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For Release:
December
18, 2001 Eisemann
Center names Grand Opening Gala Co-Chairs
The
Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate
Presentations announced today that a Gala Committee has been formed with
approximately 70 area volunteers committing to work on a project that
will be completed less than a year from now.
The Grand Opening of the Center, which is owned by The City of
Richardson, will take place in September, 2002.
The Gala committee will be charged with the planning of the
ten-day affair. There will be 8 functioning committees that will handle
decorations, programs, sponsorships, dedication, marketing, media,
ticket sales and a special one day arts festival featuring
Richardson’s diverse arts organizations. Mr.
John Sweeden and Ms. Courtenay Tanner have been chosen as the
Chairpersons of the Gala. Mr.
Sweeden is self-employed as an independent financial advisor in
Richardson. He recently
completed 12 years of service on the Richardson City Council.
Mr. Sweeden is a musician; who for the past 10 years has played
saxophone for the Dallas Wind Symphony. Sweeden
is a lifelong Richardson resident and he and his wife Kellie have two
children. Ms. Tanner is an
avid volunteer and has recently been the Baylor Richardson Hospital
Foundation Board President as well as being active for many years with
the Richardson Council of the Arts.
She is part owner in “4 Woman Shopping, Inc.”, a company
started in 2000. Ms. Tanner
is the incoming chair of the 2004 Wildflower Festival for the City of
Richardson. Her husband Richard and sons Brev and Tyler have lived in
Richardson since 1978. “The
opening of the Eisemann Center is the culmination of a 30-year effort
that has benefited from the hard work and creative talents of many
individuals. I am so
pleased to have this opportunity to help create a series of events that
will commemorate the significance of this achievement and to establish
the Eisemann Center as an important regional venue”, says Mr. Sweeden.
Courtenay Tanner remarked, “I am thrilled that the Richardson
Arts groups are going to have such a phenomenal venue in which to
display their talents. It
is a dream come true and I am honored to be associated with it.” The
gala committee working with the Eisemann Center staff will be putting
together the many varied activities planned for the Gala Opening
Celebration to commence on September 14, 2002 and continue through the
following weekend. The
highly anticipated opening will celebrate and feature each of the
Center’s primary venues. Nationally
known artists will perform as will many of Richardson’s local arts
organizations. The
full slate of activities will be announced after artist contracts have
been completed and logistics worked out for a multitude of events that
will take place in the 1,500-seat Margaret and Al Hill Performance Hall,
the 350-seat adaptable theatre, and 3,150-square foot multi-use venue. While
the planning for the Eisemann’s gala is now kicking into high gear,
bookings for this new facility have been underway since last May.
Currently over 200 performances have been scheduled by local and
regional organizations with over 400 performance events anticipated for
the first year of the Eisemann Center. |