Thank You From Sherry DeVries

I want to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to the DAC Staff and Board for the incredible and over the top Retirement Party for me last Thursday!!!  It was even more than I dreamed of, and I was thrilled that over 200 people were there!  Our talented team put together an outstanding program of performances, arts experiences, graphics, food, and commemoration that brought me to tears with happiness!  😊 Everything about the evening was so well-done including performances by the Choral Society of Durham, African American Dance Ensemble, Young People’s Performing Company, and Durham Medical Orchestra that brought the evening to a vibrant crescendo!   This was such a wonderful send-off to happy days ahead for me and my husband, yet I will truly miss leading the Durham Arts Council and helping our arts community to grow and shine. 

And post-event, I am really enjoying opening and reading all the artistic cards and messages from the DAC campers, and cards and gifts from friends and colleagues.

My retirement comes after nearly 23 happy and busy years as Executive Director for the Durham Arts Council and following a total of 43 years in arts and cultural leadership positions. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as Executive Director of the DAC.  I am so fortunate and honored to have led the Durham Arts Council since 2002, and very grateful for the support of many generous donors and community partners that have helped us to advance and support the arts in Durham. Because of our supporters and an incredibly talented staff and board, we have been able to significantly expand our arts programming for the public and our investment in artists and arts and cultural organizations. I am especially proud of our expansion of people served annually 171% from 187,398 to 508,074 in our classes, camps, exhibits, festivals, in-school programs, and community events.  Annual contributed funds to DAC have grown from $864,018 to $2.43 million. Our total annual support for the arts and cultural sector through grants and arts employment reached an all-time high of $2.26 million last year. And – breaking news – Our total Grants to artists and arts organizations have grown from $146,042 in FY2002 to $1,002,172 in FY2025! 

And not just numbers, we have worked for excellence in our programs and services – Best Gallery for multiple years in Durham Magazine, and the Indy. A Keep Durham Beautiful Award for our terrace gardens in 2007;  Best Festival in multiple triangle publications for CenterFest. CenterFest has climbed the national festival rankings to #22 nationwide out of thousands of festivals and it’s the #1 fine art and fine craft festival in North Carolina! 

The best part of this journey is the lives that we positively change and enrich through the arts! I was overjoyed to reconnect with Carline Jules at the party, whose son Jayden shined in DAC arts camps from the age of 5 onward, and has gone on to many accomplishments in the arts and in life.

Going forward, I want DAC to continue to grow and strengthen its services and programs for both the public and the arts community!  To that end, I ask you to enthusiastically support our new Executive Director, Katie Wyatt.   And please continue to support our amazing staff – Al, Amanda, Anthony, Colleen, Denise, Darriel, Janet, Laura, Mïa, Margaret, McKayla and Wendy.

Please accept my humble thanks and gratitude for this amazing celebration that I will remember always with Love for all of you!