Granada director resigns
Hayes-Walworth will return to printing industry; replacement not yet chosen
By Scott Rochat
Monday, June 18, 2007
Vickie Hayes-Walworth has resigned as director of the Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance.
Her resignation takes effect July 6. Hayes-Walworth will stay in Emporia but work for Ward/Kraft of Fort Scott as a corporate sales representative. The company is owned by Roger Kraft and prints labels, business forms, mailers and other items. Hayes-Walworth has more than 20 years experience in the printing and document solutions field.
“We’re going to miss Vickie,” said Duane Henrikson, president of the theater alliance’s board. “She’s been the face of the Granada for five years. But she had an opportunity come along that was too good to pass up. It was a hard decision for her, I think.”
An Emporia State University graduate, Hayes-Walworth became the Granada’s new director on June 24, 2002, replacing Randy Matthews. It was a homecoming for her after working for 14 years in South Carolina and Florida as a consultant or manager for two printing companies.
During her tenure, the alliance reached its $2.6 million fund-raising goal for the renovation of the theater and began construction. The alliance has said it hopes to complete the project by the end of this year.
“I think it’s going to be close, but that’s what we’re shooting for,” Henrikson said.
In a press release, Hayes-Walworth said the Granada would “always hold a special place in my heart.”
“I have been so blessed to be part of this wonderful renovation project,” she said in the release. “I am looking forward to watching the continuing renovation progress and being part of the opening night audience.”
No replacement has been named though Doug Ford, an ESU student who had been assisting Hayes-Walworth, will perform her duties on an interim basis.
Henrikson said the board would be discussing the job description for the new director. At this stage, he said, the alliance would be looking for someone who could program performing seasons and run the theater on a day-to-day basis once it’s operational.
“The board needs to sit down and get some idea of what we want a new (director) to be,” he said.
Most of the contracts on the work have already been let, Henrikson said, so there should be little disruption to the project. He hoped that a new director could be hired before the renovation is finished.
“I appreciate all she’s done for us for the past five years,” Henrikson said of Hayes-Walworth. “I didn’t realize it had been that long.”