Our Board of Directors

The 2011-2012 Thalian Association Board of Directors has a few new faces intermingled with some familiar ones! 

HANK MILLER (President) serves as a Senior Broker and Director of Business Development for Cape Fear Commercial. A licensed real estate broker, his primary role is to enhance company profitability through business development with new and existing clients. Mr. Miller focuses on ensuring a clear, growth oriented strategic direction, and attaining the highest levels of quality services and customer satisfaction. Since joining the company in 2002, Mr. Miller’s involvement has been multifaceted including development, construction management, landlord and tenant representation, and consulting services.  A sample of projects include development and construction of headquarters for two regional banks; development, leasing and construction for a Fortune 100 manufacturing company, tenant representation for a regional law firm; and real estate consulting services in a bankruptcy case involving the successful disposition of prime residential resort property. A native of Wilmington, Mr. Miller received a B.S. in Business Management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is very active in civic and community organizations in Wilmington and throughout the State. He has served as a member of the Southeastern North Carolina Economic Development Commission, member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and member of the Board of Directors of the Charlotte Partnership and North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry. Mr. Miller is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cape Fear Council of Boy Scouts, former member of the Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees, the Leadership Team of the Partners for Economic Inclusion, a Board Member of The Foundation of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and is a Past-President of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. He lives in Wrightsville Beach with his wife Maggie.

DORONDA STROUD-GARM (Vice-President) relocated to Wilmington in 2000, after traveling extensively while practicing nursing. She is a native of Kinston, NC and a graduate of East Carolina University. She has participated in special projects for the Thalian Association and Landfall Association, served as Secretary of the TA, and was owner of Divine Dining personal chef service. Doronda has been involved in musical performance with local churches.  She is a volunteer with Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center. She enjoys biking and participates annually in the Multiple Sclerosis Historic New Bern bike MS.  Doronda is enthusiastic about the direction and drive of the TA and the local arts community, and looks forward to continuing service on the Board.

DON BETZ  (Past President) originally from Rochester, New York, has been in Wilmington for the past 30 years working in Manufacturing, Financial Services and Local Government while raising four children with his wife Valerie. Don is a Vietnam Veteran having served three tours with the U.S. Army and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree in Business Administration. Don and his family were relocated to Wilmington from New York with Federal Paper Board Company.  Later he joined A.G. Edwards & Sons as an Investment Broker.  He returned to the manufacturing sector with M. J. B. Manufacturing Company in textiles and later purchased and published Wilmington Magazine.  Concurrently he served as a member of the Wilmington City Council for a period of sixteen years with five consecutive two-year terms as Mayor of the City of Wilmington.  During this period, Don was a member of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, the Wilmington Industrial Committee of 100 and President of the Kiwanis Club of Wilmington.  Prior to his current appointment as Executive Director for the Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority, he served as Town Manager in Holly Ridge and in North Topsail Beach. He joined the Thalian Association, Inc. board in 2005.  Don’s only contribution to the performing arts was his best actor’s role as Mr. Wilson in Harvey, forty years ago!

TROY RUDESEAL (Secretary) has been involved in over 200 theatrical productions over the last 20 years and has experience in all aspects of theater including acting, directing, scenic design and construction in amateur, regional and professional theatre. From 1993-1995 he toured the country performing and directing youth theatre based out of Montana and New Hampshire. He spent ten years working with and directing "Summer Stage", a summer long youth camp providing children hands-on training in all areas of theatre. After moving to Wilmington, He served as the Technical director for Opera House theatre Company from 1996-1998, spent 3 seasons with the acting company on The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, and served as the Artistic Director for Big Dawg Productions 2001-2003. Most recently Troy went back to college and is now a critical care RN in the Medical ICU at new Hanover Regional Medical Center. He began performing and directing for the Thalian Association in 2004 and enjoys lending his technical talents to the Association whenever possible.

