Schaumburg names new cultural services director
Jack Netter, a three-decade veteran of Schaumburg's Cultural Services Department and Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts, has been named its second director following the April retirement of Betsy Armistead.
Village Manager Brian Townsend's announcement of the appointment was greeted with applause at Tuesday's village board meeting.
"Jack's been with the village over 32 years, spent a lot of time next door in the building, done many great things for the village, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him in the future to do even more great things at the Prairie Center for the Arts," Townsend said.
Netter said he joined the cultural services department just after the June 1986 opening of what was then called the Prairie Center for the Arts on the village's municipal campus.
Unlike Armistead, who began her employment with the village as department director, Netter has worked his way up from technician to technical supervisor to operations supervisor to assistant director.
He became Armistead's assistant in 2012 and assumed more of her day-to-day responsibilities this year as her retirement approached.
Netter said he anticipates some incremental changes to the department, but the many programs Armistead implemented over the years are still going strong and won't be joining her in retirement.
"I really hope to continue that pattern of success," he said.
In addition to a variety of visual and performing arts programs at the Prairie Center, the Cultural Services Department also runs special events such as the annual Volunteer of the Year Luncheon, as well as adopting the oversight of the now 48-year-old Septemberfest each Labor Day weekend.