What is New Albany Venues, and how does it work?

Business First recently described New Albany Venues like this:

Nonprofit group that plans and manages concerts and other events downtown. In particular, New Albany Venues coordinates the summer concert series at the New Albany Riverfront Amphitheater. Contact Shelle England ...

As has been noted previously in this space, riverfront activities are coordinated by a committee under the aegis of the New Albany Venues incorporation. As state documents below show, the incorporation's address is the city's executive office address.

The small committee operates according to one primary caveat, as established by Mayor England: All public events must be free of charge. Without covers and admission fees, and with very little municipal funding available for support, this non-statutory stricture implies a complete reliance on outside sponsorship, as with the Horseshoe Foundation, Duke Energy and others.

Note that the committee's stewardship of the riverfront is not the issue here. Rather, it is the future implications of New Albany Venues, as currently configured. I've asked the city attorney (and Shane has agreed) to explain these implications to us, and to answer these questions. When he does so, I'll post the results.

Seeing as Mayor England is not seeking re-election, does his wife's name remain on the charter New Albany Venues incorporation, or is there an election/appointment procedure for a succession?

Do the non-profit incorporation rules permit the establishment of a truly non-political, community-infused, pluralistic board or committee, one not entirely dependent on personnel decisions made by future mayors?

Are there any plans for a succession of this sort, or for the establishment of the type of pluralistic, inclusive governing riverfront body?

David Pierce joins NABC as Director of Brewing Operations.

I’m pleased to announce that the New Albanian Brewing Company has hired David R. Pierce to fill the newly created position of Director of Brewing Operations.

David, who will begin work immediately, joins NABC’s two veteran brewers, Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson. Their popular beers like Elector, Hoptimus, Beak’s Best, Community Dark, Mt. Lee, Kaiser and Thunderfoot will remain the foundation of NABC’s game plan, both on-premise at our two locations and as part of the evolving off-premise distribution.

David will begin work immediately, familiarizing himself with NABC’s portfolio of beers, and serving as de facto project manager overseeing the installation of our new 15-barrel (30-bbl fermenter) DME brewing system, which is slated for shipping in late April or early May to our new downtown New Albany production brewing facility, the Bank Street Brewhouse.

He’s not coming aboard to formulate his own beers. He’s coming to help us make full use of the new system and to achieve the full potential of our existing brands.

You should know that during his 17 years in commercial brewing, David has done it all. He opened Louisville’s first two brewpubs in the modern era, the Silo (now defunct) and Bluegrass Brewing Company, and formulated their rosters of on-premise beers. He sold and installed DME brewing systems, and served as a widely sought consultant to brewers nationwide. More recently, he has specialized in all aspects of BBC's production brewing, quality control and coordination for off-premise distribution.

He’s just the man we need to take it to the next level, and beyond. I’ll happily answer any questions you might have – after I get some sleep.