Cherry steps into new role at SCCA

Jackie Cherry never thought she would be executive director of an arts center.

For nearly two decades, she worked for various phone companies — Verizon, Bell Atlantic, AT&T. She was constantly on the road, whether in between clients or commuting from her home in Chuckatuck to AT&T headquarters in New Jersey.

It was a brutal schedule. When she came home for the weekend, she would have to leave her home at 4 a.m. on Monday to be at work on time. But at the time, if you wanted to move up in a company — particularly that company — you worked at headquarters, she said.

More recently, she has represented major hospitals, governments and agencies, helping bring money to the companies by leasing the space on top of the buildings to wireless providers for satellites and transmitters.

“I’ve been very blessed throughout my career that every job was very personally rewarding,” she said in a recent interview after being named executive director of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts.

Cherry never expected to make the jump from corporate sales to running a small-town-at-heart arts center. But that’s the job she applied for about six years ago when the arts center was about to open.

“Arts was not my background,” she admits. “But you get into it, and you can’t help but have such a passion for this building. It is infectious.”

The center, the renovated Suffolk High School, now hosts performing artists, community arts, gallery exhibits, classes and workshops, a gift shop and restaurant and special events galore. There’s always something going on at the center, Cherry said, and it’s not always about what many people view as art.

“It’s frustrating that people don’t take advantage of it more,” she said. “I think people have the perception it’s all about art. It’s really all about creativity; it’s all about innovation.”

Since being named executive director earlier this month after several months of serving as interim executive director, Cherry has leapt into action, continuing to plan the 2012-2013 performance season and looking to restructure the organization.

“I’ve asked all the staff to look at what they do and look at what they’d like to do,” she said. “The budgets don’t go up. We just get to share the opportunities.”

Cherry also hopes to conduct a customer feedback survey.

“I want to find out what is relevant to Suffolk and what they want to see here,” she said. “I want people to know we’re not that far away. They don’t have to go to Norfolk, they don’t have to go to Virginia Beach to spend their entertainment dollars.”

Cherry also wants to remind people that the center offers numerous workshops and classes on arts of all kinds. She recalled recently walking into an adults’ weaving class.

“There’s mature adults here learning a new skill set,” she said. “It’s a release.”

Cherry is walking into a number of challenges with the Suffolk Center. There’s a budget to balance, staff to manage, performances and exhibits to plan and more.

But she is keeping her eyes on the goal, she said.

“How to spur that creativity in someone, that’s what this place is,” she said. “That’s what it’s about.”