Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarIda B. Tomlin, a Meridiain native, is director of operations for the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience. Her previous leadership roles include chief operating officer for the Detroit Zoological Society and associate director of admissions and director of minority affairs for a private secondary school in Massachusetts.

Kate Cherry, Ellie Massey, Sidney Covington and Ida Tomlin all come from different backgrounds, but they all share one common goal: connecting the community through the arts. 

“I’ve never really backed down from responsibilities,” said Cherry, the director of the Meridian Museum of Art. “If there was something in front of me that I thought was my duty, I went ahead and went at it even though it was going to be hard.”

Cherry’s journey to director started at 23 years old, becoming one of the first female auditors for the state of Mississippi.

From there, Cherry says she has seen the workforce change and grow, just as her own career has over the years.

“I’m 64, and when I got out of college in the late 70s, it was pretty much a man’s world in a professional line of business,” Cherry said.

At the time, affirmative action was being pushed to combat bias and overwhelming male majority in the workplace and in positions of leadership, according to Cherry.

“A lot of the ladies today that are in their early 20s and 30s, we pretty much laid the footwork for them to be able to have some of the jobs they have today,” Cherry said.

As an executive in the arts world, Cherry faces a challenge, managing the various personalities and opinions within her organization while staying true to the organization’s mission.

“I have to remain optimistic, be the leader of the museum, try to keep it going in the right track, and you have so many different opinions out there and I’m looking at the whole picture,” Cherry said. “You can’t keep everybody happy. You have to try to satisfy their needs, but if it’s to the detriment of the organization you have to go against that. I’m not a popular person sometimes.”

Her advice for working women?

“You do feel like you’re alone a lot of times,” Cherry said. “I would think most women probably still feel that way that’s in a leadership position. I think any leadership position you feel that way because you can’t please everybody and you’re looking out for the whole, and you’re going to make some decisions that people may not be happy with.” 

“I’d say listen first before you speak, watch the actions of others, watch what they’re doing, and make your own judgments before you do something somebody else tells you to,” she said.

Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience

“I can do anything by teaching myself or learning from others if I just stick to it and not be afraid,” says Ida B. Tomlin, the director of operations at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience. “A lot of the time it’s fear that keeps people from progressing.”

Being the director involves overseeing the administrative, operational and human resource functions of The MAX, Tomlin said.

Tomlin’s career has seen her in other leadership roles, from the chief operating officer for the Detroit Zoological Society to associate director of admissions and director of minority affairs for a private secondary school in Massachusetts.

But she started her life in Meridian, graduating from Meridian High in 1970. After graduating, Tomlin said she moved away to follow what she most desired.

“I didn’t want to be caught in Mississippi, being in positions where I saw other women,” Tomlin said. “There’s nothing wrong with being a nurse – my sister’s a nurse – there’s nothing wrong with being a teacher, what would we do without our teachers and educators, but it’s just not what I wanted, because a majority of what I saw were people who were working as maids and housekeepers and secretaries, and I just always felt something in me say, ‘there’s more.’”

As a woman in a leadership position, Tomlin enjoys her work, and hopes she can be a beacon of influence for younger generations.

“I love museums. I love working with people. It’s really given me the opportunity to show, especially our young African American population, that you can have a position like this, too, because if I can do it, you certainly can do it.”

Growing up and witnessing segregation first hand, Tomlin said she is well aware of the challenges that face her, not only as a woman, but as a woman of color, but it’s never stopped her from reaching out and going for it.

“Well, I’m about to give you a two’for, you get two for one. You get a minority and a woman, but I never saw that as an issue really at any of the jobs I applied for,” Tomlin said.

“Most people I know, from the African American community, are very proud that I work here and that I’m in the position that I’m in, but to some I’m a figurehead. And I try not to let it bother me, because if i can represent and show young people that things are possible for them, then I will be that example.

“I portray an image and I hope that I portray it well,” Tomlin said.

The Meridian Little Theatre

The Meridian Little Theatre is in its 87th season, providing a variety of entertainment to the community. At its helm are Ellie Massey and Sidney Covington, who provide direction to the creative side and the business side of the organization.

“When I came on as president, I wanted to streamline every aspect of this theater,” said Covington, president of the MLT board of directors. “Having been here for so long, I know what built the theater and what got us here and a lot of things have changed. I wanted to bring us back to the key principles of what made this a tight ship.”

“We’re a non-profit organization but we have to help sustain ourselves and compete with every other thing that is an entertainment element in our community,” said Massey, the MLT’s executive artistic director.

The challenges they face in the theater world are not as challenging as the standards society has placed on them as women, according to Covington.

“Ellie is double-challenged,” Covington said. “She’s the first director we’ve had that’s had to stop what she’s doing to pick up children or go to a parent teacher conference. That’s to her credit that she’s able to do both things, run this theater and take care of her family. The other directors have been men, and they’ve never had to stop to do that kind of thing. So that’s a challenge as far as her gender goes.” 

“The challenges I’ve faced, I don’t necessarily categorize as unique to women,” Massey said. “It’s unique to the position. It’s unique to the beast we’ve become slaves to.” 

Both Massey and Covington value what the theater offers the community.

“The diversity of races we have here, it’s the neatest thing in the world. Everyone is just family,” Covington said. “This theater belongs to the community.”