They say behind every good man, there’s a good woman. This is true with Jacinda Bouton, conductor of the Lone Tree Symphony, and her husband, Art Bouton.

Jacinda Bouton convinced her husband to become involved in the success of passing a ballot for a cultural arts center in Lone Tree.

“It went from committee meetings, to going door-to-door, to me becoming chair of the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation,” Art Bouton said.

The Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, established for the support of charitable, artistic, cultural, art, educational and historical purposes. There are six directors who will serve a three-year term, in addition to other interested parties, advisers and liaisons.

“A community is measured by much more than its businesses, property values or the quality of its schools,” Art Bouton said. “A thriving arts community is also essential.”

Art Bouton believes that many Lone Tree residents care deeply about the arts and that they are not just for cities like Denver.

“We want the best performances here in Lone Tree and we want spaces here to create and share our art,” Art Bouton said.

Even though the arts center is several years away from opening, Lone Tree assistant city manager Seth Hoffman said there is a lot of excitement around it.

“It will be located in the Lincoln Commons of RidgeGate,” Hoffman said.

The foundation is separate from the city, and according to Hoffman, “They were formed to support the mission of the city and the cultural facility.”

The plans for the center include a theater component, a place to attend musicals, other live performances and gallery space. Hoffman said they have hired a consultant with scope and scale of the facility and are doing a lot of research into what the community wants, and “also what we can afford.”

City Councilmember Pat Braden recommended Bouton join the foundation.

“Initially I invited people people with interest in the arts, legal experts, financial experts and charitable foundation experts,” Braden said. “We came together to define the organization’s mission and purpose.”

Braden said after the Lone Tree residents approved the sales tax increase to finance a cultural center, it was clear that the city would be able to afford a workable venue. The foundation is conducting a feasibility study to determine exactly how to maximize the community support.

“We are attempting to contact and involve as many in the community as we can,” Braden said. They are currently in search of energetic, imaginative and enthusiastic people who are willing to devote time and financial support to the foundation.

Michael Greenberg also became involved with the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation through Braden.

“She knew of my family’s strong interest in the cultural arts and asked me if I would be part of the effort,” Greenberg said. His wife is a professional violinist and plays with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra and also the Denver Ballet. Previously living in Houston, where Greenberg said there was a great deal of support for the arts and a large number of vibrant performing arts organizations, and high quality halls for the performances.

“After moving back to our native Colorado, we noticed that our friends in the Lone Tree and surrounding areas were just as interested in the arts, but there were relatively few venues, none close to Lone Tree.”

At the infant stage of conception, the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation knows they will need both public and private funding.

“To build it right,” Greenberg said, “we need to do our homework to assure we build the right facility and fund it appropriately so that the center can provide a wide variety of high quality programming that will be attractive to the community.”

Braden believes that the foundation does not end after the center is built.

“It will be a partner with the city to determine how the venue is used and how the programming can grow,” she said.

Art Bouton sums up the focus of the project by saying, “What we will build here is not just a performing arts facility, it is a cultural arts center and will become the heart of Lone Tree.”