Strategically in tune
As I write this, the Hylton Center is running like a perfectly tuned V-8 engine (remember those?) and sounding like a well-tempered Steinway. Why do I make this extravagant claim, you may ask? Here’s what I’m hearing, feeling, and seeing.
A few Saturdays ago, our Executive Board, which includes appointed representatives of our tripartite founders (Prince William County, the City of Manassas, and George Mason University, as well as at-large members selected by Mason’s Science & Tech Campus advisory council) met with Hylton Center staff for our annual strategic planning retreat. This extended consideration of key aspects of our organization’s mission, vision, and operational goals is always a revealing experience -- never more so than this year, as we looked back at the darkest days of the pandemic while noting the signs of renewal and recovery in the arts community.
Unlike some strategic plans, which famously gather dust on a shelf (or outlive the software with which they were written), our plan is a living document in every way. Not only is the Center’s performance relative to the plan’s goals and objectives looked at by the Executive Board throughout the year in an organized rotation, but the plan itself is constantly updated to make sure its language and focus are still relevant to a dynamic organization in a changing environment. Each retreat sees at least some recommendations for addition, deletion, or revision, so that the plan is truly an up-to-date guide for our work.
It’s inspiring to see how we’ve come through these challenging times, to hear the affirmations, suggestions, and gentle corrections from our volunteer leadership, and, most importantly, to plan for the exciting months and years ahead.
Of course the measure of a strategic plan (or a V-8 or a Steinway) is how it keeps the organization on track or (you saw this coming) in tune. And based on the evidence of a recent weekend, that motor is purring and that piano is singing.
The artists of Ballet Hispánico recently spent several days with us, doing wonderful work throughout the community with students of all ages, from elementary schools through the Lifelong Learning Institute (and with Mason’s nationally-prominent School of Dance), prior to their beautiful concert in Merchant Hall on Feb. 19th. That concert was greeted with the kind of enthusiasm and passion that remind us why we do this work, by a large and diverse audience including a number of first-time visitors to the Hylton. What a night!
And then the very next day, the adorable and adept animals of the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater held families entranced for two great and well-attended shows. Meanwhile, a beautiful new exhibition was hung in the Buchanan Partners Art Gallery on the mezzanine level of the Didlake Grand Foyer… the Veterans and the Arts Initiative prepared to launch their hybrid Guitar Workshop Series for the spring… and the Arts Partners were busy preparing their delightful offerings.
There’s so much more… more than eight cylinders, or 88 keys for that matter, can contain. You can “read all about it” in the rest of this newsletter.
Thanks, and… vroom!
Rick Davis
Dean and Executive Director.