Our 8th Season at SAPAC will look a little different this year than in the past. We are shifting gears to focusing on becoming a venue of choice in West Texas where local, regional, and national promoters may use our space for their tours, shows, and events. In fact, in the past two years, we've seen a steady increase of promoters planning event in our spaces.
This is inline with our mission: To provide local, national, and international arts organizations state-of-the-art facilities; in a way that ensures the success of local arts organizations, enables and encourages quality and diverse programming, and promotes cultural and educational opportunities for all so that we enrich the lives of people who live in our community.
While we will continue to present some shows, it will not be on the scale of previous seasons as we will need to seek grants and sponsorship to help underwrite each show. We are still a young non-profit performing arts organization and there are some key things we must have in place to allow us to return to being both a robust presenting organization and a state-of-the-art venue.
The number one priority is to grow our operating endowment. An endowment is essential to every successful presenting venue in the US. In fact, many of the venues that reside along I-35 and to the east have substantial endowments that they've grown over the decades. The Miller Outdoor Theatre is a great example of this as they celebrate their Centennial this year. They are able to offer free shows of world class performers to their patrons.
The business of performing arts is a complex and challenging endeavor as a multitude of factors evolve and change over the years. Our goal is to be the visionary and presenting venue of choice in our area of West Texas. I am confident we will get there, together.