Tom McHugh, Mainstay’s Mainstay, to Retire in 2015

At a Board meeting in early September, Tom McHugh announced to the Mainstay Board of Directors that he would be retiring as Executive Director of the Mainstay, the storefront performing arts center in Rock Hall, MD, on December 31, 2015. The announcement was anticipated and provides ample time for the Mainstay Board to finalize plans to ensure the organization’s stability and growth following McHugh’s retirement.

When asked about the long lead time, McHugh said, “When I started the Mainstay, it was just a concert series but it quickly became a force in the community both artistically and economically. It’s important to the Board and to me that the Mainstay continue as a force in the community after my retirement. We are in a good place right now. Attendance at our concerts is good, our fundraising has put us in a solid place financially and we have a great Board of Directors with a lot of nonprofit experience. I wanted to give them plenty of time to work on their vision for the future of the Mainstay with a new Executive Director.”

Becky Byrd, President of the Mainstay Board of Directors, said “While the timing of Tom’s announcement was a surprise, it was not unexpected. Any organization founded and run by a single individual eventually faces the issue of transitioning to new leadership.

“As a Board we started looking at this nearly eight years ago. We knew we were succeeding in our roles in the community but we realized that to prepare for life as an organization without Tom as Executive Director, we needed to strengthen the Board, articulate our vision for the Mainstay and get our financial house in order. This we’ve done.

“The next two years will be spent celebrating our success and anticipating our future. Working with Tom, we will implement our strategic plan which will allow the Mainstay to move easily into a new stage in its life as a mainstay of the Rock Hall and Kent County communities while continuing to be the “Home of Musical Magic.”

McHugh added, “During this transition to a new Mainstay which will be a lot like the current Mainstay, I will remain at the helm and work with a dedicated committee of Board and local individuals to guarantee that The Mainstay’s future is strong. After December 2015, I’ve been asked to continue as Director Emeritus, acting as an advisor as needed to the new leadership.”

Both emphasized that the Mainstay will continue to present regional, national and international artists as well as support community and educational projects. They said the next two years will see some special events that will help cement Tom’s legacy. Audiences can also expect the usual “musical magic” and funders can be assured that the Mainstay will continue to operate on a sound financial footing as it transitions to new leadership.

The Mainstay got its start as a one-off concert in 1997 in the America’s Cup Café which was next door to what is now the Mainstay. At the time it was intended to be a single concert but it was so successful that people encouraged Tom McHugh to plan more concerts.

In 1998, the first floor of the building that is now the Mainstay was rented as concert space and named the Mainstay. There was no stage at first and they used Tom McHugh’s sound system but Charlie Byrd performed there the first year which was the start of the Mainstay’s enduring legacy as a jazz venue beloved by its audiences and noted by jazz musicians around the country and overseas. That first year also saw the first Rock Hall FallFest organized by Mainstay volunteers.

By the next year, the Mainstay had organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a Board of Directors and McHugh as Executive Director. In 2002, they purchased the building after a fundraising campaign and in 2005, after more fundraising, they paid off the mortgage. The Mainstay now operates with an active board, a small part-time staff and a dedicated group of volunteers.

From the beginning, the Mainstay has presented a program of musical events in diverse genres from country, blues, folk, rock ‘n roll and bluegrass to jazz, cabaret and classical with lectures, plays, poetry readings and art shows thrown in for variety. Their audience comes from Rock Hall, Chestertown and well beyond. Word of mouth has spread the word about the Mainstay far beyond the local area. Audience members tell friends about the wonderful small room with great acoustics and a warm friendly feel and performers tell other performers about the great room with wonderful audiences.

But the Mainstay’s role in the community goes far beyond the concert hall and in this is the secret to its success. It serves as an economic engine in the small community of Rock Hall. The B&B’s give tickets to their customers, the customers patronize the local restaurants and Durding’s, the local ice cream parlor usually stays open until after intermission. It is truly a mainstay of Main Street.

Since its organization as a nonprofit, it has looked more and more to what else it can do for the community. The Mainstay has organized local history sessions, sought grants to record the stories of local watermen, organized high level music workshops at Kent County High School and other schools, helped other local non-profits organize their own fundraisers and serves as a drop-off point for the Rock Hall Food Bank.

Tom McHugh said, “While the music is our passion and what we are known for, the Mainstay works because we take our role as a contributing member of the community so seriously. I am grateful that the Board is working to ensure the continuation of all of the Mainstay’s roles in the community.”