Download For Immediate Release

For Immediate Release
September 25, 2012
Media Contact: Greg Patterson 972.450.6227
[email protected]
WaterTower Theatre Names Derek Blount as President of the Board of Directors;
Three New Officers Appointed
(Addison, TX)…WaterTower Theatre has announced the election of Derek Blount as President of the Board of
Directors, serving for a third term. WaterTower Theatre also announced the election of a slate of Board Officers
including Vice President John Ackley, Secretary Buddy Frazer and Treasurer Katie Myatt.
WaterTower Theatre also welcomes the appointment of three new Board members: April Bosworth, Stan
Graner and Jimmy Niemann.
Derek Blount is North Dallas Area President of Sovereign Bank. He has served on the WaterTower Theatre
Board of Directors for six years and has served as President for the past two years. He is also the Co-Chair of
WaterTower Theatre’s Corporate Council.
Members of WaterTower Theatre’s Board of Directors consist of leaders in the fields of business, publishing,
education, law, finance, community activism, real estate and the arts who volunteer their time and expertise on
behalf of the organization. April Bosworth, Stan Graner and Jimmy Neimann will join current Board members
John Ackley, Maureen Anderson, Barbara Bigham, Roz Benjet, Derek Blount, Anita Braun, Ben Cunningham,
Barbara Daseke, Elizabeth Fratantuono, Buddy Frazer, Jeanne Hooker, Alan Hunn, Robert Mayer Jr., Terry
Martin, Larry McCallum, Katie Myatt and Karol Omlor.
“We’re extremely pleased to announce that Derek Blount has agreed to serve as President for a third term as
well as these three officer appointments plus our three recently appointed board members,” said Terry Martin,
WaterTower Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director. “Derek’s second term as President was marked by numerous
successes, including continuing to oversee new development and fundraising strategies, including our
Endowment Fund and Planned Giving. Many of the new fundraising programs involved members of the Board
of Directors: John Ackley as Chair of the Development Committee; Elizabeth Fratantuono, Strategic Planning;
Derek Blount as Co-Chair of The Corporate Council in addition to the annual Spotlight Gala, chaired by Barbara
Daseke.”
“This past season, WaterTower Theatre continued to experience growth in ticket sales and fundraising in spite of
a sluggish economy,” said Derek Blount. “I’m incredibly proud of the Board of Directors for exercising prudent
management over the past year while still displaying a willingness to take on new projects. Of course, the Board
is greatly helped and inspired by the consistently terrific work of WaterTower Theatre’s staff. Looking forward,
we expect great things from our new slate of Executive Committee Officers and recently appointed Board
members as the Board continues its work to support the mission of WaterTower Theatre. I’m pleased to
welcome April, Stan and Jimmy to our Board and know they will add unique qualities to an already dynamic
group of individuals.”
WaterTower Theatre  15650 Addison Road  Addison, Texas 75001
972-450-6232  Fax 972-450-6244  www.watertowertheatre.org
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About WaterTower Theatre’s President of the Board:
Derek Blount joined the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors in 2006 and has served in the roles of Board
Treasurer, Co-Chair of The Corporate Council, Board Vice President and in September 2010, was elected
President of the Board of Directors. He was re-elected as Board President in 2011 and 2012.
Professionally, Derek serves as Area President for Sovereign Bank, a Dallas-based financial institution and past
corporate sponsor of WaterTower Theatre’s annual fundraising gala. In his role with the bank, Derek focuses on
corporate banking, including commercial real estate lending, mergers and acquisitions, equipment financing and
working capital loans.
Founded in 2004, Sovereign Bank has grown to nearly a billion dollars in assets with banking operations
throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin and Houston.
Derek’s professional experience prior to Sovereign Bank includes corporate lending roles with international
banking syndicate Credit Lyonnais (now Credit Agricole) and helping establish the Dallas commercial banking
division for Hibernia Bank (now CapitalOne Bank). Derek began his banking career with JPMorganChase through
completion of their executive training program and later serving as a commercial banking officer.
