Town of Madison Designates September 17 Beverly Schirmeier Day
At the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Madison Art Society held at the Madison Country Club a number of citations were awarded to Beverly Schirmeier for her almost a dozen years of leadership in the art society. Thomas J. Banisch First Selectman of the Town of Madison brought to the meeting, along with the signatures of the Board including Alfred J. Goldberg, Robert G. Hale, Scott M. Murphy and Bruce H. Wilson, a proclamation to name September 17, 2017 as Beverly Schirmeier Day in the Town of Madison.
Eric Dilner, Executive Director of Shoreline Arts Alliance, presented the State of Connecticut Citation to Beverly from the entire membership of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut.
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| Beverly Schirmeier, Marge Casey and Eric Dilner |
They acknowledged it was through her artistic talent and gifted leadership that the Madison Art Society experienced unprecedented growth. It was under her tenure, they noted, that the Madison Art Society brought recognition to artists along the shoreline and throughout the state in all painting mediums. Her years of service enhanced the lives of artists here and in surrounding communities.
The E. C. Scranton Memorial Library of Madison, Connecticut has been host to many shows and exhibitions over the years and the Madison Art Society has made a considerable contribution in money and publicity to benefit the library. In response the Scranton Library also acknowledged Beverly on her special day with a letter from the board. After the renovation project at the library the Society looks forward to being a part of the library’s future.
The 250 members of the Madison Art Society gifted Beverly with a personalized wooden travel box for her pastels as she is often found outdoors along the shoreline creating her prize winning pastel art. Because flowers are one of her favorite subjects and because she has beautiful gardens on her property Beverly also received a garden rock with a quote inscribed on it from Vincent Van Gogh, “I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” The group felt this quote best described her dedication to the success of her art and the society during her years of leadership.
During her leadership she and the board have provided benefits for local artists and townspeople. Up to seven art demonstrations are held per year featuring professional artists and are very popular with the public often with ‘standing room only’ at these meetings held in various locations around the Town of Madison. Members and friends also enjoy outdoor painting that begins in May and continues weather permitting into the autumn months. A select number of members continue in the winter months with a winter studio where still life painting is done. A number of bus trips were enjoyed over the years to art museums in greater New England. The Society schedules a number of shows to acknowledge various levels of accomplishment in the art community including a juried show, an elected artist’s show, a member show and a board of director’s show. In addition Peoples Bank and other public venues give space for artist’s work. This year in July the group held its 42nd annual outdoor exhibition and show on the Scranton library property adding additional money to the thousands of dollars given to the library over the past 12 years. Shoreline high school students also benefit from the Madison Art Society during juried shows each year with the Sponsor a Student Award of $250.00 given through the Shoreline Arts Alliance.
During Beverly’s tenure she and the Board rewrote the bylaws to prepare a solid foundation for future growth. They became recognized with a 501(C)(3) tax exempt organization status, set up an auditing system, secured the dues paying process, added events and wrote a long term strategy plan and mission statement including qualifications for associate and elected artist status. So impressive was this accomplishment that many other art societies have adopted this plan to ensure solvency.
An important part of this strategy included member surveys to ensure everyone was on board with the changes. A future hope is that the Madison Art Society can have a permanent location where workshops, shows and professional demonstrations can take place for the benefit of the entire shoreline art community.
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| Marge Casey and Beverly Schirmeier |
At the board meeting on October 2nd Beverly Schirmeier will pass the baton to Marge Casey who will take the reins of the organization. She and Beverly have worked together for months to ensure a smooth transfer and uninterrupted success for the future. The members look forward to Marge’s ideas as she enjoys leadership in the coming year.
Contact information: Marge Casey 203-458-8555
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