PEOPLE OF INTEREST
Services. He worked with Tom Kindred Jr., former manager
of Fort Pierce’s Main Street program, to produce Friday Fest
— a promotional event that helped get Main Street off the
ground.
He went on to work for the City of West Palm Beach,
Vero Beach Main Street and Indian River County, getting a
broader experience in management, community relations,
special events production and government administration. In
2006, an opportunity opened with the City of Stuart that he
couldn’t pass up.
“I always wanted to come to Stuart — I’ve watched it since
I came to the Treasure Coast,” Chrulski says. “I felt a real connection
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with the community.”
He was hired as assistant director of the parks and recreation
department. Chrulski’s position expanded over time
as he worked in the city manager’s office to develop new
initiatives like legislative affairs, art in public places and
economic strategies with the Main Street program. He was
later promoted to director of community services overseeing
a variety of programs. “Our roots are still special events
and recreational programming, but it’s grown to be so much
more,” he says.
One of Chrulski’s early accomplishments was creating the
RiverWalk Jazz Series that transformed downtown Stuart.
Back in 2006, a visitor to downtown Stuart on a Sunday
would find closed storefronts and not a whole lot going on.
Chrulski wanted to change that. He and Rick Baxter, former
marketing director of TC Palm, came up with the jazz festival
idea to make downtown a weekend destination. Chrulski
then formed a round table of community leaders who helped
him develop the notion.
The Sunday Jazz Series became a hit. It won four awards
from the Florida Festival and Events Association in 2009. After
about four years, the Downtown Business Association and
Stuart Main Street took over the music festival, changed it to
Rock’n Riverwalk, and it’s still a hit. The series is privately
funded and has created momentum for other organizations
to host special events downtown. The city now hosts 250-300
events each season.
“At the time, we were trying to demonstrate that the
venue had viability,” Chrulski says. “And now, we’ve kind of
changed into being an air traffic controller to make sure that
all the events in the city don’t bump into each other.”
Chrulski has also impacted the city through the Art in Public
Places program. He recruited renowned sculptor Geoffrey
Smith, who created the Florida Water Birds Collection. Smith’s
lifelike bronze sculptures now grace the roundabouts along
Colorado Avenue. The award-winning art project was funded
through private donations and opened up channels to the rest
of the city, following Andrés Duany’s New Urbanism plan.
Chrulski’s work in legislative affairs for the City of Stuart
has also received attention from the Florida League of Cities.
In 2016, he was presented a Home Rule Award recognizing
his work on behalf of the league’s legislative agenda and
helping protect the home rule powers of Florida’s cities.
“With home rule authority, the city advocates for decisions
to be kept here locally,” he explains. “There’s been a considerable
push by lawmakers to centralize decision-making in Tallahassee.
The city commission adopts priorities and we meet
with legislators to assure our concerns are addressed.”
In the midst of his governmental work, about 20 years
ago, Chrulski began to re-discover his musical side. At 40, he
decided to pursue his passion for drumming and founded
MusArt Productions.
“I had put music on
hold for a long time,” he
reflects. “I really wanted
to get back into it.”
He purchased a drum
set, leased a warehouse
and practiced intensely
for two years during his
spare time so he could
bring back his A-game.
Before long, the
comeback musician had
formed a show band
called Solid Gold, which
performed for a decade
at venues throughout
South Florida. Wanting
to stay current with the
times, he re-invented the
band and called it NuVibe — a musical fusion that combines
a club DJ with a live percussionist and band. Chrulski plays
percussion with NuVibe from Vero Beach to Miami about 30
times during the season.
Whether he’s performing as a musician or working as the
director of the city’s community services, Chrulski fills his
roles with creativity. He enjoys having an impactful position
with the city that has helped turn downtown Stuart into a
thriving destination.
“I’m blessed to be in a job in which I am able to work so
closely with the community. I never take that for granted,” he
says. “It’s a unique opportunity to be able to work with such
a variety of people , from children at the 10th Street Community
Center to business professionals to everything
in between.”
ROBERT HOLLAND
ANTHONY INSWASTY
Chrulski recruited sculptor Geoffrey
Smith to create the Florida Water Birds
Collection, which has added fine art to
downtown Stuart.
An accomplished musician,
Chrulski formed two bands
— Solid Gold and more
recently NuVibe — which
have performed throughout
South Florida.