John Long
LexArts board chairman John Long announced Monday that he will step down from the arts advocacy and fundraising organization several months before his term expires.
In a letter to staff, Long said other commitments had left him without the proper amount of time to devote to LexArts, citing out-of-state consulting work and an unnamed upcoming project with the University of Louisville.
Long said David Smith, the chairman-elect, will take over beginning in March and fill out the remainder of Long’s tenure, which was to run through June 30.
LexArts president Ellen “Nan” Plummer praised Long’s “leadership, good humor, and patient wisdom” in a statement Monday.
Long is a former longtime CEO of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, having retired last year after bringing the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games to Lexington in 2010.