Board Emeritus
John Bell

President & CEO
Tampa Theatre
Tampa, FL
Contact John Member Login Required

John Bell is an experienced historic theatre leader having successfully managed two different historic theatre projects over his career. He began his career in arts administration with the North Carolina Arts Council and later assumed duties as the Managing Director of the historic Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, NC in 1979. After he assumed management responsibilities in Tampa in 1985, Tampa Theatre revamped its programming to include a heavy mix of first run and classic films supplemented by concerts, education programs and special events. This successful formula remains in place today, as the Theatre presents approximately 535 film events, 20 major concerts, 45 educational field trips, four weeks of summer camp, and scores of corporate and community events a year. In spite of having a tiny stage with no fly capabilities, Tampa Theatre is one of the busiest historic theatres in the country.

John has served on the Board of Directors of the League of Historic American Theatres, serving as LHAT's Chairman of the Board in 2014 and 2015. He is a member of the Florida Facility Managers Association, the Florida Professional Presenters Consortium, and the Tampa Cultural Executives Council. John holds a BA degree in Theatre Arts from Catawba College in North Carolina, and was inducted into Catawba's Blue Masque Hall of Fame in 2012.