The City of Elkhart officially renamed the Donor Lobby of the Lerner Theatre after Art Decio, a local philanthropist.
The City of Elkhart aimed to honor Decio, an Elkhart native who’s a major supporter of the Lerner Theatre.
Decio remembers buying tickets to see a show at the Lerner Theatre, then Elco Theatre, when he was nine years old. He said out of all the projects he’s contributed to over the years, supporting the theater was one of the easiest decisions.
“The theater has something to do with making people happy,” Decio said.
Gary Boyn is the president of the Lerner Theatre board. He said Decio has given more than just money to the theater and the City of Elkhart.
“He (Decio) has been the catalyst for everything in this community for as long as he’s lived here and that’s ninety years,” Boyn said.
Boyn said keeping the Lerner strong is important to the continued progress of downtown Elkhart. He said the revenue from the theater has nearly doubled in the past seven years.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
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