A Texas native, Derek received both his B.B.A. in Finance and his M.S. in Marketing from Texas A&M University.
Derek is an active member of American MENSA, an enthusiastic traveler and an avid runner.
Derek was married in June 2011 to Bethany Harrison. They have a four-month-old son named Harrison Neil.
About April Bosworth:
April Bosworth graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Theatrical Costume Design. After
graduation, April started and ran a successful commercial and new construction cleaning company for six years.
April also opened and managed a stationary store and printing company for 14 years, which led to the creation
of numerous product lines sold nationally. April later sold that company and opened a remodeling and
decorating business, which planned and executed a wide range of events from weddings to large corporate
functions. She is a well-known fundraising professional, having managed successful gala events for such
organizations as Catholic Charities, Dallas Summer Musicals and WaterTower Theatre.
About Stan Graner:
Stan Graner graduated from Texas Wesleyan University with a Bachelor degree in Music and immediately began
work as a professional actor. In addition to working as an actor, Stan has had several of his children’s musicals
published and has had his musical arrangements performed by The Turtle Creek Chorale in the Meyerson
Symphony Center. He is a six-time winner of the Column Awards and was named one of the Best Male
Performers in 2010 by arts critic Alexandra Bonifield. He served as Vice President of the Turtle Creek Chorale
from 1992-1994. Stan has performed in a number of plays at WaterTower Theatre, most recently in The Diary of
Anne of Frank and August: Osage County. This year, Stan was awarded a Dallas-Fort Worth Critics Forum Award
for August: Osage County.
WaterTower Theatre  15650 Addison Road  Addison, Texas 75001
972-450-6232  Fax 972-450-6244  www.watertowertheatre.org
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About Jimmy Niemann:
Jimmy Niemann, a licensed attorney, started as a computer programmer for EDS and then moved into IT
Leadership. Jimmy started a market research company, helped start e-Rewards, and an online advertising
channel, e-Miles. Jimmy has served on Addison’s planning and zoning committee as well as on the Town of
Addison City Council as a Council Member for six years.
About WaterTower Theatre:
WaterTower Theatre has become a theatrical force through its consistent excellence and sharp programming.
Combining Broadway-quality productions with the beauty of an intimate playing space, WaterTower Theatre
provides experiences that are powerful and insightful, intense and uplifting. WaterTower Theatre provides the
community with an opportunity to examine man’s conditions from all perspectives and promotes growth
through humor and drama.
Now in its 16th season, WaterTower Theatre began life in 1996 with 136 brave subscribers. Today, with over
2,000 subscribers and a budget of $1.3 million, the Company consistently earns rave reviews in The Dallas
Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer, and other local publications. With 104 Dallas
Theatre League Leon Rabin nominations and 28 wins to its credit, as well as 20 Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics
Forum Awards, WaterTower Theatre is home to the finest local talent.
A committed and intrepid producer of new work, the theatre has presented five world-premiere productions
and 13 regional-premiere productions to date. WaterTower Theatre’s tradition of world-premiere programming
includes the musicals Song of Motherhood and Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues. Dramatic world premieres
include Free Fall with Sandy Duncan, Baptized to the Bone by Dave Johnson (which is enjoying a healthy postWaterTower Theatre life) and A Country Life, Terry Martin’s southern adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle
Vanya. Both Blind Lemon and A Country Life earned WaterTower Theatre a Dallas Theatre League Leon Rabin
Award for Best New Work.
WaterTower Theatre is privileged to make its home at the Addison Theatre Centre, an award-winning flexible
theatre space that can be reconfigured to accommodate each new production. WaterTower Theatre’s
expanding artistic vision, deepening service to the community and growing audiences have led to a unique
partnership with the Town of Addison, one aimed at the development of an exciting destination for patrons to
experience the best in theatrical and performing arts.
WaterTower Theatre is a constituent of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the
American theatre, a member of the Dallas Theatre League and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.
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WaterTower Theatre  15650 Addison Road  Addison, Texas 75001
972-450-6232  Fax 972-450-6244  www.watertowertheatre.org
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