GENEVA — A local business owner will lead the Smith Center for the Arts while the organization seeks a successor for Susie Monagan, who left the position last month for a job in Maine.
The Smith said in a press release last week that Paul Perrotto and his management team will lead the Smith through its transition period while a committee conducts a search for a new director. Perrotto, who previously served as treasurer of the Smith’s Board of Directors, has stepped down from that position to assume interim leadership duties.
Perrotto is the longtime owner and operator of Mr. Twistee’s, an ice cream shop on Pre-Emption Road in Geneva. The Smith said he “brings nearly five decades of experience building and leading a successful local business.”
Board Co-Chair Becky Burditt said Perrotto is an excellent choice to guide the Smith through the leadership change.
“Paul has been an incredible asset to the Board of Directors and has a long history of helping nonprofit organizations reach their fullest potential,” she said. “We are confident that his vision and leadership will help steward the Smith as we all build for the next phase of its bright future.”
Monagan served as the Smith’s director since 2017, guiding the organization through a period of significant financial growth and expanded community engagement, the organization said. She will lead the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine. Her last day with the Smith was June 29.
“Susie’s leadership over the past nine years has been nothing short of remarkable,” board Co-Chair Kelby Russell said. “Through a tumultuous period in the world she has actually helped The Smith grow, and we are honored and fortunate to have her legacy at the Smith to build upon.”
This article was written by Steve Buchiere, a reporter with the Finger Lakes Times, a WXXI News partner.