It was Karen’s dog who led her to the Frank Bette Center. Mack was fascinated by Jeepers, the Bette’s residence mascot (who has, sadly, passed on). Mack would pull Karen into the Center to say “hi” to Jeepers and Karen would be left to chat with director, Debra Owen. On another occasion, she accompanied a friend to hear her read her poetry at one of the Second Saturday Poetry Readings. And each time she came away from the FBCA she left with a warm feeling in her heart.

Karen Coulter claims that she is not an artist. That claim, however, has not kept her from becoming a Key Player at the Frank Bette Center.

Karen grew up with artists: her father was a nurseryman and creator of gardens; her mother was a painter who used the windows of their home as canvas - painting them with a special mix of glass cleaner and watercolors. Classical music wafted through the house as her father attended to his bookkeeping chores. Her sister became a potter and accomplished poet.

Constant and early exposure to an artistic environment is what, no doubt, has attracted Karen to the artistic community wherever she has lived. Settling for many of her adult years in Philadelphia, she was drawn to the art community in that City of Brotherly Love where she found not only enduring friendships with various artists, but developed a profound appreciation for their work.

And as luck (enhanced by a nurturing spirit) would have it, she spawned an artist: her daughter draws and paints and is a successful photographer and videographer, as well.

It was Karen’s dog who led her to the Frank Bette Center. Mack was fascinated by Jeepers, the Bette’s residence mascot (who has, sadly, passed on). Mack would pull Karen into the Center to say “hi” to Jeepers and Karen would be left to chat with director, Debra Owen. On another occasion, she accompanied a friend to hear her read her poetry at one of the Second Saturday Poetry Readings. And each time she came away from the FBCA she left with a warm feeling in her heart.

Over time, she grew to deeply respect what the Frank Bette was doing for the local artistic community. She had been volunteering at other organizations, but with little satisfaction. Last year, as the Center was gearing up for its annual PAPO event, Karen met with Debra to talk about what she could do to help stage this complex affair. Debra has a knack for helping people find their niche among the many tasks required to keep the FBCA function smoothly and she wasted no time in putting Karen to work.

Karen is incredibly diligent in the minutiae required to keep the Frank Bette organized. She took over the coordination for sending out the end of the year donation campaign. After the mailings went out, she tracked (in our database) the responses; she processed donations for bookkeeping; she then composed a thank you letter and made sure that every supporter of the Frank Bette got acknowledged.

Déjà vu followed close on the heels of the donation letter campaign. Again, Karen swung into action - tracking every donation and ensuring that every donor was appreciated with a thank-you letter.

She is now helping the Center readying for this new year, organizing the exhibiting artists’ packets and cleaning out old records. And Alameda On Camera is coming right up; she is already processing, documenting and tracking incoming applications.

Karen might believe that she is not an artist. But the Frank Bette Center believes differently. You cannot hang her art on the wall or put it on a shelf. But you can feel it deep within the inner workings of the Frank Bette: everything feels well-oiled and smoother. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Karen Coulter for her relentless devotion to our Center.