A Columbus native, Sally Raymond returned to her hometown after getting her feet wet in arts administration while living in New Orleans. Her skills and her drive would help her become the first executive director of the Dublin Arts Council. Now a certified speaking coach, Raymond discusses her journey with Dublin Life – and offers some expert advice on public speaking.
Dublin Life: How did you become interested in arts management?
Sally Raymond: I said in college that I wanted to be in arts administration. I’d taken theater and business classes. I was interested in my finance classes, so I ended up taking a job at Lazarus in its finance department. And I hated it! … I applied for a program in arts administration down in New Orleans. … Or, I thought, I could move to Wisconsin, which was the place to go for arts administration. But I ended up getting an assistantship, and I got to do some work for the New Orleans Symphony and its arts council. I took an internship there.
DL: How did you come to work in Dublin?
SR: I was really looking to work in the arts after doing some work for the New Orleans Symphony and the Arts Council of New Orleans. My family wanted me back (in Ohio). So I was like, “OK, I’ll come back.” I was tired of looking for jobs, so while I was on a weekend retreat, my sister found an ad (for the Dublin Arts Council) in the newspaper. I applied, and they liked my energy – that’s what they said.
DL: As the first executive director of the Dublin Arts Council, what was one of the biggest obstacles you had to overcome?
SR: The position didn’t have a lot of structure. That was the good news and the bad news. I had to be very innovative. The programming wasn’t exactly set in stone, so I tried some new things that didn’t work, and tried some things that did.
The thing about (the Dublin Art in Public Places program) was that it had to have impact. We wanted it to take on the environment of where it was taking place. So, for instance, Field of Corn – one of the criteria of the project was that it had to have impact when you’re (driving) 35 mph. That’s quite a challenge for an artist, to have that visual impact. (Note: Field of Corn (with Osage Oranges) was dedicated in 1994 in Frantz Park. Artist Malcolm Cochran included 109 upright human-sized ears of corn, in rows, as a symbol of Dublin’s legacy as a farming community.)
Photo courtesy of Sally Raymond
DL: Is there anything from your career with Dublin Arts Council you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
SR: I think Field of Corn was the most challenging and the most rewarding. I left before it was actually installed, but we had a community event. I wanted people to understand who Malcolm was and what he had created. I wanted them to see what I saw. People came out, and it ended up being a very good event.
DL: Now you’re a certified speaking coach. How and when did you realize this was a calling?
SR: I became a certified speaking coach in 2013. I was just a stay-at-home mom then. … I’d taken some freelance marketing jobs here and there, and when that wasn’t coming through, I thought, “Maybe I need to start my own marketing company. I haven’t talked to adults in a really long time. I need to hone my communication skills.” … Now that my kids are in college, I’m reinventing myself at this stage in my life.
DL: What’s your biggest piece of advice for people who aren’t necessarily confident in their public speaking abilities?
SR: What happens when you’re not feeling confident is that you’re putting all the focus on yourself and what’s wrong with you. What you need to do is take the focus off of yourself and put it instead on your audience. Once you focus on what they need from you, it makes it so much easier.
DL: What about advice for someone who wants to follow a similar career path, specifically in arts administration?
SR: I’m sure there’s an easier way than answering an ad in the newspaper! That’s not really how you get a job anymore. Now that we’re so much more connected, it’s about building those relationships and making those connections. I was young, and when you’re young, you think you know everything … So, have a mentor who’s done what you want to do.
Hannah Bealer is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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