This month TMTP gives a standing ovation to Heather Meeker. While she has been involved with our organization since 2007, February marks her ten-year anniversary as Executive Director.
Let’s put it in musical theater terms. Heather Meeker is the Ethel Merman of nonprofit management. What they share is not, of course, a glorious set of pipes — Heather is the first to admit she’s no singer — but something equally impressive: Merman was, and Heather is, an indomitable Force of Nature. And she can do what Merman couldn’t, which is to say she can do anything BUT sing. I’ve been in this field for 45 years and I’ve never seen anyone more dedicated, more determined to build something that’s strong and enduring and deeply responsive to our community. And to call her a “manager” is, of course, misleading: In theatrical terms, she is a Producer who, in collaboration with Jodi Maile Kirk, has made TMTP’s Kids Love Musicals! program a magnificent testament to the power of arts education. Ten years is a long time, but for Heather, only the beginning. As Merman would put it, “On with the show!”