Elkhart appoints new Lerner Theatre leadership; council advances $50,000 appropriation to second reading

The mayor introduced Carl Thompson as the new general manager of the Lerner Theatre and Robert “Bob” Garcia as the theatre’s operations and events lead during the July 7 Elkhart City Common Council meeting. Both men briefly addressed the council and thanked the city for the appointment.

The introduction followed a mayoral announcement describing an “exhaustive” national search to fill leadership roles at the Lerner Theatre. “Carl will become the new general manager of the Lerner Theatre,” the mayor said. Carl Thompson introduced himself to the record as “general manager for the Lerner Theatre,” and Bob Garcia said he preferred “Bob” and described his background in event programming and finance.

Council members then heard first reading of a proposed ordinance (corrected on the record to ordinance 25‑O‑22) to appropriate $50,000 from the Lerner Theatre budget for activities tied to the theatre’s 100‑year anniversary. There was no council debate recorded on the ordinance; the item was sent on to second reading for further consideration.

The mayor and council also encouraged councilors and members of the public to speak with the new Lerner staff after the meeting. No formal vote on the appropriation occurred at the July 7 meeting; the ordinance was advanced to a future meeting for further review.