(Lewiston, NY)  Artpark & Company, Inc., the not-for-profit company responsible for programming Artpark events, commemorated last season's tremendous successes, began planning for next summer's 35^th anniversary celebration, and appointed two new directors for 2008-2009 at the organization's Annual Meeting of Members, held Wednesday night at the Niagara Falls Country Club. 

 

Nominating Committee Chairman J. Michael Kelleher announced that Christopher H. Brown of Niagara Falls' Brown & Company LLP was re-elected as chairman of the Artpark & Company Board of Directors while Clarence Center's Wendy L. Montante and Regional Waste Solutions President Ray Walter were once again chosen as vice chairs of the 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization.  Vincent Agnello of Youngstown and Niagara University will retain his duties as secretary while Amherst resident and Sanderson and Company partner Brian Geary will assume the role of treasurer.

 

Brown enters his second season at the helm of the non-profit programming arm of the park.  His first season as chairman of the board was extremely fruitful, as evidenced by an estimated 230,000 attendees of scheduled events, a 5.5% increase from 2007, as well as sponsor support spiking almost 30% from the previous season.  Artpark is also in the beginning stages of a major capital improvements campaign that includes a freshly painted interior and new padded seats in its Mainstage Theater and a complete redesign of the venue's Outdoor Amphitheater, home to the popular free outdoor concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.   In light of these accomplishments, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation extended its licensing agreement with Artpark & Company for 10 more years in June.

 

Directors re-elected for three-year terms include Brown, Michael Giaquinto, John Howard, Kelleher, Kirsten Lawley, Laurie Lisowski-Frey, Paul D. Reid, Ruth Sass, Michael J. Shryne and Wayne D. Wisbaum.  

 

Advisory Board members elected to one-year terms include Thomas E. Brydges, Thomas B. Burrows, Daniel E. Cantara III, Francine DelMonte, Pamela Jacobs-Vogt, Seymour Knox IV, George Maziarz, Fred Newlin, Rhodes C. Palmer, Joseph Pillittere and Richard Soluri.

 

Newly elected to the Artpark & Company Board of Directors are P. Joseph Koessler, the Honorary Consul-General of Japan in Buffalo and President of Koessler Marketing Services, and Robin L. Wolfgang, Time Warner Cable's Vice President of Government and Public Affairs.

 

"We are very confident that the additions of Mr. Koessler and Ms. Wolfgang will further bolster an already-strong semblance of directors who will be instrumental in the continued success of Artpark," said Chairman Brown, who also thanked attendees for their support of Artpark's upcoming 35^th Anniversary Gala, slated for May 2, 2009.  "The unique talents of all 37 directors will be properly utilized as we get set to embark on a new era at Artpark."

 

A fundamental component of Artpark's new era includes the long-awaited installation of the new, padded seats which will adorn the center sections of the grand and first tiers in the Mainstage Theater.  To help offset some of the costs incurred with the theater renovations; Artpark is unveiling a theater seat plaque naming campaign.  Any individuals or corporations wishing to have their names emblazoned on a brass plaque that will adhere to the new seatbacks are invited to do so for $250.

 

Brown also announced that the contract of Artpark & Company President George Osborne has been extended thru the 2011 season.  Since Osborne was tabbed as the successor to David Grapes in 1999, the park has seen attendance soar nearly six-fold, and witnessed the return of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the introduction of the wildly-popular free outdoor concerts, and returned Artpark's musical theater programming to the levels of excellence that hadn't been reached at the park since the mid-1980s.

 

Artpark & Company recently completed its twelfth season of operating park programming under a licensed agreement with New York State Parks, a pact which was extended for another decade this past June.  The not-for-profit organization was directly responsible for the influx of more than 230,000 visitors to scheduled events in 2008.  These figures - which have risen by 174% since 2002 - are event estimates only and do not include fishermen, hikers and picnickers who comprise another large segment of Artpark's visitors.  The park also captured its third consecutive award as "Best Outdoor Music Series in WNY" from Buffalo Spree.