Lincoln Theatre Company down three board members in two weeks

After rebuilding the Lincoln Theatre Company board four months ago, a five-member board at the time voted off a board member for the first time in board history and two board members resigned between Dec. 2 and Monday. The nonprofit Lincoln Theatre Company was founded in 2014 by Paul and Peggy Schechter, and other Lincoln community members, to bring more performing arts to Lincoln. Three Lincoln Theatre Company board members resigned during a board meeting in late August, due to issues working with Paul and Peggy Schechter, according to former board President Maureen Peters in a Nov. 21 News Messenger article. Peters stated in the November article that the issues centered on lack of financial transparency, mismanagement and inappropriate behavior toward cast and crew members. In that article, the Schechters would not give a direct statement to those allegations but stated the following: "The positions of the former board members who resigned have been filled with highly regarded members of the local community. The LTC board and the city have an agreement as to how the new LTC board moves forward and the new LTC Board has expressed confidence in us filling non-board member roles. The theater company will continue to present its performing arts program that has become so loved by the community." Replacing the board members who resigned in August were four new members in September and October. New board members were former Lincoln News Messenger reporter Steve Archer, US Bank Lincoln branch manager Edwin Nand, Spotlighters Guild President Matt Kaiser and former Lincoln Councilman Stan Nader. On Dec. 2, the board voted Archer off the board in a three to one vote. The three members who voted in favor of removing Archer were Nader, Nand and Ana Roa. Kaiser cast the sole vote opposing Archer's removal from the board. According to Nader, Archer was voted off because he was not working well with the rest of the board. "It just became rather obvious that if we were going to work together as a team, everybody was going to need to work in harmony and it wasn't that way," Nader said. "It was obvious that him being on the Lincoln Theatre Company board was not going to be harmonious." Nader would not give specific examples. "I was of the opinion and am still of the opinion that the best interests of the theater are not in the best interest of the Schechters and that was not an opinion that was held by all of the rest of the board," Archer said as one of the reasons for leaving the board. According to Kaiser, it was not right to vote Archer off of the board because Archer told him and Nader that he would resign from the board. "It didn't feel like a nice thing to do," Kaiser said. Kaiser said that he enjoyed working with Archer as they "shared a sense of openness and transparency" and that more was needed on the board. "Steve and I were driving the board toward doing independent research and investigation to exonerate LTC from any perceived or real problems addressed in the statement of concern and the termination notice," Kaiser told The Lincoln News Messenger. The Lincoln News Messenger reached out to acting board President Roa for her reasoning behind voting off Archer. She deferred all questions to Nader as the Lincoln Theatre Company representative. "I don't have any hard feelings and it became clear to me that the theater company board was going to go in a direction that I did not support," Archer said. "I had advocated with reaching an agreement with the city and I didn't think that fighting with the city was in the best interest of the theater company." According to Archer and Nader, Archer was working with the city on an arrangement concerning the Termination of License Agreement served to the theater company by the city on Oct. 1. Archer said that he didn't want to be part of the board's decision to start a lawsuit against the city for the termination of lease agreement. Archer "was surprised" to be voted off the board when he had voiced to two board members that he planned to resign from the board. On Dec. 9, board member Nand resigned from the board. That same day, Paul Schechter told The News Messenger that Nand's resignation was an example of the city's "abuse of power." Schecter said that Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson contacted US Bank and it was an attempt by Hanson to try and remove him and his wife, Peggy, from the theater company. Schechter said that Lincoln City Manager Jennifer Hanson told US Bank about Nand's involvement with the board and Nand was then told by his managers to leave the board. Schechter also addressed the council during public comment at the Dec. 10 Lincoln City Council about the city of Lincoln's wrongful intervention with the Lincoln Theatre Company board. On Dec. 6, the theater company board issued a press release to The News Messenger that echoed similar comments about Hanson. "She (Hanson) has demanded, as a condition of dealing with LTC, that the LTC Board remove Paul and Peggy Schechter from the LTC Board of Directors and from further involvement of any kind with Lincoln Theatre Company," the press release said. According to Nand, he was not directed or told to leave the board by anyone but said it was in his best interest and the best interest of his bank branch to leave the board. The News Messenger asked Nand if he felt like any intervention on the part of the city caused his management to tell him to leave the board. Nand made no comment. Hanson denied the accusation that she wanted Nand off the board but told The News Messenger she communicated with US Bank via phone and email that Nand was on the board. In Hanson's email to the bank, she wanted to clarify with the bank if Nand was serving on the board as a bank representative or in a personal capacity. In that email, Hanson provided a link to a Nov. 21 News Messenger article about the Letters of Concern by former board members, cast, crew and parents of the theater company actors accusing the Lincoln Theatre Company of several wrongdoings. The News Messenger reached out to Roa for a comment on Nand's resignation but did not receive a comment. This past Monday, Kaiser resigned from the board. "I belong on the performance and production side, not on the business side," Kaiser told The Lincoln News Messenger, and that his energy, skills and time could be better spent elsewhere. Kaiser said that he "did not feel any negative feelings" from board members after voting in support of keeping Archer on the board. As stated in the theater company's bylaws, Article 6, Section 2, subsection B, "The Board shall elect as many Board members as needed to maintain the number of regular Board members at a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of eleven (11)." The Lincoln Theater Company Board, as of Monday, consisted of Nader, Roa and newly-appointed Todd Gearou. On Monday, Paul Schechter told The News Messenger that the board will have two new members on Tuesday. According to Nader, he will vote in support to add Gail Stark to the board during Tuesday night's meeting. The vote was scheduled after press time.