I am President and Founder of Creative Community, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
At the age of 4, my Dad, a bi-vocational pastor had me on stage singing at our tiny church in the Appalachians. Before I knew it I was a solist with the Palm Beach Symphony and leading the Arts Programs at two of the most influential mega-churches in the world. While my parents provided plenty of encouragement there were no safe non-judgmental mentors to guide me through the hard knocks of life and the challenges of life as a creative.
Because of their unique ability to influence culture, everything we do has been shaped by artists.
Our language is influenced by Shakespeare, our architecture by Michelangelo, our music by Beethoven, our paintings by Monet and our literature by Tolstoy…just to name a few
Filmmakers & writers have chronicled many of these artists and how they lived tortured and lonely lives.
After 55 years of life as a creative and having suffered a few hard knocks myself, I’m ever more convinced there are very few wise guides speaking into the lives of our artists.
It is because of this dearth of mentors that I founded Creative Community.
14 years ago in 1999 our first re:create gathering was held in Tampa, FL. This gathering of creatives has continued annually to this day and there are now three other mentorship opportunities: re:Quest, One on Ones, 48 Hours of Solitude.
From a small local gathering of 35, Creative Community now mentors hundreds of artists from around the world.
Your gift to Creative Community enables us to scholarship global creatives who otherwise would be unable to attend and find the Refreshment, Encouragement and Diffusion of Ideas that are so vital to them.
Your gift also helps these artists understand they are not alone but can be part of a larger tribe of fellow creatives. The combination of peers and real world professionals shoulder to shoulder in protégé/mentor relationships provide our artists with the tools they need to more effectively use their gifts that literally inspire and shape our world.
