HELEN — The Helen Arts & Heritage Council has accomplished a lot in its nine years of existence.
Recently, Board of Directors President Nancy Ackerman provided an update on activities of the group to members of the Helen City Commission.
The group acquired the former Helen City Hall on Chattahoochee Strasse in 2007, established a board of directors and received nonprofit status.
Today, the board is made up of 12 members with diverse professional backgrounds including accounting, education, legal, business management, hospitality, tourism, art therapy, author/historian, and architectural and interior design. Board members volunteered more than 1,300 hours last year.
The organization planted trees and individual gardens to enhance the front and sides of the facility, paying more than $400 each year to maintain its flowerbeds.
Membership has grown from a few members who were co-founders of the group to more than 200, with new members being added each month. For the first time in the group's history, membership fees increased in January from $25 to $40 per year.
Benefits of membership include use of art studios, free parking and exhibiting privileges in the four seasonal shows.
Today, the organization has more than 70 volunteers, with more than 40 of those volunteering on a regular, monthly basis. Those volunteers prepare food for receptions, meals for children's art camps, teach classes, donate paper goods, handle garbage disposal, provide basic household cleaning duties, and maintain seasonal plants in beds.
For the first time since establishment, the gallery expanded its hours in January and now is open from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Many volunteers choose to keep the facility open longer on their designated days, especially busy Saturdays in the city.
Part of the facility is dedicated to the history of the area. The heritage musuem includes a $20,000 renovation that features local artist and historian John Kollock, who is responsible for the sketches that would transform Helen from a former logging town to a thriving Alpine village tourist attraction.
Other features of the Helen Arts & Heritage Center include:
• A pottery studio and potters' guild;
• Art education;
• Paint therapy partnership with AVITA in Habersham, Lumpkin, Stephens, Towns, Union and White counties;
• Arts exposure to students in White and Habersham County school systems, as well as homeschool students;
• Partnership with Help Hospitalized Veterans to serve as the main distribution center of that organization's art-based craft products designed for veterans. Through HHV's donations of $5,000 in 2015 and again in 2016, retired art therapist Lisa Cahill manages the distribution of the craft products and offers no-cost, six-week art therapy sessions to veterans, their families and caregivers throughout the year.
• Veterans outreach to the Northeast Georgia Veterans Society in Cleveland, American Legion in White County, American Legion in Hall County, Veterans Administration in Oakwood, and through the Veteran to Veteran Program of the Hospice of Northeast Georgia. Additionally, the outreach includes judicial circuit treatment services through Veterans Court.
• Partnership with the City of Helen for the annual "Day in the Park" for veterans. This years event will feature a cookout and fellowship for area veterans on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the pavilion in Helen Riverside Park.
An upcoming project for the organization will include the installation of a storefront entrance to the gallery from the direction of downtown, with completion slated prior to the annual Oktoberfest celebration. Cost of the new entryway will be about $3,000.
Ackerman said the primary focus of the organization is people, and the board is committed to seeing people remain the focus, never removing the human aspect from the equation.
"It's evident that what we offer and the manner in which we serve people is important because individuals and organizations now call to request the services we provide," Ackerman said.
A recent calculation of economic impact from the Georgia Council on the Arts shows White County is impacted $764,250 by the Helen Arts & Heritage Center and its programming.
The organization's mission is accomplished largely through donations and fundraising campaigns.
A major fundraiser is the Art of Golf Tournament and associated evening reception and local art auction at Innsbruck in Helen, set for Tuesday, Sept. 20. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m., and registration is $100.
The event reception and local art auction, open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20. Held in the upstairs reception area of the Innsbruck Golf Clubhouse, the event will feature hors d'oeuvres, beer, wine and desserts. Admission is $25 per person.
For more information about tournament registration, reception reservations, outreach programs about arts and area history, veterans outreach, or about joining and supporting the organization, visit helenarts.org or call (706) 878-3933.
The Helen Arts & Center Center is located at 25 Chattahoochee Strasse, Helen.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/8/436844/kollock-exhibit-among-accomplishments-of-helen-arts-heritage-council