Rachel Wingo has been hired as the new Cultural Arts Superintendent for Cookeville’s Department of Leisure Services and Public Facilities. She will be the third person to fill this role following Chad McDonald (2000-2024) and Rick Woods (1987-2000).
Wingo’s role is varied. She manages all activities at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center and produces and assists with other performances and events happening at the Dogwood Performance Pavilion and other city facilities. Additionally, she serves as administrator for the Leisure Services School of Dance and supports the Museums Manager of the Cookeville Depot and History Museums. She is responsible for scheduling events, working closely with staff, and ensuring the continued success of all cultural arts programs in the city.
Before stepping into her current role, Wingo worked in higher education as an instructor at Tennessee Tech and served as the executive director for the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. Her career history also includes time spent in libraries, developing and executing programs for the public, and other public service positions.
This professional background is underpinned by a passion for public service, which Wingo believes is crucial to her current role.
“I believe working in public service and higher education has given me a strong foundation for this position,” she said.
Outside of Wingo’s professional life, she values most her time with family, including three children she is immensely proud of. In terms of hobbies and interests, she is an avid gardener.
“I’m really passionate about gardening and sustainability,” she said. “I love growing things that produce food, as well as native plant gardening.”
Wingo finds it hard to pick a favorite art form, performing or otherwise.
“I love live music and performance art. I have an older sibling who is a ceramicist, so I also have a passion for 2D and 3D art,” she notes.
Wingo isn’t a native, but her commitment to the community is strong.
“Part of what attracted me to this job was the fact that when I had lived in bigger places, you can kind of take the arts for granted,” she said. “We’re fortunate here to have the arts programs that we have, and I know that.”
Wingo’s goal is clear: to make the arts more visible and celebrated within the community.
“The fact that we’re a small town with all of the arts events and organizations that we have is impressive,” she said. “I’d love for everything we do to not be a best-kept secret but to be even more visible to everyone in this community.
“My goal is to continue to grow what’s already been built and really honor the legacies of the people who helped build it — that’s our mission.”