DANNY BROCK, ABR,CRB,CRS,SRES (Treasurer) serves as President of CENTURY 21 Brock & Associates. He is in charge of business development and has served in many capacities including The Past President of NC Association of Realtors, Treasurer of NC Association of Realtors, President of Wilmington East Rotary, and also Wilmington Association of Realtors. Presently he serves as President of Wedgefield HOA, Director on Brunswick Association of Realtors, and Treasurer of Homeowners Alliance for the State Realtors Association. After 30 years in the real estate business, he brings in survival skills to help preserve, grow, and build The Thalian Association’s Community Theater and Children’s Theater. Danny said, “It is an honor to serve on the board for a theater company founded in 1788.”

DONN ANSELL has been involved in Wilmington theater for more than 35 years.  In December 2006, after a 22 year career in Talk Radio he retired only to return to TV as host of Byline: Wilmington a weekly interview show on CBS-10 WILM.  In addition to producing & directing a number of theatrical productions, theatergoers have seen Donn in such varied roles as  Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's masterpiece Death Of A Salesman, Norman Thayer On Golden Pond, as 'Scrooge' in the original holiday musical, Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol and as Maurice in Disney's, Beauty & The Beast.  More recently Donn played Joe Keller in another Miller classic, All My Sons.  Donn said, “It is a privilege to serve on a board that represents such an historic place in the history of theater in Wilmington, North Carolina and the  movement of Community Theater in America.”

VIVIAN PARLIER-BURNETT served as President of The Thalian Association from 2002-2005 . Parlier-Burnett is a current member of the Wilmington Executives Club, The Lower Cape Fear Historical Society and Residents of Old Wilmington. She has served as past chairperson for the Celebrate Wilmington! Executive Committee and is past executive officer for Sales and Marketing Executives of Greater Wilmington. She has served as fund-raising captain for the Louise Wells Cameron Museum and served on the grassroots grant committee for the Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear. Parlier-Crouse is a founding member and served as president of The Foothills Theatre, Foothills Arts Council in Elkin, NC, Friends of the Theatre in Lexington, NC, and is a founding member of The Triad Theatre League in High Point, NC.

DONNA FLAKE is the director of the SEAHEC Medical Library (formerly named Coastal AHEC Medical Library).  She has worked in medical libraries all her life, and has a special interest in international medical librarianship.  She organized and continues to direct a partnership with her library and a medical library in Latvia, and a second partnership in Moldova.  She has two masters degrees- one in Library Science, and another in Health Administration.  She loves theatre and enjoys working on the Thalian Association Board.  She served on the Executive Board of Leadership Wilmington, and was the first recipient of the Leadership Wilmington Alumni Award. She is married to Jerry Flake, also a member of the Thalian Association Board.  They attend All Saints Anglican Church.  They have one daughter, Catherine who is married and living in Norway.

JERRY FLAKE is the owner of Cape Fear Title Agency, Inc. an issuing agency for Southern Title Insurance Corporation. He has worked as a volunteer for The Thalian Association for nine years with four of those years as a member of the Board. He has served as Treasurer of the Association and as Chairman of the Thalian Association's Southern Coastal Bluegrass Festival. He is a member Wilmington East Rotary and has served as the clubs Sergeant of Arms and President. He was a past member of the Greenville (NC) Jaycees. He has served the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina as a youth leader, vestry member, convention delegate, and member of the diocesan Executive Council. Mr. Flake is married to Donna Flake, also a member of the Thalian Association board, and they have one daughter, Catherine, married and residing in Norway.

Sarah Howe was welcomed to Wilmington with her four children in 2007. An active participant in theatre and music throughout her life, Sarah has enjoyed amazing performance opportunities across the country. In addition, she has worked with various theatre companies in all technical aspects, to include: costume and make-up design, as well as set and prop design/construction. An avid supporter of the community, Sarah serves on the Board of Directors for The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, as well as Ocean Forest Lakes (Architectural Control Committee Chair). She, also, volunteers for many local organizations including: WHQR, The North Carolina Coastal Conservation, Habitat for Humanity, and The Wilmington Harbor Enhancement. A photojournalist for the USAR in the eighties, Sarah is an internationally-published, award-winning photographer. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance and a minor in Classical Vocal Performance. Presently, she is attending UNCW, with hopes of acceptance into their Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program.

