The Episcopal Actors' Guild of America, Inc.
"Charitable help for performers of all faiths"
Memo from Mart Hulswit, April 9, 2008
"This is to announce to you my retirement as Executive Director of the Episcopal Actors’ Guild of America as of mid-September 2008. When I accepted the honor of my appointment to this position in September of 1996, I declared my intention to serve the Guild for eight years, until September of 2004. The extenuating circumstances resulting from the change of Rectors at the “Little Church,” followed by the ongoing displacement made necessary by the multiple postponements of the emergency reconstruction of our headquarters at Guild Hall, have now extended my planned retirement by four years. My personal life plans do not allow me to serve any longer beyond that, and I can no longer in good faith continue to devote the time and effort that the position demands. I have pledged to Council that I will help in every way I can to make the transition to the next Executive as smooth as possible between now and September.
I hope to see our Guild safely back into our beloved headquarters before I continue my service to the Guild as a Life Member, which I have been for half of my adult life. I will most certainly remain involved with the Guild and with the Church of the Transfiguration in many ways, and who knows, I may even choose to run for Office and/or on Council again, where I had served for 14 years before my appointment as Executive in 1996.
It has truly been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the Guild’s charitable programs, and it has also been a wonderful way to cap my 48-year career as a professional actor. I am very proud and honored to have served the Guild during the past twelve years, to have established the Charitable Programs Endowments, which now fund 25% of the Annual Emergency Aid & Relief Program budget and 100% of the Scholarships & Awards Program budget, and to have had the privilege of administering financial aid to over two thousand members of the performing arts community.
All love and respect to all of you who have made the journey with me as my colleagues, but more especially, to our many very deserving and talented beneficiaries. My period of service has truly been an honor. Quite simply, I consider it the most fulfilling and meaningful accomplishment of my life."
All love,
Mart Hulswit
