2006 volunteer award winnersCongratulations to all volunteer award recipients. Here are the award winners for the 2005-2006 season. Click on the names to read that person's comendation. Charles V. York, Jr. Volunteer Service Award: Glenn A. Miller Technical Service Award:
Ed Bodell Rookie of the Year Award:
Al Wolfheimer Volunteer Awards:
Gail Smith -- Charles V. York Jr. Theatre Service Award Presented by Ellen Landau Tonight I have the pleasure of the presenting the Charles V. York Jr. Theatre Service Award. In the 1978-1979 season, RLT renamed its Annual Distinguished Service Award to honor this man, who was so active in service at RLT. Mr. York was involvedwith RLT during the 1960s and served 6 years on the Board of Directors. In 1964 he received RLT’s Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in bringing about renovations and additions to the theatre. A plaque is presented each year at the Annual Meeting to an individual that has exemplified service to the theatre Our recipient this year is a shining example of such dedication and service. Last winter when we were informed that all of our belongings would be out on the street when our warehouse off of Hillsborough Street was demolished, we sent out a plea for help finding new storage space. She reached out and found us exactly what we needed. Then, she helped set up movers, so that Roger and Rick would still be standing at the end of moving day. Several weeks ago, she walked into my office with an autographed picture of Carolina Hurricane Rod Brind’Amour, plus a hockey puck autographed by Corey Stillman for our silent auction. Her current project is to bring a Tribute to the King, i.e. Elvis, to RLT as a fund-raiser next season. Her contributions to RLT are unusual and unique. She just happens to be next year’s president elect. The best interests and needs of Raleigh Little Theatre are always in her heart, and she’s always working hard for us. This year’s Charles V. York Jr. Award goes to Gail Smith. The Thursday Crew: John Price, Noel Butzske, Dick Shirk -- Glenn Amos Miller Technical Service Award Presented by Rick Young Before I get to the presentation of the Glenn Amos Miller Technical Service Award, I would like to announce that I am personally starting a new Capital Campaign for the purpose of raising the height of the theatre. I felt that the set for Candide was just not quite high enough. I would also like to raise money for some heavy medication because I am just not quite high enough. So there will be a jar in the lobby. Be generous. It is not so important for you to know who Glenn Amos Miller was as it is to know what he was. He was a lover full of fiery passion and this was his mistress. She was demanding of his time and his energy. She was not a cheap date. Yet he loved her dearly despite her many flaws. Sure she might have been showing her age. Like all of us she creaked and groaned and had the occasional leak. And yes, she was seeing other volunteers, sometimes right in front of his face, but that did not temper his love for her. That did not stop him from coming around every night to make she was tucked safely in bed. Glenn is gone but his love endures and is manifested in each and every one of you. Unfortunately, we could not fine a single person to give this award to this year. Not a single solitary person. Yet we are giving the award. Ooo, an enigma. But then we live in the land of enigmas, where Raleigh can be the home of the Stanley Cup winners and a chubby little critic can pan a show we haven’t even begun rehearsing. I want you to look around this stage. This huge assortment of pieces, of memories, is just a tiny fraction, not even one percent of want we put on our stages this year. Every single one of the shows these pieces represent would have been visibly, obviously, painfully diminished were it not for this years Glenn Miller Award winner. There are not two things you can always count on, there are three: death, taxes, and the Thursday Afternoon Crew. It has been a fixture since before I came here. I hope it continues for long after I am gone. Names have been added to the list, names have been lost, but they remain an anchor that, so often, keep us from falling over the brink upon which we always teeter. So with the greatest of pleasure, appreciation, and respect I present the 2005-2006 Glenn Amos Miller Award for Technical Service to Dick Shirk, John Price, and Noel Butzke, the Thursday Afternoon Gang. Dana Williams -- Ed Bodell Rookie of the Year Award Presented by Rick Young and Roger Bridges There is little that can rival the pleasure I get from presenting the Miller Award each year. This does reach that level. We are introducing a new award this year. One that answers two burning needs in a single exciting package. Number one: It recognizes an outstanding new volunteer, an individual who has not only hit the ground running, but hit it running so fast that they have shot to the front of the pack. Number two: It honors a wonderful man who’s name joins the likes of Wolfheimer, Miller, and York