Q&A with Randy Eaddy

After nearly eight years serving on the board of the Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County, Randy Eaddy will succeed Jim Sparrow as the organization’s president and CEO following Sparrow’s resignation to become executive director of the Fort Wayne Ballet. Eaddy is retiring from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton law firm after almost 25 years as a partner.

What most excites you about joining the council as president and CEO?
One of the things the arts council has focused on a lot over the last several years — and one of the main legacies of Jim Sparrow’s — is the extension of the arts council’s support into new areas of our community. We have several mini-grant programs for new artists and small organizations, and it’s amazing how much of a catalyst some of those small grants can be for people doing impressive work; that outreach is one of the things that excites me. I’m stepping into a dynamic group of people and I’m looking forward to coming on board as their captain so to speak, but to continue the outstanding teamwork they’ve demonstrated over the years.

Which projects are you looking forward to most?
We have a significant project ongoing where we are reconfiguring some of space inside the Milton Rhodes Arts Center in order to create a new performance space that will give us the capacity to have multiple performance events going on simultaneously. We also recently sold our old theater out on Coliseum Drive… and a part of what we structured in connection with that sale was the relocation of…the Little Theatre and the North Carolina Black Repertory Theatre. An important piece of work we need to continue to do is ensure that both of those organizations are effectively relocated to new spaces where they can continue to do their valuable work in the community.

What do you see as unique about the arts in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County?
The diversity and high quality of what we have to offer in the arts arena in a city of our size surprised me when I got here and continues to impress me. We really do live up to the moniker that the Arts Council has adopted which is the “City of Arts and Innovation.” When my friends come to visit from Atlanta they really are taken aback by the quality and variety of the arts here in Winston-Salem.