Today we’d like to introduce you to Todd Ojala.
Hi Todd, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story is really a story about returning more deeply to community service.
I grew up with a strong attachment to International Falls and the Rainy Lake area, and over the years my work has taken me through technology, academia, civic service, nonprofit work, writing, operations, and problem-solving in organizations that needed someone willing to step in and help make things function. I have worked in IT, security and compliance, local government, and community projects, but the thread running through all of it has been the same: I care about institutions that hold a community together.
That is what brought me to the Backus Community Center.
Backus is a remarkable place: a historic 1936 former school building in International Falls that has become a home for arts, education, nonprofit work, community events, youth activities, music, theater, private celebrations, and local organizations. It is one of those buildings that carries memory in its walls. Many people in the area have a personal connection to it. They went to school there, performed there, attended events there, or watched their children and grandchildren take part in something meaningful there.
Today, I serve as Executive Director of Backus, and my work is less about myself than about helping this building and this organization remain alive, useful, and welcoming. A place like Backus does not survive by accident. It takes volunteers, tenants, donors, board members, artists, teachers, families, maintenance work, grant writing, event coordination, and a lot of everyday problem-solving.
What excites me most is that Backus is not just a historic building. It is still doing what a community center should do: giving people a place to gather, learn, create, celebrate, and belong. We host concerts, classes, children’s programming, community events, nonprofit partners, and local celebrations. We are also working to expand arts programming and make the building an even stronger cultural and civic hub for International Falls and the surrounding area. I want “Backus Community Center” to be synonymous with “exciting music and arts.”
So if there is a “story” I hope people take away, it is this: Backus is one of the treasures of northern Minnesota. My role is simply to help steward it, strengthen it, and invite more people to see it as their place too.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been a smooth road, but that is true for almost every meaningful community institution.
The Backus Community Center is housed in a beautiful historic Art Deco building built in 1936, and that is both one of our greatest strengths and one of our greatest challenges. People love Backus because it has history, character, and memory. At the same time, stewarding a large historic building requires constant attention: maintenance, repairs, utilities, accessibility, scheduling, safety, fundraising, and long-term planning.
Recently, for example, a powerful electric motor that was installed when the building was built, and which powers a main ventilator system for the 1000 seat auditorium, required replacement or repair. We managed to find a firm in Duluth that could repair it, and keep the amazing motor running for hopefully another 100 years.
Like many nonprofit community centers, Backus also has to balance mission and sustainability. We want the building to be affordable and welcoming for local families, artists, nonprofits, teachers, students, and community groups. But we also have to keep the lights on, care for the building, support programming, and make responsible financial decisions. That balance is not always easy.
Another challenge is helping people understand that Backus is not just a rental hall or an old school building. It is a living community asset. It is a place for music, art, education, youth programming, celebrations, nonprofit work, and civic life. Part of our work now is telling that story more clearly and inviting more people to see Backus as their place.
The encouraging part is that the challenges also reveal how much people care. Backus has survived because generations of people believed it was worth saving. Today, our task is to honor that legacy while building a stronger future — one event, one class, one concert, one repair, one partnership, and one community connection at a time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I serve as the Executive Director of the Backus Community Center in International Falls. My work brings together several strands of my background: technology, local government, nonprofit operations, writing, civic service, event planning, and a long-standing interest in the cultural life of this region.
I tend to think of myself as a practical generalist. I like helping complicated organizations work better. At Backus, that means wearing many hats: supporting tenants, coordinating events, helping with programming, working with the board and volunteers, communicating with the public, dealing with building issues, pursuing partnerships, and trying to keep a large historic community institution moving forward.
Backus itself is a remarkable 1936 former school building that now serves as a home for arts, education, music, youth activities, nonprofit partners, community events, private celebrations, and local organizations. Part of what I enjoy most is bringing people into the building and helping them see what it can still become.
One recent example I am proud of was helping bring Nathan Stanley, the grandson of bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, to perform at Backus. Events like that matter because they connect our local community to larger musical and cultural traditions while also reminding people that Backus can still be a vibrant performance space. I would like to see more of that — more music, more art, more classes, more reasons for people to walk through the doors.
What I specialize in, if I had to name it, is stewardship: taking an institution with history, complexity, and real community value, and helping it become more useful, visible, and sustainable. I am not only interested in preserving Backus as a historic building. I want it to be alive — a place where people gather, create, learn, celebrate, and belong.
What I am most proud of is being part of an organization that still matters across generations. Many people remember Backus as a school. Others know it through concerts, dance recitals, theater, meetings, youth programs, community celebrations, or nonprofit work. My role is to help honor that memory while building a stronger future for Backus and for the community it serves.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Walking in the woods, sailing on the lake, reading a book. I like things that allow me to have some quiet down time in nature, or just enjoy the sounds, sights and experience of nature.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://backusab.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/backusevents/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BackusCommunityCenter/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KCCTV56649
