New exective director begins work at Arts Council of Southeast Missouri

Melissa Miller remembers attending the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri art academy workshops when she was growing up in Jackson. She said she recalls the picture she painted, an airplane flying in the sunset.

"I probably still have it in my closet at home," she said.

Miller took over as executive director of the arts council last week, where she will oversee council events and programming such as the art academy.

The organization has been operating without a full-time director for about a year while board member Richard Webb filled in as the interim director.

After working as a journalist throughout the Midwest and directing the Spencer County Visitors Bureau in Santa Claus, Ind., Miller said she is returning to Southeast Missouri to be closer to her family.

"It's a really strange feeling of coming home, but it's a different place," said Miller, who graduated from Jackson High School in 1997.

In Spencer County, she balanced promotions for the county's two main attractions: Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home and Santa Claus' festive offerings, which include an amusement park, Holiday World and Splashin' Safari.

She juggled marketing and media interest in the town of about 2,000, working with the Travel Channel, Comedy Central and a television crew from Finland. During a feature on his show, she said Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert accused her of overshadowing Christmas with festivities for Lincoln's 200th birthday.

Miller recently moved back to Jackson from her home on December 25th Lane to take on a new challenge in Cape Girardeau.

"I'm really fighting the urge to do everything in one week," she said of the new job.

She said she wants to increase the arts council's profile throughout the region and use her background in grant writing to find new revenue sources. Miller will also work in conjunction with the council's 18 member board.

"Her background reflects everything we want in a leader," said Utahna Hancock, chairwoman for of the arts council. She said the organization needed "young blood." Young leadership, she said, will help generate interest in the organization for younger generations.

Miller, 29, said her first projects include starting Facebook and Twitter pages for the organization, updating its website and putting together a budget.

"She's just vivacious and I think she'll be a fresh new face for us," Hancock said.

Miller said she is a businesswoman with an appreciation for art. Her background in design and photography come from experiences in marketing and journalism. She said the council hopes to expand offerings in theater and dance in the future.

"We all know art can have different definitions besides things that hang on the wall," she said.

Through her work with Lincoln Bicentennial celebrations in Indiana, she said she got a taste of working with artists. She helped launch a play and helped commission an art piece based on the former president's life, which is on display at Lincoln State Park.

In Cape Girardeau, she said she wants to draw attention to the arts scene, something she was not aware of growing up in the area.

"It's a destination for arts whether people know it or not," she said.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

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32 N. Main St. Cape Girardeau, MO