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THE FLORIDA CENTER proudly introduces… Jean S. Frey, Campaign Director
by: Dorothy R. Clifford, Free Lance Writer

The new Campaign Director for The Florida Center for Performing Arts and Education may not have grown up in Tallahassee, but she always loved it. As a little girl growing up in nearby Greensboro, Jean Frey eagerly anticipated family outings to Florida's capital city. "It was so exciting to visit downtown Tallahassee as a child," she exclaims. In her new position, Frey hopes to help Tallahassee recapture that buoyant atmosphere and thriving downtown she knew in the 1960s. Frey fervently believes that the performing arts center will not only promote the arts and entertainment, but also education and economic growth.

Childhood trips to Tallahassee meant coming to "the big city," Frey remembers. She has vivid memories of Saturdays spent lunching with her mother and shopping at Millers, Mendelsons, Bertha Cooke's - all closed long ago - and other downtown shops and stores. She recalls her awe when visiting Florida's historic Capitol as a fourth-grader, the joy of attending concerts and plays at Florida State University, and even the thrill of appearing on WCTV's Circle Six Ranch, a popular television show broadcast in the 1950s and early 60's that featured interviews with local children.

After living in Houston, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Frey acknowledges that her frame of reference for big cities may have changed a bit, but not her appreciation for a dynamic downtown. "Downtown Tallahassee is no longer a bustling center of entertainment and shopping like it used to be," Frey says. It can become so again, she insists, and The Florida Center will be the catalyst. Frey points to cities like Columbus, Ga. and Greenville, S.C., both with similar populations to Tallahassee, that are growing culturally and economically. Their success and revitalization is due in large part to their performing arts centers: the River City Center in Columbus and the Peace Center in Greenville.

She cites statistics demonstrating the positive effects of the proposed performing arts center on the local economy. It is projected that The Florida Center will create 149 new jobs and generate $14 million in new sales and revenue, plus $1 million in local and state tax revenues each year. Construction alone is expected to yield $148 million in new economic activity and 1300 person-years in new employment. "The performing arts center is an investment in our community's future that will have a very impressive rate of return, not just for Tallahassee, but for the entire region. It will also become a source of community pride and identity that we need as the capital city of the fourth largest state in the nation," Frey says, pointing out that Tallahassee is one of few capital cities without a performing arts center.

Aware of the long history of the effort to build a center here, Frey says,"I truly believe it is a dream whose time has finally come." That enthusiasm, coupled with her energetic dedication and reputation as a successful fundraiser, led a citizens committee, headed by Margaret Lynn Duggar, to hire Frey after a national search to fill the position. "Jean has a very impressive background," said Jon Moyle, president of The Florida Center. "She's professional, gracious in her approach and we're lucky she's from this area and already knows so many people and so much about the community."

"Jean is a get-it-done kind of person," says Tallahassee executive Everitt Drew, a life-long friend who graduated in the same class with Frey from Robert F. Munroe School in Quincy. "She's not out for the headlines. She's out for the success of the project." It's also a definite plus that she's on a first-name basis with many of the movers and shakers locally and throughout the Panhandle and state.

Her job is to plan and conduct the capital campaign to raise the private funds needed for the performing arts center. When the campaign planning phase is completed in January, efforts will focus on raising the money needed to meet the milestones required in the option agreement with the City of Tallahassee for the Johns site: $5 million by 2010 and $10 million by 2012. An extensive site study has determined that the property, located at the corner of Gaines and Bronough Streets, is well-suited for The Florida Center. "That will be our first priority - raising funds to secure the Johns site. It will link downtown to the Gaines Street redevelopment, allow Florida's school children to take advantage of educational programs when visiting the Capitol, and create an entertainment venue that has 6500 available parking spaces within a five minute walk. It couldn't be more ideal." Frey will look to regional and statewide individuals, corporations and foundations for contributions, as well as national and international corporations.

Frey has 18 years of work experience, with 12 spent in supervisory and management positions. A graduate of Florida State University, majoring in English and business administration, she began her career in fundraising and development at the FSU Foundation in 1999, as Associate Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship. In that capacity, she worked to revitalize the Presidents Club and expand FSU's donor recognition and stewardship programs throughout the successful $600 million FSU Connect campaign. Frey left FSU to become a Senior Account Executive for Kintera, Inc., a firm headquartered in San Diego that provides software and consulting services to non-profit organizations. At Kintera, she advised clients, such as Arts Consulting Group, Nashville Red Cross, University of North Carolina, Yale University, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and African Wildlife Foundation on technical and online solutions for fundraising and donor management. Most recently, she served as Executive Campaign Director for CCS Fundraising, a leading, international fundraising consulting firm. With CCS, she directed a $16-million campaign for Habitat for Humanity in North Carolina and traveled extensively while conducting a feasibility study for Habitat for Humanity Egypt.

Although she moved back to Tallahassee several years ago, Frey has worked with clients throughout the country and has had to travel or temporarily relocate with assignments. Now, she's happy to settle down. "It's good to be home. This is the perfect job in the perfect place," she says. "And it's a privilege to work with volunteers like Sylvia Ochs and Paula Smith, who have kept this dream alive over the years, and with our entire Board, led by Jon Moyle."

Her 20-year-old son, Ben, a Tallahassee Community College student, agrees. He thinks it's "cool" that his mother has a role in an ambitious project that will make such a difference in the community. Frey's older son, Stephen, and his wife, Nichole, are engineers living in Tampa, and have already shown their support by becoming Charter Members of The Florida Center.

The Campaign Director is also glad to be back close to her roots. Her father, the late Murray Spooner, was a farmer and Gadsden County Commissioner for many years. Her mother, Mary, still lives in Quincy, and Frey and her brothers still own the family farm. During the campaign, Frey will be calling on friends and former neighbors in her hometown, and many others from surrounding towns and throughout the state, who will benefit from The Florida Center for Performing Arts and Education.

"I am certain we have the support to reach our private fundraising goals," Frey said. "I look forward to one day having grandchildren and being able to take them - like my mother took me - for an enjoyable day in a downtown that has been reinvigorated by the performing arts center."

As she undertakes this challenging project, Frey often refers to an 1892 quote of Daniel Burnham, a famous architect, sent to her by Gayle Nelson, a Board Member of The Florida Center: "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's souls and probably will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work."

Frey acknowledges that building the performing arts center is a long-term project that will require a lot of work, but is confident the effort will be successful.

"The question is not if The Florida Center will be built, but when," she smiles with determination. "Failure is just not an option."