in exemplifying what it means to be a truly outstanding volunteer. A man whose name would have been on the last award had we not lost him just over a year ago. This year we will present the inaugural Ed Bodell Rookie of the Year Award. I am so grateful that we could create this award so that future generations of RLT volunteers can be reminded of who Ed was and how much he gave to us all, but it was someone else that inspired us to make it the Rookie of the Year Award. Someone who is, herself, no longer eligible for the award since she is no longer a rookie, but someone who would have undoubtedly won it last year had it existed. I would appreciate it if you would please stand up, Miss Becca Easley. There is a Certificate of Inspiration waiting for you in the lobby. The winner of the first Ed Bodell Rookie of the Year Award has worked on every show since she attended Backstage Night a little less that a year ago. She is at every All-Call, every strike, she has been a crew chief on nearly every production, on at least one occasion for more that one department for a single show. She skipped all of the classes in complaining because she was doing extra credit work in her responsibility class. She swept in so fast that she brought a wave of fresh air with her. You may have noticed a blur as it ran past you this season, that was Dana Williams. Karen Byers Presented by Rick Young One good way of determining who should get a Wolfie, is to find those people whom everyone thinks must already have one. Our next recipient is just such a person. “How could she not have a Wolfie? She’s always working shows.” Well that’s because she went from making an occasional appearance to becoming a backstage fixture in a remarkably short time, making the jumps from crew member to crew chief to crew coordinator into an Olympic event. The combined coordinator position which she now holds was previously held by four different people. And just in case we never mentioned that to her, it’s not really true. I’m just a pathological liar. This Wolfie goes to our Adult Show Props Crew Coordinator, our Family Series Props Crew Coordinator, our Adult Show Running Crew Coordinator, and our Family Series Running Crew Coordinator Karen Byers. Jeff Eckert Presented by Roger Bridges This Wolfy goes to someone who has been around the theatre for About 2 1/2 years. He was one of the youngest volunteers to take on a crew chief position. (Little Prince,)He did it with great success and has repeated the feat at least once since then. He was one of the remarkable young volunteers who made the Giant Peach machine run smoothly night after night. The family has been recognized for their volunteer service as a whole but this year we wanted to point out how much Jeff Eckert has done to keep this theatre running. Joseph Heil Presented by Roger Bridges This Wolfy recipient is someone I met two and a half years ago. He immediately stood out as someone with talent. He is someone who is easy to work with because he has a quiet soft-spoken nature and great creative problem solving skills. He has showed up for light hang calls fairly consistently. He has also participated in construction calls. This year, Joseph Heil is being recognized for his outstanding volunteer efforts. Maria Myers Presented by Vicki Olson For her selfless dedication to the costume shop we would like to recognize our next recipient with a Wolfie. From the moment she entered the costume shop a couple years ago she has put in untold hours helping us get costumes done on time . She worked overtime to boost costume shop morale during the build for Candide by transforming the shop into a festive and inviting environment for the 121 costume countdown. She has always gone the extra mile for us when we needed volunteers to sew or to load out or load in costumes, or even to help with laundry when I needed time off. Once she even trekked out to Louisburg to help with costumes at my home when I was recovering from an illness. We count ourselves lucky that she came through our theatre’s doors. We would like to show our heartfelt appreciation for her service by giving this Wolfie to Maria Myers. Well, it appears that Maria has escaped yet again when it’s time to reward for all the hard work. I’’ll see that see receives the award. David, Elaine, and Alyssa Petrone Presented by Roger Bridges The next recipient has been volunteering for about 2 1/2 years. The list of departments is pretty long. Rod and Nancy Rich Presented by Rick Young One is not eligible for one of our volunteer awards if they are on staff, whether full time or job-in. I am okay with this. I can see the conflict between the volunteer and getting paid thing. And since these awards are not cash, I have no problem with accepting the fact that I am not eligible. The next Wolfies (it’s a two-fer) go to a couple that exemplifies the finest in both categories. Both have been hired by Raleigh Little Theatre on numerous occasions and because the product they deliver is always of the highest quality, they will, doubtless, be hired