Looking back and looking forward
Keri Sutter
Executive Director
2008 was a great year! We increased the number of clients served by 55%. Almost 11,000 people saw our concerts, participated in our workshops, or saw us dance in worship. We visited new states: Minnesota and Missouri. We made many new friends everywhere we went. We made improvements to the website (visit surgite.com & take a look). Our donors maintained their donations, even as we entered the financial uncertainties of the fall. We appreciate your support! Thanks to all of you, we were able to offer financial aid to 57 clients last year. These are people who want our services, but cannot afford to pay the full price. Your donations make up the difference, and are greatly appreciated.“Entertainment,” on the other hand, is accessible to everyone. It’s easy to understand. No fancy symbolism. The words are in English (unless you’re in Mexico or Japan, where the words are in Spanish or Japanese). You don’t have to think too hard, or feel too deeply. You can kick back, relax, and enjoy yourself. If “Art” is the four-course formal dinner, “Entertainment” is the picnic at the park.
The year was marred by very few setbacks, most notably the death of our webmaster, Jim Hammitt. Jim was also the company photographer, and was extraordinarily good at taking action shots at exactly the right moment. He was also one of the most cheerful people I’ve ever known. Jim, we miss you!
I can’t say enough about all our volunteers. Jim was one, but we also have the energy and good humor of Ross, Carol, Alyssa, Dominic, Kathy, Mary, Luda, NOS, Megan, Caitlein, Sue, Martha, Christy, and Linn. They dance, file, keep up the website (yes, we have a new webmaster, and he stays busy!), make & mend costumes, work on bookkeeping, put out the newsletter, and make entries into the ever-growing database. Without them, we couldn’t have made such great strides in 2008.
Now it’s 2009. A new year. We want to maintain the momentum we’ve built up. We’re thinking about expanding into new areas, and developing new programs. To do that, we need — more volunteers and more donors! Fourteen people are not a lot of people to serve 11,000 customers. And developing new programs, or even maintaining the programs we already have, requires money. We hope you’ll consider giving your time, your talent, or your treasure in 2009.
Keri
February, 2009