Editor, Your article about the Mills House in Sunday’s paper was very nice; however, I had a concern about one piece. It said, “Because funding has been tight, the group must soon move out of the building … ” which I don’t really understand.
The Hinesville Area Arts Council is not moving out because funding has been tight; we are moving out/on because we need a permanent structure in order to go to the next phase/level of development within our organization and to offer permanency to the community that has supported us, which is impossible to do if we are constantly aware of the fact that we are going to have to move one day soon.
We have appreciated more than we can possibly say that Jay and Joel Osteen have allowed us free use of that facility, and we cannot say enough about their generosity because  without it, we would still be meeting in a room at The Heritage Bank (which we also appreciated!) for our regular monthly meetings and we’d have no space for the programs and services that we currently offer.
The HAAC has grown so much in the past year. We offer a wide array of programs to the Liberty County community, which would not be possible without the Osteens and their generous donation of space to the HAAC.
We have several projects coming up in late 2011 and early 2012 that we want to start planning, and without a permanent home, we’re not going to be able to offer the guarantees required by the companies we will be contracting with to provide services. The June 1 move-out date is a date completely self-imposed by our board of directors because we want to move forward with some exciting projects and opportunities that we have been offered.
Established in the 1980s, the Hinesville Area Arts Council’s mission is to support new and existing art of all types within Liberty County while increasing the overall quality of life of its citizens. The arts council and our theater arm are both committed to creating a viable and visible arts community within Liberty County. 

— Leah Poole
HAAC chairwoman