After weeks of speculation, the Board of Directors for Arts Enter Cape Charles has made a decision on what to do with the Historic Palace Theatre. Clelia Sheppard made an offer to take possession of the theater, along with the existing financial obligations. This news came as welcome relief for members of the performing arts community, who have been worried about a future that might have meant giving up the dance studio as well as access to the stage for rehearsals.
The current board found themselves at their wits end about how to meet the obligations required to keep the doors to the Palace open. While they refinanced the loan on the building last year, that still did not do enough to keep Arts Enter from teetering on the edge of extinction. Much of this dilemma was due to the organization attempting to function without an executive director. In other words, for the last year, they have been aimless and rudderless. Arts Enter did try, but the two candidates that were hired did not pan out. There is currently an acting ED, however this person works full time somewhere else, and rarely has more than a couple of hours a day to devote to the task. That also means there has been no one in the office to take calls during the day, which has caused some consternation, especially for parents trying to plan vacations around the summer camps.
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