FRANK MCNEILL is a Wilmington, NC native. He served as a Captain (Signal Corp) in the NC Army National Guard. He is founder (1954) and CEO of Communication Specialists Company, LLC, engaged in mobile radio communications, radio paging and Internet Service Provision, with offices in Wilmington, Raleigh and Jacksonville, NC. He has served as president of the Wilmington Exchange Club and the North Carolina Exchange Clubs. He is a past-president of The Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear, Friends of Public Radio (WHQR) and The Thalian Association, Inc. as well as a past member of the Board of Trustees of The Thalian Hall Commission and Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He is a recipient of The Thalian Association's "Tina Award" for technical service and the "Lifetime Achievement Award". He provided the first theater sound-reinforcement systems and wireless body-microphones for the Association in Thalian Hall.

JIM PRIDEMORE has served on the Board of Directors of Thalian Association, Inc. for 40 years and has been President five times. He was a founding member of The Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear and worked with the City to convert the USO building into the Community Arts Center. While President of the Arts Council he started the Piney Woods Arts Festival. Eleven years ago he created the Orange Street ArtsFest. Over the years Jim has been active in the Chamber of Commerce, Azalea Festival and United Way. He is owner/President of Sound and Telephone Systems in Wilmington, and WDRL-TV in Ronanoke, Virginia. He began his business career on the television staff of the United Nations in 1954. He was associated with WWAY-TV for seven years and was Vice-President and General Manager of WGNI and WWAV Radio for many years.

KATHERINE DURAY RUDESEAL is a graduate of the University of Maryland with B.A. in Art and Minor in Art History. After moving to Fayetteville, NC in the early 90’s she became heavily involved with the local Arts Council, Cape Fear Regional Theatre and the Carolina Civic Center. She worked as a performer and professional singer at night and landed a day job as a K-8 Art Teacher.She relocated to Wilmington 12 years ago with her husband Troy. Katherine has worked since then as an Art Director, but continued to perform in her spare time. She has been in over 25 productions on the main stage at Thalian Hall, in both leading and supporting roles. Five years ago, she and a business partner formed Phoenix Rising Agency, Inc., a full-service advertising agency. Katherine is involved with many local civic organizations including, Rotary, Cape Fear Sales and Marketing Executives, Historic Wilmington Foundation, American Heart Association and many more! After going into volunteer overload last year she decided that she needed to focus on just those organizations that she was most passionate about. Which is what brings her to the board of the Thalian Association.

 CURT H. STILES, Ph.D. is a professor of strategic management in the Cameron School of Business of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he teaches in the fields of strategic management, corporate governance, and international business. Prior to joining UNCW in 2003, he taught at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. In the New York City area, his activities ranged from lecturing in United Nations programs to developing student programs for Wall Street’s investment community. He is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and was a founder of the national student research competition co-sponsored by NYSSA and selected Wall Street investment firms. Dr. Stiles is the editor of two scholarly books, the author of dozens of research papers published in academic journals, and a reviewer of research papers for elite academic journals. Before moving to the East Coast, he was a professor and department chair at California State University and the University of Southern California. While living in Orange County, California he served on the finance committee of Ballet Pacifica in Laguna Beach. He joined the Thalian Association, Inc. board in 2004 and has served a term as Vice President. Curt has begun, and continues, to research the history of the Association and is the author of the Resolution by the NC General Assembly, naming the Association as “The Official Community Theater of North Carolina”.

FRED WINE relocated to Wilmington in 2009 and serves as the Director of Human Resources for VPS Convenience Store Group. Throughout his professional career, Mr. Wine has served in a leadership role for several Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, he sits on several human resource advisor boards helping companies design hiring, training and development systems.  Originally from Northport New York, he graduated from The University of Charleston, WV with a B.A. in Public Administration. Mr. Wine is the father of four children.