The Norman Arts Council is proud to announce its Board of Directors for 2012-2013.

The NAC board consists of Susan Greer as president, Sherry Brown as vice president, Kate Butler as secretary, Larry Walker as grant committee chair and Norman Public Arts Board representative, Stephen Koranda as the Norman Arts & Humanities Roundtable representative, Richard McKown and Melissa Scaramucci as Strategic Planning Committee co-chairs, Suman Basuroy, Carol Beesley, Michael Bendure, Anthony Francisco, John Frank, Sharon McCoy, Mark Morton, Amber Knox Roth, and Lauren Sonder.

The board has five new members who either moved positions or are joining the board for the first time. Susan Greer, who has served on the NAC board for one year, will now serve as president. New members to the NAC board this year include: Carol Beesley, Mark Morton, and Amber Knox Roth. Stephen Koranda was elected to be the 2012-2013 representative for the Norman Arts & Humanities Roundtable replacing former chair Rick Fry. Koranda is the executive director of the Norman Convention & Visitors Bureau.

All new members and positions were nominated, and they all have long-standing relationships with the Norman Arts Council, the Norman community, or have a passion for the arts.

Susan Greer has lived in Norman most of her life and worked for the development office at the University of Oklahoma for 16 years. Greer began her term on the NAC board last year and moves in this year to the role of president.

Looking forward to this next year, Greer said, “I am hoping to build on the success that the NAC has already achieved by establishing Norman as an arts community. The variety of programs, organizations and artists NAC supports is incredible and is a huge contribution to the outstanding quality of life in Norman.”

“I’d like to see our current programs expanded to reach more of our community. With arts funding being cut or stagnant, we have a real challenge before us to continue our outstanding support of our local artists and organizations.”

The board of directors is crucial in making important decisions for the NAC year-round. They help build programs such as 2nd Friday Circuit of Art, further funding including planning the ONE Event, and create educational scholarships for the Norman community through the Educational Committee chaired by Lauren Sonder.

Carol Beesley is a full-time artist and 27-year resident of Norman. Beesley is also on the board of the Jacobson House Native Art Center and taught in the art department at the University of Oklahoma for many years.

“What a grand opportunity to be a real part of the Norman Arts Council doing what I love most,” said Beesley. “I hope to be an active participant to ensure the NAC continues to be the heartbeat of the arts in Norman.”

Mark Morton, president of Miko Group, Inc., became interested in the board through a former board member and is looking forward to increasing NAC funding to further involvement in the Norman community.

Amber Knox Roth recently moved to Norman from Baton Rouge, where she worked for the Shaw Center for the Arts and the Manship Theatre.

Roth stated that she is “really looking forward to assisting in the planning and execution of the 2013 ONE event. From what I have heard, the previous ONE was a major success and I am excited to be part of the process.”

The NAC board is a self-nominating and self-electing body that oversees the operations of the Norman Arts Council.

The NAC board meets the third Friday of the month at 12:00pm at MAINSITE Contemporary Art: Home of the Norman Arts Council, 122 East Main Street, Norman, OK 73069.

For more information on the Norman Arts Council, visit www.normanarts.org or call 405-360-1162.