Tall order doesn't dissuade new Piper's director

Though she knows she's taking on a big job in trying to put Piper's Opera House in order, Pauline Fitzpatrick is willing to do it - even without pay.

"I'd like it to be fully restored," she said. "I'd like to have Piper's be seen as a community center. Here's this wonderful building sitting here, and I want it to be part of this community and not just a knob on the hill."

Fitzpatrick will take over from interim administrator Perry Arnn on Dec. 15 to serve as interim director of the opera house, which was built in 1886. The hall is managed by a board of directors of Piper's Opera House Programs Inc., a private, nonprofit company. Fitzpatrick will resign her position on the board to become interim director.

"It really is an interim situation," she said, adding that her status as a retiree allowed her to take the unpaid position.

In a letter to board President Henry Kilmer she explained that she felt Piper's financial obligations, including an audit and mortgage payment and other obligations, made continuing to pay a director a less than viable option.

"The reality is, Piper's is broke," said Arnn, who plans to stay involved in some way with the opera house. "They're just flat broke, that's the bottom line."

Fitzpatrick plans to continue in the position until Piper's is financially and organizationally secure.

"I've been on the advisory board for about a year and on the board for just a few months," she said. "What we're developing is a reorganization plan over the next few months to carry Piper's forward."

The fact that she is the third director or administrator for Piper's in the last 18 months and the many changes on the opera house's board of directors, doesn't dampen Fitzpatrick's commitment to her new job.

"We can't change the past, but we can do something about the future," she said. "I'd like to see more community involvement by Piper's."

Fitzpatrick has an extensive background in business and nonprofit administrations, the most recent being the executive director of Northern Nevada HIV Outpatient Program, Education and Services, which she joined in 1998 and retired from in 2005.

Before that, Fitzpatrick served as grants analyst for the Washoe County District Health Department and director of administration and assistant director for community planning at United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra.

She has also owned and operated a retail business and was a past president of the Four Corners Area Chamber of Commerce in southwestern Colorado.

Former director Margo Memmott called Fitzpatrick a good choice.

"The opera house is in good hands with Pauline," she said. "She is a very talented woman in the field of nonprofits. They should feel lucky to have her and definitely should support her."

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.