Region V Basketball
Dear Editor: Last week MEHS hosted the Holland America/Alaska Airlines Region V 1A Basketball Tournament. Over 180 students from around the Panhandle participated. Many folks and businesses volunteered their own time and money to help make it such a successful event.
I would like to recognize Paula Clayton, Kathy Erickson, Rose Demmert, Linda Blankenship, Georjeana Wallace and Evie England for spending countless hours running the hospitality room and gates. I also thank Sitka Bottling Company, Westmark Hotel, Sea Mart, Subway and Premier Services for their generous donations.
Tournaments of this size cannot function without our own staff and wonderful students of MEHS. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to making this another great event in Sitka.
Andrew Friske – MEHS Residential/Activities Principal
Benefit Thanks
Dear Editor: Big thank yous to Sitkans and friends.
On March 1 my wonderful lady friends and their families held an awesome bake sale to raise funds to help with my medical expenses. The sale was a huge success.
This past January, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; my family and I were very shocked and overwhelmed. We have been blessed by everyone giving their continuous love, support and prayers. Thank you everyone.
Rhonda Kingwell and family,
longtime Sitkans
Ferguson Revisited
Dear Editor: Yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, March 10, my walk along SMC bike path was arrested by a distrubing spectacle. Cadets at the State of Alaska Trooper academy, perhaps 15 or 20 in number, were whacking one another with short clubs. Large shields protected the bodies of cadets playing the role of ‘‘bad guy.’’ such furious beatings would leave a real life subject/suspect ... less than alive.
I am entirely sincere.
Jeff Kinnan, Sitka
Winning Tickets
Dear Editor: Thanks to the generosity of Alaska Airlines 49 Club, Greater Sitka Arts Council was able to raffle two round-trip Alaska Airlines tickets with no blackout dates.
Winners were drawn at the Seventh Annual Wearable Arts Runway Show and Extravaganza.
We are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s raffle: first prize, two Alaska Arline tickets, ticket 1,541, Don Jones; second prize, $100, ticket 1360, K. McCrossin; third prize, $75, ticket 1,760, Steve Hartford; and fourth prize, $50, ticket 1,223, Ocean Mayo.
Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and supported the Arts in Sitka and thank you to the GSAC board for helping peddle them.
Sarah Lawrie, Executive Director,
Greater Sitka Arts Council
Wearable Art Show
Dear Editor: The Seventh Annual Sitka Wearable Art and Runway extravaganza has come and gone. Many thanks are due. As always, the Sitka audiences have to be rated as good as an audience could be, your smiles, clapping and general all around enthusiasm make the show really fun for all involved.
The wearable art, of course, doesn’t happen by itself – there were 45 or so different artists and as many models that graced the runway – thank you for your long hours and creative minds. Their families I am sure also deserve thanks.
Peter Apathy was the composed, cool and smooth emcee, as well as put all the music together. Jeanne Stolberg ran the sound machines with perfect timing. The lights board was run by Charlie Morgan and was aided in the luminosity department on the spotlights by Jim Clare, Pat Hughes and Eugene Solovyov. (Our apologies for the blinding spots – we are still trying to figure that out). Pat was also the mastermind behind the archway that the models disappeared to and from and with a small crew from Mt. Edgecumbe High School also put up the scaffolding. The front of house was very ably managed by Sarah Lawrie, executive director, and John Stein board president of the Greater Sitka Arts Council. Helping with the front-of-house chores included Bridget Kratz, Sarah Komisar, Liz Kearney, Sophie Nethercut, Norm and Toby Campbell, Jackie Fernandez, Ted Howard, Corrie Bosman, Jasmine Shaw and Chad Vickery. Cleo Brylinsky, Athena Hughes, Beth Kindig and Laura Ramp are to be thanked for the reception following the show. As always very nice and a great way for the audience to get a closer look at the work that went into the different pieces. Thanks to cookie bakers Ruth Culp, Dana Pitts, Carolyn Servid, Mary Beth Nelson, Ted Howard, Marilyn Licari and Beth Kindig – they were yummy.
Thank you, Arrowhead Transfer, for the seventh year of helping move the runway – as always, you cannot have a runway show without the runway. Our gratitude to MEHS for the loan of the runway also the seventh year. Thank you to the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau and Phil Rupell for their support also for seven years: tickets, program and flyers. Helping in the dressing rooms we had Robin Emmens, Liz Schababerle, Karren Upcraft and Brooke Shaffer. Keeping the show running in a timely manner and searching out a possible “lost” model were the stage managers Kristy Crews and Kammie Daniels. We had wonderful support for helping publicize this event from the Daily Sitka Sentinel, KIFW, Raven Radio, the Sitka Soup, Sitka Chamber of Commerce and Capital City Weekly in Juneau. Thank you to all the shops that allow us to put up our flyers as well. Thank you, Kettleson Memorial Library, Homeport Eatery and White’s Pharmacy for allowing the outfits from past years to be displayed in their windows, that is much appreciated.
Thank you to our very generous sponsors, Alaska Airlines and Club 49, Guardian Flight/Apollo Medi Trans, Wells Fargo, Ben Franklin, First National Bank of Alaska, Sitka Ready Mix and Rental Equipment, Old Harbor Books – their seventh year of support, UAS (who say “Wear your art. Live Your Art, Give your art”), and SEARHC WISEWOMAN Women’s Health program. Also Holland America Line for their grant to support art supplies for students from Blatchley Middle School during their Discovery Week Program and Sitka High School art class. Appreciation goes to Ashley Bolwerk and Andrea Pitz from the Sitka Sound Science Center for their help, patience and expertise, as well as the sensational seamstress Cheryl Vastola for her help with the BMS students. The HAL funds also helped the Sitka High School art class with instructor Deb Riva and Sabrina Jenkins. A thank you to Megan Pasternak and Bill Foster – both who were in the show but also helped set up the runway and lights.
Last but not least at all, the crew of the Centennial Hall – Don, Kent, Cricket and Van – as always were super helpful and tolerant of the show and its peculiarities. Again, thank you to all who participated in any way and our wonderful sponsors and world-class Sitka audience. Next year’s theme – Alaska or 8 Stars – the idea is to give a broader range of opportunities for wearable art pieces. Thank you.
Jeff Budd, Sitka
Greater Sitka Arts Council
