Jane M. Mitchell elected new chairman of Kravis Board

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - May 28, 2013 - PRLog -- WEST PALM BEACH, FL — The Board of Directors of The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts at the annual meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2013 elected Jane M. Mitchell as Chair of the organization, effective July 1, 2013. Ms. Mitchell succeeds William A. Meyer, whose six-year tenure as Chair will end on June 30, 2013 due to term limits as required by the organization’s by-laws.

Ms. Mitchell has served as a board member since 2006 and as a Vice-Chair since 2011.  She will be the third Chair in the 28-year history of the Kravis Center.   Mr. Meyer was voted to an additional three-year term on the board and will serve as Treasurer for a one-year term. Joining Mitchell and Meyer on the board as officers are Michael Bracci and Laurie Silvers, Vice-Chairs; and Stephen Brown, Secretary.

Newly elected to the Kravis Board, each for a three-year term, are: Stuart Frankel, founder of Stuart Frankel & Co., and active member of the financial industry for more than 50 years; Chris Havlicek, Managing Director and Palm Beach Market Manager for JP Morgan; Paul Leone, President and COO, The Breakers Palm Beach and Flagler System, Inc.; Monika Preston, philanthropist and Kravis Center Gala Chair; and Jeffrey Stoops, President, CEO and Director of SBA Communications Corporation.  In addition, Dan Ponton will be completing his 12-year tenure as a board member on June 30, 2013 due to term limits, and was elected to the designation of Life Trustee.

“The Kravis Center and the Board of Directors are indeed grateful to Bill Meyer for the leadership and dedication he has provided as Chairman for the past six years,” reported Kravis Center Chief Executive Officer Judith A. Mitchell (no relation to the new board Chair).

"As we look forward to the future of the Kravis Center, we welcome Jane Mitchell as our next board Chair.  She comes to her new role with an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong business background. Her formal training in music established a lifelong passion for the performing arts, and her organizational expertise and experience in the not- for- profit arena will be valuable as we continue to serve the community.”

Ms. Mitchell received the Center’s Alexander W. Dreyfoos Award in 2010, chaired its Development Committee and served on the Governance/Nominating Committee.  Now retired from business, she and her family sold their company, Midas Rex, which invented the first powered equipment for surgery, a surgical bone drill, to Medtronic.   She has been a resident of Palm Beach County for 34 years, most currently in North Palm Beach.

“Our goal is to preserve the significant contributions that this fine cultural institution has made to date to our community through its diverse schedule of national and international artists, its comprehensive arts education program, serving as a home for local and regional organizations to showcase their work and acting as an economic catalyst to increase travel and tourism in Palm Beach County,” noted the Board Chair–Elect.

“To date, the Kravis Center has opened its doors to more than 1.7 million school children through its outstanding arts education initiatives. I’m proud to play a small role at one of the premier performing arts centers in the Southeast, which has an extraordinary team of professionals in place and is enjoying a growing national and international reputation.”

Ms. Mitchell received the 2010 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award from the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  In addition to her local involvement, she is a Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and currently serves as the Chair of the Smithsonian Gemstone Collectors, a philanthropic support group for the National Gem Collection.  She and her husband gifted the Dom Pedro, the world’s largest cut aquamarine, to that collection in December 2012. Mitchell is married to Jeffery Bland, a Florida native whom Jane met during surgical conferences where he represented his family’s own company before its sale to Bristol-Myers.

Thursday’s election was held after the annual luncheon to honor the Board of Directors, Life Trustees and Standing Committee members, held in the Gimelstob Ballroom at the Kravis Center.  The luncheon was sponsored by Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein.

The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.

More information is available by calling: 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.