Guest View: Why does the WOW Hall matter?

David Zupan and Chico Schwall
·3 min read

Last year, almost 200 people concerned about the future of the Community Center for the Performing Arts, aka WOW Hall, endured a long online meeting. Those members elected a strong board of directors to face the challenges of COVID and financial instability. As a result, the CCPA is closer to fulfilling its mission:

The Community Center for the Performing Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to:

  • Preserving and operating the historic Woodmen of the World (WOW) Hall as a multipurpose community center.

  • Providing cultural arts and educational opportunities for all ages and income levels.

  • Maintaining a supportive environment for local artists and their new creative efforts.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, the CCPA used creative efforts. We held a 45th anniversary celebration, a free online concert featuring live performances and archival footage of performances gone by. We invited the community to an “Acoustic Picnic,” a free, all-ages outdoor show featuring local musicians and dancers. Consistent with its historic role as a community center, the CCPA collaborated with White Bird Clinic to open the area’s first walk-in vaccination clinic in the hall. Now the CCPA has begun to welcome performances and classes back into the hall with COVID-19-safe protocols in place.

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Thanks to a major grant and for the first time in CCPA history, we have sufficient time and funding to expand programming and ensure sustainable financial. The CCPA’s mission statement is poised to blossom into creative, energized cultural experiences and opportunities for our community. To help achieve this vision, the CCPA recently hired Deborah Maher as interim executive director. She has extensive professional experience in managing and stabilizing nonprofit organizations. She is working with the board and staff to ensure this year’s online annual membership meeting on Nov. 14 runs smoothly and the election process is fair and secure. Members will vote to fill four open seats on the board of directors.

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The CCPA is a membership-based organization responsible for a community-owned historic facility. The community being served controls its destiny. Your ideas and needs shape our path going forward especially when you renew or become a CCPA member. We need the membership to again elect a strong board that will meet the challenge of striving for our exciting goal of a secure, sustainable and inclusive WOW Hall for all.

The CCPA annual general membership meeting will take place on 4 p.m. tomorrow on Zoom. You will have the opportunity to learn about the latest WOW Hall activities and hear from candidates running for the board. If you are a member, you will have the opportunity to vote for new board members between Nov. 15-19. For more information on becoming a member or board candidate or to get membership meeting and election details including candidate statements, visit wowhall.org.

We look forward to seeing you on Nov. 14 and thanks for your continued support of the WOW Hall.

David Zupan the board chair of the CCPA and Chico Schwall is the board treasurer of the CCPA.

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This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Guest View: Why does the WOW Hall matter?