League of Historic American Theatres Baltimore, Maryland

Founded in 1976, the League (see their web site) offers a full range of services and resources for operating historic theatres. Currently, it is focusing its efforts on redevelopment initiatives and equity investments in historic theatres and increased visibility for the roles historic theatres play in the cultural and economic vitality of our communities.

Teaching at the Annual Conference 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2-day fundraising intensive seminar February 2004. Halsey and Alice North and Chad Hershner – Executive Director, The Paramount Theater, Charlottesville, Virginia (434-979-1922, chad@theparamount.net, Assistant Executive Director 1996-2001, Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center, York, PA) -- have led several education workshops for the League of Historic American Theatres at its Annual Conference 2001–2003. In 2004, they were joined by Susan Sperber, Executive Director, The Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (413-448-8084, ssperber@thecolonialtheatre.org) to teach capital, endowment, annual, and planned gifts fundraising at the League's stand-alone regional seminar in Philadelphia. All sessions focused on practical and helpful information grounded in real life challenges and success stories.

In addition, at the 2002 conference, Halsey joined the team who helped to create the Grand Theater expansion/ArtsBlock project in Wausau, WI, to talk about it as a successful model for creating a community center with the restoration of historic theatre at the heart. The team included:

• Paul Westlake, Jr. (216-522-1350 x264, pwest@vwrl.com), Westlake Reed Leskowsky, architects specializing in historic theatre and performing arts design
• James O'Connell, Executive Director (715-842-0988, joconnell@grandtheater.org), Grand Theater Foundation and Wausau Area Performing Arts Foundation
• Halsey North, Chairman, The North Group Inc., fundraising counsel

Comments about the 2-day fundraising seminar
February 20-21, 2004, included:
This has been the most informative, focused seminar on fundraising and planning. I enjoyed every moment. Practical, applied, and paced well. Timely and extremely useful information. Very well presented. I greatly enjoyed the handout sheets and PowerPoint technology display. I loved the interjection of stories to illustrate. Having 4 speakers was ideal, shifting every 20-30 minutes. The faculty was impressive – engaging and in command of the subjects they were discussing. All presenters were very knowledgeable! Excellent handouts and supporting documents. I found the illustrative gift range table very helpful. Software discussion was helpful. Loved the casebook! Role play broke it up well. Everything was presented in a very organized manner. Exceptional information & presentations. Very practical & useful! Very well put together. Very informative. The speakers were fantastic!!! Alice and Halsey work so well together, and so do Chad & Susan. Interaction wonderful. High marks across the board. I liked the amount of knowledge & experience & information from Chad on mistakes, things that did not work. Susan's contributions towards the unqualified success of the fundraising seminar were helpful and impactful for us novices who haven't attempted fundraising before. The seminar was TREMENDOUSLY helpful. The seminar was REALLY helpful, inspiring, and challenging. Well done! Excellent workshop. I learned so much. I would like to take Halsey, Alice, Susan, & Chad home. They were wonderful!