New board members buoy Thea Day of Giving theme

Jeremy Mitchell (left) and Alex Montez officially joined the Thea Foundation board in July.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Jeremy Mitchell (left) and Alex Montez officially joined the Thea Foundation board in July. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)

Joining the board of a nonprofit during a pandemic makes the usual learning curve for new board members even steeper. Just ask two of the newest additions to the board for the North Little Rock-based Thea Foundation.

"Everything has been virtual, like any big business, conducted via Zoom meetings," Alex Montez says.

The biggest challenge for him, says Jeremy Mitchell, has been "getting to know the regulars," including other members of the board, the staff and the clients.

The two are actively involved in putting together the foundation's year-end fundraiser, the second annual Thea's Day of Giving, today. The special donation day takes place on the birthday of foundation namesake Thea Kay Leopoulos, already accomplished as a young artist when she died in a car wreck in May 2001.

The foundation, founded by her parents, is now wrapping up its 20th year of serving Arkansas students, providing art supplies for K-12 classrooms and professional development for teachers and funding scholarships for talented youngsters.

"Dec. 6 coincides with the birthday of Thea," Montez says. "It's a very special day for fundraising."

It's also linked to meeting the foundation's year-end budgetary targets. "It's a sprint to the finish line," Montez says.

Foundation director of development Jennifer Owens Buie says the goal by the end of this year is somewhere north of $50,000.

Montez' connection to the nonprofit came through foundation President Trish Roberson, who invited him to attend "Into the Blue," a foundation fundraiser focusing on the young performers who have received Thea scholarships.

"I was just amazed at the level of talent of these young people," he recalls. "I was hooked then and there. I knew I wanted to be involved."

Mitchell also linked to the foundation through fundraisers, including "Into the Blue" and "Blue Plate Special," the latter with a culinary focus. He was also previously acquainted with Buie.

Together, Mitchell and Montez frame principal elements of what the foundation supports.

Mitchell's focus is the visual arts; he professes a fondness for pop art and art "that makes a statement," especially the works of Andy Warhol and Banksy.

Montez, meanwhile, leans more toward the performing arts, "though I love the visual arts as well." His musical tastes range from Chopin "Nocturnes" to the rock-blues guitar of Mark Knopfler. He took up the guitar as a child, though he insists he was never really any good at it, though his son, Stuart, is now "grinding out a living" as a musician in Nashville, Tenn., as the lead guitarist in a band and doing the odd acoustic gig.

Mitchell grew up in a farming family in southeast Arkansas and attended Watson Chapel schools, where he participated in various school-sponsored art programs. He attended the University of Central Arkansas and studied business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He says he isn't currently holding down a 9-5-type job; his "business," he explains, is philanthropy. He spent several years volunteering for the Special Olympics of Arkansas and the nonprofit's Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Montez hails from Fayetteville and attended Fayetteville public schools and the University of Arkansas. He was for more than 20 years an investment banker, holding senior positions with Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, Citibank and Morgan Keegan. He's currently the vice president of sales and business development for EMK3, a privately-held software company headquartered in Plano, Texas, that provides software solutions for the energy industry. He has served on the board of Wildwood Park for the Arts.

Foundation board members serve three-year terms, with the option of re-upping for another three years. After six years' service, they can roll off the board, wait 12 months, and rejoin if they're of a mind.

"Since their time as new board members has been very untraditional with Thea Foundation being unable to hold our important fundraisers, they've both worked diligently to [acquire] new supporters and donors as well as general awareness for our programs and Thea's mission," says Amanda Seevers, the foundation's director of communications. "We are blown away by their genuine support and commitment to helping us during this time."

Since 2001, Thea Foundation has handed out 437 scholarships, totaling $2.4 million, to Arkansas students, based solely on their talent alone. The foundation will hold its 2021 competition completely online starting in January, and, says Seevers, "We are still on track to award all 36 annual scholarships through the online competitions."

Thea's Art Closet, which debuted in 2007, has sent out $1.6 million in supplies and creative materials to Arkansas public schools and expects to now provide $100,000 annually for teachers to submit their project needs. During the pandemic, Buie says, the program has been a a resource, especially for help securing supplies for hybrid learning,

To give on Thea's Day of Giving today, or throughout the month, visit theafoundation.org/donate, call (501) 951-0374 or email at [email protected].

Jeremy Mitchell (left) and Alex Montez, as new Thea Foundation board members, are marshaling forces for the annual Thea Day of Giving.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)
Jeremy Mitchell (left) and Alex Montez, as new Thea Foundation board members, are marshaling forces for the annual Thea Day of Giving. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Cary Jenkins)

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