The Porter County Board of Commissioners bid a fond farewell to outgoing Memorial Opera House Executive Director Scot MacDonald Tuesday morning, presenting him with a plaque in honor of his service. MacDonald joined the MOH staff in 2012 after years of volunteering and became executive director in 2016.
His last day is Aug. 11 when he leaves to become the director of Theatre Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, reminisced about the first time she met MacDonald, who was working as a server at The Silver Spoon on Lincolnway and had just put in his application for the director position.
“Never at that time did I imagine you would become synonymous with the MOH,” she said. “We just started off every month trying to make one penny touch the next,” Blaney added, speaking of all the changes MacDonald brought about, including “nights people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford the theater can go. Your staff obviously plays a role, but it starts with the leadership.”
Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, told MacDonald society advises to “leave something better than you found (it) and you’ve done that.”
“A.A. Milne said how fortunate it is to have something it’s difficult to say goodbye to, so thank you,” MacDonald replied.
Natalia Klobuchar, who has been with the MOH since 2010, will be interim director during a search for MacDonald’s replacement.
Klobuchar, who has applied to permanently replace MacDonald, has been the administrative coordinator at the MOH and has been a full-time employee for the past four-and-a-half years. “We don’t intend to lose any stride,” she said of the 360-seat venue.
In other MOH business the board will be accepting bids for brick masonry repair of the building’s exterior until 9 a.m. on Sept. 5. Commissioners Vice President Barb Regnitz, R-Center, asked if it would be possible to award a bid at the Sept. 12 morning meeting.
“It depends whether the construction manager is comfortable reviewing the bids and the amount of bids needing to be reviewed,” said County Attorney Scott McClure. Regnitz said the board would aim for approval of a bid on Sept. 12, and plan to do so by its Sept. 25 meeting at the latest so the brick could be repaired before winter.
The board also reminded the audience of the Memorial Opera House Foundation’s offer to pay for new auditorium seating, estimated to cost around $300,000. “We got our use out of them,” McClure said of the 50-year-old seats.
“It would be a shame not to sell them,” Biggs added. “We could break them up into two or three seats.”
“You obviously have not sat in them in a while,” Blaney countered.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
