Article supplied by Vermiion Heritage Foundation

The Vermilion Heritage Foundation is announcing the resignation of its Executive Director, Jason Rome, effective February 29, 2024. We have been working towards this transition for quite some time and we would like to congratulate Jason for five years of service to The Fischer Theatre, its patrons, and to the community at large. During his tenure as Executive Director, Jason led the organization through what felt like the impossible - making the dream of so many a reality as our Lady opened her doors to thousands of visitors to experience the arts in this magical and historic space. 

Jason was successful in pushing the organization through a global pandemic, thoughtfully restructuring the financial position of the foundation, creating diverse opportunities, and presenting a variety of programming to the members of our community during his time of service to the organization. Jason consistently made choices with the survival and mission of the theatre at the top of his mind, and we are grateful for his leadership. 

We wish him the best in all his future endeavors and would like to extend our gratitude to Crystal Bivans for accepting the role of Interim Director effective March 1, 2024. Crystal has been serving at the Fischer Theatre in the role of Operations Director since July of 2021. She has been instrumental in driving the theatre's forward momentum through thoughtful communication, streamlining processes, dreaming up creative and engaging events, introducing flavorful concoctions to the café, and coordinating our volunteers. She has consistently been a positive resource for the theatre, and the Board of Directors is confident in her abilities to bridge the gap for the organization during this transition. 

The mission of the Vermilion Heritage Foundation is, "We believe that art is vital to a good life. Our purpose is to fund and oversee the restoration, maintenance, and operations of the Historic Fischer Theatre in order for all to experience the arts in this local treasure." Our promise to the community during this transitional period is to keep the mission of The Vermilion Heritage Foundation at the center of our focus as we begin the search for our next Executive Director. 

We will make every effort to continue providing programming during this transitional time, and we ask the community, our partners, and our patrons to be patient with us while we reorganize, strategize, and continue to grow stronger as an organization. We know how incredibly lucky we are to have this gem in our community, and we will be serving diligently, with integrity, to ensure the best possible outcome for all. 

We extend our gratitude to all who have given time, talent, and treasure to the Fischer Theatre, carrying the torch to this point and into the future. The Fischer will never go dark so long as we have our friends.