Veales take a bow on their time at the Tack

Ever since it was founded in 1996, the LuCille Tack Center for the Arts in Spencer has been driven by the following mission statement: “To provide an environment that encourages a variety of opportunities to enlighten, enrich and develop artistic growth for community members of all ages.” That mission statement has been an important one for Randy and Diane Veale over the years, guiding them as they worked to bring thousands of productions to life on the Tack Center stage.

After being a part of life behind the scenes at the Tack Center for the past few decades – with Diane even serving as the center’s executive director for the past six years – the couple has decided to retire at the end of May to be with family. Since they announced their retirement, the board of directors for the Tack Center has been in the process of searching for a successor to replace Diane as executive director, and hopes to find someone who is interested and passionate about seeing the success of the center continue.

That passion to pass on knowledge of other cultures, music and art is something that has been a part of life for the Veales ever since they moved to Spencer back in 1985. They both took on teaching positions at the Spencer School District, with Diane teaching vocal music and Randy teaching instrumental music. In those early years, they recalled the difficulties of holding concerts without a stage on which to perform.

“Back at my school in Madison where I grew up, we had a stage,” said Diane. “That is what a school typically has. But we would have to wait for the basketball team to get done playing to set up in 30 minutes and have a concert. We had no special lights or anything. We always told the kids that if they ever won a million dollars that they should come back and build a fine arts center.”

Somehow, the plea made by the Veales for a stage must have reached the ears of LuCille Tack, because she bequeathed $450,000 to the Spencer School District for the purpose of either expanding the library or building a fine arts center after she passed away in the spring of 1994. The news came as quite a shock to Randy and Diane, who had known Tack only in passing.

“We were shocked,” said Randy. “Lu-Cille had come to a couple of our concerts over the years, but we didn’t have a whole lot of connection with her. She came to a few of our Caberets. But we must have won her over somehow.”

“We had come home from a vacation to find a TRG article taped to our garage door,” added Diane on how they first heard the news of the gift.

Please see Tack, page 6

Randy and Diane Veale have been involved with the Tack Center in Spencer since its inception in 1996, helping to bring to life performances of all sorts, from almost any music genre one could imagine to plays, comedians, jugglers and more.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO

from p. 1

“It had said that LuCille Tack had passed away and that she had left the school money that they were going to use to either expand the library or build a fine arts center. The school board went with the fine arts center... We were thrilled when we found out they had decided to build one.”

But, as Randy and Diane were soon to realize, the work was just beginning. Ground was broken on the project in the spring of 1995 after a referendum the previous fall gave the fine arts center an additional $225,000 in funding. As they got started, however, it became clear that no one involved in the project had ever built anything like a fine arts center before.

“None of us had any experience in building a fine arts center,” said Diane.

“Not even the architect,” added Randy. “This was his first one.”

Regardless of the challenge, all the parties involved with the project decided to persevere. No matter what came their way -- whether it was rising costs that demanded a change in the plans, or questions on the details of the building -- the community found a way to forge ahead.

“We didn’t want it to be made wrong, so we had to make the decisions,” said Diane. “We had to choose what had to be cut when the price of steel went literally through the roof.”

“The architect brought us in and asked us questions,” added Randy. “He asked about the design, color, the type of brick, how high we wanted the stage. He consulted acoustic engineers and wanted to get it right. We asked for input from all of the community. We were very grateful to be a part of it.”

Even while construction was ongoing, plans were being made for the future of the newly named LuCille Tack Center for the Arts. A board of directors was formed and a mission statement was made to help provide the young group with direction as they worked to put together the Tack Center’s first performance season. Like with the construction, that wasn’t an easy task either.

“When the place was being built we put together a performance season,” said Diane. “We were young and we didn’t have a clue what we were doing. When we would talk to most people when we were putting this together; we would tell them that we were new at this. We met with the Wisconsin Arts Board and they were such gracious people. They told us about Arts Midwest, that it was a booking concert. We were in central Wisconsin, we didn’t know how to find Japanese drummers or Irish singers... We were so grateful when someone suggested Arts Midwest.”

It was at Arts Midwest that Diane said they were and still are able to find artists who are interested in touring and performing in places like Spencer.

“Every September now a little group of us goes to the show,” she said. “And we will go and watch these showcases. They offer 20-minute showcases by artists who are interested in being booked for the year. We will go from one showcase to another for hours, basically shopping for performers.”

When looking for artists, Diane said it was always important for the Tack Center to look for a variety, allowing everyone in the area to have something in a season that appealed to them. The variety would also provide audiences with new learning experiences, something the Veales especially valued.

