The Board of Trustees of the Thomasville Music & Drama Troupe concluded a years-long and difficult discussion about the viability of the organization going forward. Given the devastating impact of a 16-month shutdown due to COVID-19, combined with the changing membership dynamics and insurmountable financial challenges, the Board was left with no other choice than to cease operations of the organization at the end of its current fiscal year.

This decision is not one that the Board made lightly, nor is it a decision that any member wanted to make. In the end, however, the overwhelming majority of the Board – including current and past Troupe parents, Troupe alumni stretching back to the early days of the Troupe, and longtime volunteers – agreed that it was the only responsible course of action.  Ten members of the Board voted in favor of closing the doors; one voted against the motion, and one abstained.

For more than a decade, the Troupe has fought an uphill battle against ever-rising costs and struggled to stay financially sound while competing with growing demands on its student members and an insufficient endowment fund to cover expenses. Simply put, the numbers are not there to sustain and adequately fund the type of meaningful and enriching program our members and the community expect from the Thomasville Music & Drama Troupe.

The Board recognized the reality that the growing expense of running an impactful youth performing arts training program, combined with the significant resources required to operate and maintain its rehearsal facility, have gradually made continued operations financially impossible.

The Board is very proud that, for nearly 50 years, Fred and Winnie Allen’s creation has had a meaningful, positive impact on literally thousands of young people in southwest Georgia, instilling important life skills far beyond the teaching of music and performance techniques. Troupe members have gained self-confidence, discipline, teamwork, and composure in front of an audience that they have taken into careers in education, business, law, sales, banking, and, in rare cases, the performing arts.

A subcommittee from the Board is being appointed to handle the logistics of dissolving the organization in a manner consistent with Georgia law and IRS regulations related to the dissolution of a nonprofit entity.

Thomasville Music & Drama Troupe Board of Directors