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Firehouse Center for the Arts director resigns

Lynne Hendricks
Staff writer
Published: August 25, 2008

NEWBURYPORT — After serving for 2 ¬½ years as executive director of the Firehouse Center for the Arts, Greg Smith officially gave his resignation yesterday, saying an exceptional job opportunity had presented itself out West and he had decided to accept it and relocate.

"It's a very difficult decision to make," Smith said yesterday. "Initially, I turned it down, but they came back with an offer I simply couldn't refuse."

Smith said he's accepted a job in California that helps provide children in Los Angeles and Orange County with exposure to the arts, specifically in areas where arts programs have been cut due to school budget shortfalls. Working with school groups to expose children to the arts was an area of the Firehouse programming Smith was very proud of, and he said he's thrilled to devote even more of his career to such a worthwhile goal.

"(Kids' programming) has been a regular part of our program here as well," he said. "It's part of the mission here I felt was very important."

Smith's departure isn't welcome news to the Society for the Development for Arts and Humanities, which operates the Firehouse, since Smith was considered instrumental in helping the Firehouse get back on track financially after several years of successive losses. The organization announced in June it was finally operating "in the black" after dispensing with operational debts incurred several years back under different leadership. With Smith at the helm, it was expected the center would continue to thrive well into the future.

"We are surprised and distressed to hear Greg's decision," said Firehouse co-President Scott Smith. "But we understand and are respectful of it. Obviously, it's a disruption to lose any key member of the staff."

Despite the disappointment, Scott Smith and the 16-member board is already looking ahead to the future in hopes of finding another candidate able to maintain the steady course set by Greg Smith. They will take the coming week to digest Smith's news and will then post the position on various nonprofit job Web sites and begin searching for his replacement in earnest.

Scott Smith added the director has agreed to stay on for the next eight to nine weeks, but even so, the co-president knows it will be a challenge to find someone suitable in that time frame.

"The executive director has to wear many hats," said Scott Smith, adding the candidate must be passionate about the arts, have an excellent business skill set, be well versed in grant writing, fundraising and programming. They must also mesh well with staff members, the community and a diverse board of directors, and be willing to take less money than they could get from performing the same tasks in the private sector.

"It's a special kind of person," Scott Smith said.

For his part, Greg Smith said he plans to spend the coming weeks laying out a job description for his future replacement and identifying and laying out deadlines and special dates to aid in the transition. He said unlike when he arrived 2 ¬½ years ago, the program schedule is now set one year in advance, which should provide the board with the time they need to find the right person. He hopes to solidify programming all the way through next summer before he heads west.

"I think on all levels, we're in a better position today than when I came aboard and the foundation is in place to continue that growth," Smith said. "We're currently planning for next June, July and August, and I hope to have a fully solidified schedule in place so they don't feel the pressure of a last-minute runaround."

And if a new executive director can't be found in time?

"We'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it," said Scott Smith. "We're blessed with a talented board, and the current staff could help to carry it. If there is a gap, we would consider whether to use some sort of interim management structure."

Greg Smith came to Newburyport by way of California, where he was responsible for overseeing a nonprofit estate/cultural arts center much larger than the Firehouse. An accomplished ballet dancer by original trade, he began fundraising and working behind the stage in order to help his dance company stay afloat. His skills impressed, and before long he decided he preferred the business side of his craft.

"I had artistic aspirations and I found the only way I could fulfill these aspirations was to help raise the money," Smith said. "My strengths lay more in arts leadership."

His ability to tend to a balanced checkbook and fully appreciate art is what made him such a perfect fit for Newburyport and this type of work, Scott Smith said.

"He really does enjoy that blend," he said.

The Firehouse currently employs two full-time staff members and a host of hourly employees who work organizing the various performances and events. Although the organization had a great year last year, Smith said only 50 percent of the Firehouse's costs are covered through ticket sales profits. He said it's always a struggle to make up the additional 50 percent through grants, donations and membership sales. Although he leaves the Firehouse in a strong position by all accounts, he said it will take continued commitment from the residential and business community to keep it that way.

"The arts will always need patrons and donors," Smith said. "That's the nature of the beast."

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