“We always try to program something for everyone,” she said. “We want people to be able to come in and try something new. We always enjoyed the shows that maybe weren’t the ones that sold out, but they were the ones we thought enriched the community the most.”

With their artists selected, Diane and Randy said the Tack Center faced its first big test: how successful would it be? A lot rode on the gamble that people would come to the shows, to generate enough income to pay the bills. As a nonprofit, Randy and Diane said they only had the building starting out. Donations would come, but sold out shows were also needed to keep the center afloat.

“We had no money,” said Randy. “We even had to take out a loan to pay for the grand opening, which was a five-figure amount. If we hadn’t sold out the show, we would have been wrecked before we even got started. But we took a lot of risks in the first 10 years. With cash flow and bills to pay, it could get downright scary.”

Also scary was the state of the Tack Center’s equipment. Since the very first show, Randy took it upon himself to take care of the sound and lighting for every performance, and he knew firsthand the limitations the first sound and lighting system had. If the Tack Center was to remain successful, he knew a lot of work would be needed to keep the entire system up to date.

“When we started we had a 12-channel soundboard,” said Randy. “We had to rely on the natural acoustics of the place to help with the sound. We had 30 incandescent bulbs, which was minimal lighting. We had to move them around and replace the gels for every show. We squeezed the most we could out of those things we had. Over the years, any extra money that we got from a show -- back then there were no paid directors, it was all volunteers -- so any extra money would go right back into purchasing equipment. We were able to go from an analog 12-channel system to a 32-channel digital system and all LED lighting.”

Another major change to the Tack Center over the years was the introduction of an executive director. When they first started, Diane said volunteers took care of every aspect of running the center. After a few years of squeezing the work into any free breaks they could get, the board of directors came to the conclusion that a paid position was needed. Soon afterwards, Deb Janz was hired as the first executive director, and took on a lot of the responsibility that had formerly been laid on the volunteers’ shoulders.

“We decided back in the early 2000s that we needed a person to oversee everything and be the queen bee,” said Diane. “The board of directors played key roles, but we wanted to pay someone to take on the leadership role. Debbie Janz, she was on the steering committee and the board of directors, and she was also president of the school board at the time. She said she would be willing to do it. She got off the school board and the directors’ board. She started scheduling and contacting people. I would have used to have to do that while on breaks between teaching my classes. She started doing a lot of that for us. We didn’t have to negotiate the artist’s fees and things because that was now the director’s job. It lightened the load on our volunteers’ shoulders so we didn’t have to do all the little things. We could focus on other areas of the Tack Center because we didn’t have to take care of those other things.”

Fifteen years later, in 2017, Janz retired from the role of executive director of the Tack Center and Diane took up the leadership reins. But even as Diane took on the role, Randy said she was never truly alone in her work.

“It was our life, not our job,” said Randy. “We were both music teachers for 32 years. Diane went from the volunteer role to the executive director, but even when she was teaching she was helping out a lot over the years. She was the right-hand person for Debbie for years. It was and still is a team effort.”

Having been a part of the Tack Center since the start, Diane said a lot of the things going on behind the scenes were familiar to her when she got started as executive director. But surprises can come up even for the most experienced, and she had to rely on the board of directors and the community at large to help see the Tack Center through dark times.

“COVID impacted everyone,” said Diane on what her biggest challenges were as executive director. “When you’re talking about a nonprofit and asking people to sit elbow-to-elbow with others during a pandemic, it’s kind of a joy killer. But people wanted to come back. We went dark for a year in 2021 and then after that we came back with mask requirements, but that ended up turning off a lot of people too. I remember there was a show, ‘Remembering Hee Haw,’ and it was half a full house. People either didn’t want to come back because of the masks or because they were still concerned for their health. It should have been a sold-out show, but it wasn’t. But little by little they came back, and they all had smiles after the show.”

It is those smiles on people’s faces that have been a source of encouragement for the Veales over the years.

“That is what really motivates us,” said Randy. “It’s to see those smiling faces when they leave. What you put out into the world comes back to you. The time you spend, it comes back to you tenfold. Yes, sometimes it was hard, but it enriched our lives.”

Looking back on everything they have seen accomplished with the Tack Center, Diane and Randy said it has been a wonderful experience. It was a special journey with a community that faced the struggles along with them, and they know whoever their successor is, the community will be just as supportive.

“When we arrived in Spencer in ‘85, we had no idea we would meet such people with ideas and a passion to make a difference in a way that has impacted all of us,” said Randy. “We will be forever grateful to all of those who were able to believe in a dream and help us to better ourselves. We never expected to stay 37 years, but we’re glad we did... To our successors, remember that you can delegate. You don’t have to try to do it all alone. You have a wonderful organization and community willing to back you up.”