Greetings from The Fine Arts Association! Do you like a good story? I do! Better yet, I love reading books that are serial in nature. You read one and then the next until there is nothing left to do but wait until the next one comes along. While you wait, you might even imagine yourself as part of the next book or chapter. A good book is a faithful friend. It never lets us down and is hard to put down. We never want it to end. Included in these pages is the continuing story of the Fine Arts Association which began in 1957 when Jim and Louise Savage opened a school for Fine Arts in their home in downtown Willoughby. Since then, thousands of people, young and old, from all walks of life have been impacted by the legacy of their vision. Times have changed since 1957 but the values and vision they inspired continue to live on through our board, staff, faculty, and students. Thanks to a generous grant from the Cleveland Foundation and our partners at Thrive at Work, our staff and board were able to engage staff, faculty, parents, and community members in the process of updating our strategic plan from 2019-2021. The goal of the process was to reflect upon the legacy passed on to us and to determine how we can best continue it well into the future. In all, we spent more than 18 months and persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic assessing not only what we do but who we are and what impact we hope to make on our community going forward. Inside these pages, you will find the resulting framework of our ongoing story. It forms the plot, the characters, and the settings for the chapters we have yet to write. But more than that, we hope that our aspirations will inspire you to join us. The arts can change. The arts can heal. The arts can empower. We invite you to join us as we write the next chapter. Ready to write,
CEO
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Empowering the Arts - The Fine Arts Association
