from his home in Florida and he shared some of his career highlights, including a memorable stint with Al Jolson in the show Artists and Models in 1926.