Hershey Area Playhouse Volunteer Receives First Spotlight Award

Hershey Area Playhouse has announced that JoAnn Wallace is the first recipient of the Spotlight Award.

The Spotlight Award will be given each year to a volunteer who embodies the spirit of the late founding board member, treasurer, lighting designer and performer Theresa S. Ridge.

The recipient is passionate about Hershey Area Playhouse and gives over and above the average volunteer. The volunteer also nurtures other volunteers and encourages and empowers them to be more involved. In addition, the Spotlight Award winner helps set the standard for volunteering at the Playhouse.

JoAnn took the lead in cleaning up and organizing the costume area located in the Playhouse storage barn near Palmyra. She led a team to take all costumes and assorted accessories out of the barn, sort them and determine which could be salvaged and which should be thrown away, donated or sold at a yard sale at her home. Proceeds from the yard sale netted more than $1000 for the Playhouse.

The remaining costumes were placed back in the barn, sorted, labeled and organized on racks or in plastic bins on the shelves. JoAnn also produced a costume procedure manual for directors, producers, and costumers.

JoAnn took the initiative to tackle this huge, and often dirty job, and made sure that the theatre had a plan for keeping the costumes clean and organized moving forward.

New volunteers are invited to be a part of the Hershey Area Playhouse team. To learn more, visit www.HersheyAreaPlayhouse.com or email volunteer@HersheyAreaPlayhouse.com.