Members News: 11-15-2021

Hello and welcome to issue 6 of the Members News!  As always, please be sure to let me know if you have anything you would like to include in this forum.  If you want to share a special upcoming event involving our members or something theater related that might be of interest to folks, please send me a note at [email protected].

I want to remind everyone that a new membership year began on July 1, 2021.  Membership information was sent out to all previous members and I hope, if you haven’t already, you will consider renewing your membership for this membership year (2021-2022)
The membership cycle runs from July 1 to June 30.  Regardless of when you join (or renew your membership), the period of membership will end on June 30.  Membership dues are $20 per year for Adult (16 and older) and $15 per year for Junior.  Your Adult membership in PTP allows you to vote each year for the people who will run this organization.  And your continued membership allows you run for the board of directors and have input into the way we move forward.  
Board Changes
There have been several changes since I last put out a Members News.  New Board members were announced at the Winter Membership Meeting.  Going off the board were Melissa Gilpin Ball and JaNeene Sanders.  New members to the board were Ben Simpson and Kaitelyn Bauer Dieguez.
In June of 2021, Neil Twohig resigned from his position on the board and JaNeene Sanders was asked to return to the board – she agreed.  She was voted back onto the board at the July Board Meeting.
In August of 2021, Stacey resigned from the board since she had moved to Arizona.  Carol Russell was asked to serve on the board, and she agreed.  She was voted on to the board at the September Board Meeting.
In October of 2021, JaNeene Sanders resigned from the board due to other commitments.  Craig Hower was asked to serve on the board, and he agreed.  He was voted on to the board by vote on Facebook.  He attended his first meeting in November.
The people asked to serve on the board were selected based on the tallies from the Elections at the beginning of 2021.  They were asked in the order of the voting.  Their willingness to run for the board previously made them the best candidates to fill the vacated positions as they arose.
The current board of the Port Tobacco Players is as follows:
President/Facilities – Chris Magee
Vice President/Productions – Tara Waters
Secretary/Membership – Carol Charnock
Treasurer – Mike Gahan
Public Affairs – Jason Klonkowski
Costumes – Ben Simpson
Education – Carol Russell
History/Library – Kaitelyn Bauer Dieguez
Properties – Craig Hower
Updates from recent meetings:
Financially, we are still doing well.  Thanks to several grants, including a Shuttered Venue grant that gave us funds to support many of the repairs to the building, such as the roof.  We were contacted by Merle Turner (a past PTP supporter) who has made a $1,000 donation to the scholarship fund in the name of Norma Neergaard, a past member of PTP and a frequent actress on our stage.  We have almost $82,000 in our Scholarship fund.

Our new season opened with 12 Angry Jurors, which was well received by our audiences.  All Together Now! – a musical revue – is in rehearsal and will open on November 12, 2021.  It will only run for 4 shows (1 Friday night, a Saturday afternoon and evening, and a Sunday afternoon). Ticket prices are $15 across the board. I hope you can get to see this talented group and since we are not paying any royalties for the performances, this is a great fundraiser for the theater.

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol is in rehearsal.  It is a wonderful family show and only runs about 45 minutes, so it’s a great show to introduce our younger audiences to live theater.  Ticket prices are $10 across the board.

With our opening of the theater, came new requirements for our audience members.  In order to try and keep everyone safe, we are requiring all attendees to provide proof of vaccination and wear masks while they are in the theater.  These changes went into effect for 12 Angry Jurors.  We had a few audience members who were not in agreement with the changes and we refunded the price of their tickets.  In general, patrons were happy to comply with the requirements. 

Our Winter Membership Meeting will be in person this year.  It is scheduled to be held on February 19, 2022 at the American Legion Hall in La Plata.  Details are still to be finalized, but it will be wonderful to see everyone again!

Along with the winter membership meeting comes the election of new officers to the board.  Because of the resignations during the year, we have a total of 5 positions open for this year.  There are 3 positions that will be for 3 years, 1 position for 2 years and 1 position for 1 year.  The slots will be filled by the number of votes received.  If you are interested in running for the board, you must have been a continual member of PTP since January of 2020 and must have participated in 2 shows since September of 2019 (time extended due to COVID shut down) or have been a member of a standing committee.  Our nominating committee this year is led by Tara Waters and her committee members are Kathy Mead and Kyle Bailey.  If you are interested in running for one of the open positions, please send an email to [email protected].  The committee will verify your qualifications and then put you on the ballot.  

Please consider helping us out by becoming a part of the team that will keep this group moving forward.

I don’t know if you are aware, but the one of the board responsibilities is to attend our shows and be there to help out, if needed, with ushering, seating issues, any questions from patrons, etc.  Board membership doesn’t just mean sitting at board meetings.

I hope you have found this issue informative and welcome any input you have for including information and keeping the membership up to date on what’s going on with the community.

​Carol Charnock, Membership Chair

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