Victoria Theatre Association Honors Volunteers With Sixth Annual Marquee Awards

Victoria Theatre Association (VTA) honored its volunteers at the Sixth Annual Marquee Awards on Monday, August 3 at the Mead Theatre in the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. The awards ceremony was a thank you to the volunteers for over 59,000 hours of service to the Victoria Theatre, Schuster Center and Loft Theatre in the 2008-2009 season.

VTA Volunteer Coordinator Al Berberich put together the annual event. "I'm honored to work with such dedicated individuals as our volunteers," Berberich commented. "Our volunteers are devoted to Victoria Theatre Association and work hard to ensure its future and more importantly, to make sure everyone has a wonderful experience at our venues." Berberich schedules and trains the 1000 volunteers who usher at performances, work the lobby bars, and do various administrative tasks throughout the year.

WDTN news reporter Jim Bucher returned to emcee the event and called VTA's corps of volunteers "...the heart of the organization." VTA President & CEO Ken Neufeld could not agree more: "Our army of volunteers is essential to the success of the organization and we are extremely grateful for the many, many hours they give to us. We simply couldn't run these fabulous facilities without their dedicated assistance."

Awards were given in a variety of categories including:

Volunteer of the Year - Beatrice Downey
Lifetime Achievement Award - Sally Grant
Best Supporting Volunteer Male and Female - Ed and Betsy Ellison
Best Leading Volunteer Male and Female - Larry and Maria Klueber
Best Ensemble Team - Connie McKale
Judy LuckenBill Young at Heart - Jean Jines
Top Hours Award - Ray Wylam
House Manager's Award - Patsy Alcorn
Team Captain of the Year Award - Paul & Sandy Kulback

After the program, an ice cream social took place in the Wintergarden with VTA staff members scooping ice cream for the volunteers.

For more information about becoming a volunteer for Victoria Theatre Association, call Al Berberich at 937/228-7591 x 3033 or email him at al.berberich@victoriatheatre.com.

Victoria Theatre Association is one of Dayton's premier arts organizations, presenting the Chase Broadway Series, the Young at Heart Family Series, the Michelob Ultra Cool Films series, Star Attractions, the Universal 1 Variety Series, and the Physicians for Kids Discovery Series, which features curriculum-enhanced live theatre productions for school children. Victoria Theatre Association is proud of its alliance with the Dayton Opera and its collaboration on The Eichelberger Loft Series 1 with The Human Race Theatre Company.

In addition to the performances it presents, Victoria Theatre Association also manages the historic Victoria Theatre, the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, and the Metropolitan Arts Center, which houses The Loft Theatre. Victoria Theatre Association receives funding from a variety of diverse public, corporate, individual and private sources, including the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District and the Ohio Arts Council. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program or organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

For more information, visit www.victoriatheatre.com.

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