again and again. But as valuable to us as they are in their “professional” capacity, that is not why they are getting the little silver cups. They have shared their theatrical expertise as volunteers on many occasions, but unlike me, they have talents outside of the theatre. Unlike me, they have actually been outside of the theatre. And when we have asked them to share those talents, they have does so unhesitatingly, freely, and with results beyond our greatest hope. They have produced what has to be thousands of dollars worth of video animation for Catfish Moon, Carousel, and James and the Giant Peach. They are good people. Thank you, Rod and Nancy Rich. Julie Robinson Presented by Linda O'Day Young The next recipient of the Al Wolfheimer Volunteer Award was brought to Raleigh Little Theatre by her son and fortunately for us she has been an incredibly giving volunteer for the past three seasons. Lydia & Stuart Wagner Presented by Vicki & Wayne Olson I’ve asked Wayne to join me to present the next Wolfie because we both wanted to be involved in the presentation. This award will be given to a talented and generous theatre couple. Their contributions to the theatre go beyond working in the costume shop, so I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of the one who I’ve had the fortune to work with most often. I recall the first time we met. She and her daughters came in to help out with costumes for H.M.S. Pinafore. It’s been several years since Pinafore but in those years this recipient has worked on nearly every show. She has doggedly seen every project given her through to a successful finish and is a joy to work with. I’ve come to trust her abilities so much that I’ve asked her to design shows for the theatre and I’ve never worried about the outcome of such trust. She has performed admirably every time she has been given design responsibility. Last year the show she designed costumes for won the Cantey for Best Show. And her husband is equally involved with Raleigh Little Theatre. This spouse has given generously of his time and ideas to help in the promotion and archival recording of show produced at Raleigh Little Theatre. He has also used his woodworking skills to provide the costume shop with handy items to aid in the production of costumes. The next Wolfie goes to Lydia & Stuart Wagner. Alice and Molly Ward Presented by Kathleen Rudolph This young lady first came to RLT when she was just 9 years old. Over the past 5 years she has participated in 27 different classes, camps and workshops. She became a Teaching Assistant 2 years ago and has helped tremendously in many classrooms. She once told me that she wished she lived at RLT because it was her favorite place to be. And so, Linda and I decided we should get her mother involved by asking her to join our Youth Parent Committee. Both Mom and Daughter have assisted us in many capacities such as addressing envelopes, labeling brochures, bundling bulk mailings, hanging show posters and designing our Youth Awards Night invitation. They even got Dad involved when he became our Awards Night photographer. This Wolfie goes to Alice and Molly Ward. Cece Scott Presented by Ellen Landau RLT produces 11 regular shows each season. In 2000 we added a twelfth event, the Garden Tour. Every other year, this successful event is put on by a great production team which works independently of RLT’s staff. We don’t have to do a thing! The final two recipients of Wolfies are the leaders of that team. Cece Scott searches out the most beautiful gardens in the city, recruits the garden owners, raises sponsorship money, blows up the balloons, plans the route of the tour, writes driving directions, then the night before puts out all the directional signage, spends the weekend of the tour driving from garden to garden, making sure everyone has what they need, and organizes the volunteer teams to work at the gardens… Cece is the creative force and the hands behind the last four Garden Tours, all while serving as president elect, then president, and this year, as past president of our board of directors. Leigh Ann Wilder has worked along side of Cece. She also raises sponsorship dollars to support the event, and works with a designer to create the PR materials for the Garden Tour. She creates the ticket and map to the event, the newspaper ads, the posters, the signs (including the lovely banner) and she has recruited WPTF to be a major sponsor which this year resulted in significant and effective exposure for the event on the radio. She also spends the Garden Tour weekend in her car, driving from one garden to another, doing whatever it takes to keep the event running smoothly. In 2004, the Garden Tour grossed $9,500 for the theatre. This May, more than 600 tickets were sold, another 400 were given to donors, and the team exceeded their sponsorship goal, to gross over $17,000. What a great trend! Garden Tour 2006 was the most successful yet, due to the hard work of Cece Scott and Leigh Ann Wilder.
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