Wayne Huffman
Wayne is completing the Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies. He is a regional CEO for a hospital system in Indiana and Ohio. He is married and has one daughter and four grandchildren. He is retired from the U.S. Air Force.
Of his volunteer experience, Wayne says: “I first became involved with the ballet in 1990. My daughter attended a dance academy, as a lot of little girls do, and little did I know this would eventually involve me. I had virtually no interest in the dance arts until I saw my first ballet in 1990. I was enthralled. I remember the beauty of the dancers and the costumes as well as the ability to perform on stage. I was hooked. In 1996, I moved to Connecticut from Indiana and enrolled my daughter in a pre-professional company. I was asked if I would take an active volunteer role working backstage.
“Even though I had never done anything like this, I jumped at the chance. Not only did I get to work with my home company, I had the opportunity to work alongside others from the Joffrey Ballet and the New York City Ballet. This was an experience of a lifetime. I watched my daughter develop under their tutelage and I developed a greater fondness for the dance arts. I moved back to Indiana in 1999 and was asked to serve on the board of directors for the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre. This is a pre-professional not for profit company located in Anderson, Ind. Most of our dancers will go on to dance professionally. We have alumni dancing all over the world.
“My first major project was a $1.2 million restoration of the ballet studio which was an old train station. The funding was provided by the Department of Transportation as a part of restoring historic buildings. This was not the most exciting part for me. My greatest joy was watching my daughter dance lead roles and graduate from AYBT. She received a dance scholarship to Ball State University and now teaches at the dance academy.
“I have served twice as the president of this board and dedicated many hours per week to the organization. The dedication of the people surrounding the ballet company never ceases to amaze me. I, as well as the other board members, do this because of our love for the ballet and to see the joy of dance exposed to others who may not have the opportunity to experience the ballet. We provide assistance for underprivileged children and award scholarships internally to help with tuition.
“We perform two professional shows per year. One is always the Nutcracker at Christmas where we get the opportunity to dedicate one show to 1,500 grade school age children in the surrounding area. Our spring performance varies. This year we will perform Alice in Wonderland. Since we are a 501(c)(3) not for profit, a good portion of our year is raising funds to put on performances. The cost of a performance such as Nutcracker can run in excess of $18,000. It sometimes can be a challenge but I feel spreading the joy of dance to the community is well worth it. Who knows? There may be another person out there like me who never dreamed they would love ballet.”