Film Society Announces Changes to its Board of Directors

The Key West Film Society is pleased to announce a number of changes to its Board of Directors. At his request, long-time chairperson George Cooper will be stepping down from that position and turning the gavel over to Matthew Helmerich, who joined the Board as a new member in January. Mr. Helmerich is a full-time resident of Key West and a well-known supporter of art and charitable activities. He is former Chairperson of Hospice & VNA of the Florida Keys, and currently serves on the Boards of the Community Foundation and the Performing Arts Centers of Key West. He works as Public Information Officer for State Attorney Mark Kohl.

“I am excited about bringing Matthew into the leadership of the Film Society,” says Cooper. “I told the Board last year that I wanted to step down before my 70th birthday, which is coming up in May. This is my wish come true. During the past five years a core group of our Board has built and established the Tropic Cinema as a glorious addition to the local cultural scene. It’s now time for the stewardship of this institution to be turned over to fresh faces. It’s been our baby, but now it’s grown up.”

In addition, to Helmerich, the Board has also added two other new members, Judith Daykin and Evan Corns.

Daykin is seasonal resident of Key West and a retired arts administrator, having served the cultural community in New York for more than thirty years as Executive Director of New York's City Center, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. As one of her first tasks on the Board she is undertaking a study of the staffing and operational steps needed to firmly establish the Tropic as a mature institution and to enable the Film Society to develop and sponsor a Key West International Film Festival.

Corns is a seasonal resident and a committed patron of the arts in Key West, including the Tropic and the Tennessee Williams Theater. He has extensive management, financial and fundraising experience as a trustee of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. He will assume a major role in fund-raising for the Film Society.

Cooper will continue as an active member of the Board and to serve as its Treasurer and a member of its Theater Operations Committee, as well as undertake special projects.

“It’s hard to imagine our town without the Tropic Cinema – it has so enhanced the cultural life of Key West. We have George and the founding KWFS Board to thank for that,” said Helmerich. “I look forward to my new duties and to a ceremony celebrating George’s contributions in the near future.”

Please email any inquiries to info@keywestfilm.org.