Volunteers Lauded at Lofte's Special Night

The Lofte held its Annual Business Meeting and Volunteer Recognition night on February 23rd. Several people came out to enjoy a wonderful evening with friends and some great food as well.

New this year was "The Dale Crosby Awards" which recognized outstanding volunteers in the fields of Set Construction, Parking and/or Ushering and the highest honor, Best Overall Volunteer. As many people know, Dale Crosby was a valued member and leader of the Lofte family. He was Chairman of the Board for several years and helped oversee the Lofte's first-ever capital campaign to help build our new facility. Dale was a man of strong character and integrity who lent his talents not only to Board leadership, but acting, cleaning, customer service, set design and stage management. While he did not live to see the new Lofte completed, we know he would have loved it! Each day we strive to live up to his example of volunteerism, and that is why the Board of Directors chose him to be the namesake of our Volunteer Recognition Program.

The winner in the category of Set Construction went to Jeff Johnston. Jeff is a resident of Elmwood, Nebraska and according to Board Chair Larry Bauers and Artistic Director, Kevin Colbert, he was a highly valued asset to the set building team in 2007.

The Ushering and/or Parking Award went to Dee Arias of Louisville. Dee has been a great source of help for several years and not only has she, herself, ushered several thousand people to their seats, but she's drafted several others in the surrounding community to help at the Lofte as well. Many times Dee would sign up for all six usher openings on a show night and arrive at the barn with friends in tow!

The Best Overall Volunteer award went to long-time Lofte supporter, David Jones. David lives in Louisville and first became involved with the Lofte through his wife Brenda who "drug him out there" almost 20 years ago. Now we just can't seem to get rid of him! While we haven't gotten David on stage (yet) he's built and torn-down sets, helped with barn maintenance and parked cars. In recent years, he took over the position of Volunteer Coordinator and has made sure that the nine volunteer positions (6 ushers and 3 car parkers) are filled each time the Lofte has a show. It's a difficult job involving many hours of phone calls, scheduling and preparation. Each time David Jones has come through with flying colors. Many feel he has truly set the bar when it comes to Lofte dedication.

Dale Crosby's daughters, Christi and Cari proudly display the Volunteer Recognition plaque named for their father.

Also at the meeting, Kevin Colbert announced the play selections for 2009. "Over the Tavern," "Crazy For You," "Our Town," and "Lie, Cheat and Genuflect," make up the four core productions for next year. Kevin also reminded everyone that auditions for the Lofte's first 2008 production, "Charley's Aunt" will be held on April 14 & 15.