COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) -Tibbits Opera Foundation and Arts Council, Inc. will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, January 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the opera house and the event will feature a short historical presentation on the original architect of the building.
The meeting for Branch County’s center for arts and culture includes a review of the 2014-15 fiscal year, a financial report of the theatre, and highlights for the year ahead. It will also include a brief presentation by Belinda McGuire on Mortimer Smith, architect of Tibbits Opera House. McGuire, a graduate student in preservation at Eastern Michigan University researched the history of the theatre for her final project, an application for Tibbits to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. Her work included extensive research on Smith and his contributions not only with Tibbits and opera houses in Flint and Ypsilanti but throughout Detroit.
The community and members of the Tibbits Foundation are invited to join the board of directors for a reception in the lobby beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by the annual meeting. The meeting will include an update from board president, J. Richard Colbeck and recognition of outgoing board members Caroline Christy and Jim Maynard. The annual board election will include renewal of board terms for Laura Lutterbeck, as well as election of three new board members.
The annual meeting is held each year according to Tibbits’ Articles of Incorporation. As a nonprofit which serves and receives funding from the community Colbeck says, “We want to make sure the community has a chance to be a part of the process.”
Following the annual meeting the board will hold its annual organizational meeting at which they will elect officers for 2016. Tibbits Opera House is located at 14 South Hanchett Street, Coldwater. For more information call 517-278-6029.
