400 Friends, 5000 hours!

400 Friends! 5000 Hours!

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Greetings from Paul Barnes There is no real way to say or offer a proper “thank you” for all that you do for the Great River Shakespeare Festival and for all that you did to help make “lucky season seven” so successful. You are a nearly invisible force of nature, appearing seamlessly at just the right moment, greeting patrons, providing meals, hosting parties, assisting playgoers, putting together mailings, distributing flyers, posters, and brochures, meeting, greeting, wining and dining company members, helping us move in and out of our housing, and sharing with all of us the town you love and love to call home. You fill in so many of the gaps it would be impossible for us to fill in ourselves and make it possible for us to focus and concentrate on the work we”ve come to Winona to do, which is, in and of itself, challenging, absorbing, and unimaginably time-consuming. We owe so much of our existence to you, the 300-plus members of our volunteer organization, who log over 5,000 hours of service to GRSF each season — and for that, on behalf of the entire company — past, present, and future, let me say thank you for your countless acts of kindness, generosity, and support. We are already looking forward to 2011 and to even luckier Season Eight! Sincerely, Paul Barnes Producing Director Thank you, Winona! See you next year, no need to say goodbye (video & more)

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Celebrating our 5th anniversary! The Friends of Will celebrated their 5th anniversary this season! Thanks to each of you for contributing your time, money, and enthusiasm to make us an appreciated and recognized group supporting the Great River Shakespeare Festival. And, boy oh boy, you can bet we”re appreciated! We hope to see you return for Season 8!! Isn”t it fun when we can boast that we helped put Winona on the map with our Great River Shakespeare Festival! We now number 392 FOW in Winona; there are well over 400 including the Rochester FOW. Thank you!! Terry & Dee July 25 Friends of Will Appreciation Day Join the Friends of Will / Previous Newsletters

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By The Numbers! Over 5000 Volunteer Hours 400 Friends of Will. . . • Contributed 2460.5 hours assisting 10,500 theater goers as Front of House Volunteers • Grilled, boxed and delivered meals for 84 hours at the June Chicken-Q • Prepared and delivered over 1000 meals to Company members during tech week and on double performance dates • Ripped, basted, and sewed 85 hours in the Costume Shop • Stuffed 3800 envelopes with Season 7 information • Served over 500 dinners and tons of root beer floats “On the Green” • Lifted and hauled housing supplies to the East Lake Apartments (and back again) for over 20 hours • Stuffed playbills before 50 performances and Front Porch Conversations • Helped tidy up the PAC auditorium after performances • Supported the Festival by attending 5 company conversations, 4 Front Porch Programs • Contributed over $5000.00 to a matching grant to help sponsor the July 25 performance of Comedy of Errors • Contributed 120 hours distributing brochures, posters and flyers to 8 weekly local routes covering 70 locations • Delivered materials to art galleries, coffee shops, visitor’s centers and restaurants on 10 monthly routes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and other states • Delivered GRSF “This Week” brochures to over 25 events in Winona and surrounding areas • Drove dozens of company members from area airports to Winona and back to the airports • Reached out to hundreds of teachers and students in schools within a 50 mile radius of Winona and more at a WSU summer camp promotion • And much, much more!

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Friends of Will – Rochester Rochester Friends. . . • Delivered brochures and posters to 65 Rochester businesses and organizations • Helped promote The Daly News and the Festival at the WWII Roundtable in Rochester • Generated over 100 names and addresses for GRSF newsletters at the Rochester Farmers’ Market • Acquired six new members! Rochester Friend SherriLu Pappas and GRSF Board Member Karen Fawcett.

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There’s More to Do! Now is the time we say goodbye to “Lucky Season Seven” and hello to Season 8! Sooner than expected right? Please be watching for information regarding volunteering to help label, stuff and seal envelopes. 3800 envelopes to be exact! We expect the mailing to be ready for us the last week of August or first part of September. More information will follow shortly. Hope you can help! It’s a fun and rewarding way to keep both the Great River Shakespeare Festival AND Shakespeare alive! Terry Hawkings

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