Media Release: WaterTower Theatre announces details for its 2016 Spotlight Gala the celebrates the Company's 20th Anniversary

Terry Martin, Producing Artistic Director, today announced details of the 2016 Spotlight Gala, Celebrate. WaterTower Theatre's 2016 Spotlight Gala will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 7 pm, and at a new venue, the Marriott Quorum Hotel in Addison. The 2016 Spotlight Gala is chaired by Barbara Daseke and Co-Chairs Laree Hulshoff and Deborah Staggs. The Honorary Chairs are Barbara and Bob Bigham.

The committee chairs include Derek Blount and Blake Clemens, Underwriting Chairs; Ben Cunningham, James Keyes, Wade Owens and Paul Shultz, Corporate Underwriting Chairs; Elizabeth Fratantuono, Raffle Ticket Chair; Deborah Staggs, Live and Silent Auction Chair; Karol Omlor, Publicity Chair; Barbara Daseke, Décor Chair; Rose Colarossi, Wine Auction Chair; Margo Keyes, Invitation Chair; and Maureen Anderson and Corky Pledger, Cuisine Chairs.

The Gala Auction Committee consists of Maureen Anderson, Rosalind Benjet, Lynn Boyd, Krista Brown, Katherine Christy, Sharla DeFrancisco, Collin Duwe, Stacey Griggs, Janeva Longacre, Kathleen Messina, Katie Myatt, Sam Nicholson, Corky Pledger, Karol Omlor, DeeDee Williamson.

The Gala Host Committee consists of April and Mike Bosworth, Liese and Michael Canterbury, Stan Graner and Jim McBride, Rodney Hand, Margo and James Keyes, Jeff Laceky, Georgie and Jack Madden, Terry Martin and Chris Miller, RoBert Mayer, Jr., Michelle Mew, Janiece and Jimmy Niemann, and Eileen and Neil Resnik.

The fundraising event will be held at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum Hotel, 14901 Dallas Pkwy, Addison, Texas 75001.

Underwriting levels are: VIP Executive Producer - $10,000; The Producer - $5,000; The Director - $2,500 and individual tickets are $250 per person.

For more information on the 2016 Spotlight Gala, please contact Greg Patterson, Director of Development and Marketing, at 972.450.6227 or gpatterson@watertowertheatre.org or Kyle Igneczi, Development and Marketing Associate, 972.450.6275 or kigneczi@watertowertheatre.org.

To-date, underwriters include:

VIP Executive Producer:

Barbara and Don Daseke

Laree Hulshoff and Ben Fischer

Norma and Paul Shultz

The Producer:

Barbara and Bob Bigham

Regions Bank

Happy State Bank

Larry McCallum

The Town of Addison

The Director:

Stan Graner

Million Air Dallas - Deborah Staggs

Liese and Michael Canterbury

Eileen and Neil Resnik

Frost Bank

Addison Magazine - Rodney Hand

RoBert Mayer, Jr.

Rosalind and Mervyn Benjet

About the Gala Chair, Barbara Daseke

Barbara Daseke is the owner of Barbara Elliott Interiors and, with her husband Don, has been a long-time resident of Addison. She is a member of the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors. She has served as Chair of the Spotlight Gala on several occasions, most recently in 2012, 2013 and 2014. She also serves as Co-Chair of WaterTower Theatre's President Circle. She is one of the most dynamic non-profit fundraisers in North Texas. Barbara has led fundraising events for organizations such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Museum of Art, Southern Methodist University and TACA. Barbara currently serves on the Boards of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, TACA , SMU Meadows School of the Arts and the Dallas Zoo. Barbara is a charter member of WOW! (Women of WaterTower Theatre).

About the Gala Co-Chair, Laree Hulshoff

Laree Hulshoff has been involved in the theatre most of her adult life. She currently serves on the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Studio Arena Theater, a professional theatre company in Buffalo, NY. Laree is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, SUNY at Buffalo where she did her pre-doctoral study, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Boston University. In addition to the Studio Arena Theater, Laree has served on the boards of the Dallas Contemporary Museum of Art and The Center for Vital Longevity at UTD. She also helped found the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Buffalo Chapter. Prior to her retirement, Laree was a Senior Vice President/Senior Investment Advisor for Morgan Stanley. In 2004, Laree was awarded the YMCA's Leadership Award. Laree is an active member of WaterTower Theatre's President's Circle, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Kimbell Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

About the Gala Co-Chair, Deborah Staggs

Deborah Staggs is the Director of Marketing and Special Events at Million Air Dallas in Addison. She is a member of the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors. She is very involved in the community. She served as past Director of Programs and Membership for The Farmer's Branch Chamber of Commerce, was a Board member of the Metrocrest Chamber of Commerce, and has supported a number of non-profits including the Collin County Children's Advocacy Center, The American Heart Association, CONTACT Crisis Hotline and Genesis Woman's Shelter. She is a member of Women in Aviation International, Metrocrest Chamber, Women of WaterTower Theatre (WOW!), Spotlight Gala 2013, 2014 and 2015 Gala Committees, and WaterTower Theatre's Corporate Council. She and her husband Donnie have one son.

About the Gala Honorary Chairs, Barbara and Bob Bigham

Barbara is deeply involved in her community, starting with her early commitment as a board member for the Jr. Symphony League. Since then, she has held a distinguished record of high achievement working with a number of leading national and local non-profit organizations. She was a member of the WaterTower Theatre Board from 2008 - 2014. Her leadership skills and fundraising acumen have been successfully applied to such organizations as The National Kidney Foundation of Texas, the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, the American Heart Association, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera, the Holocaust Museum, TACA, the University of Texas at Dallas, Children's Medical Center, USA Film Festival, the SPCA of Texas, Dallas Theater Center, LesFemmes duMonde, KidneyTexas, Dallas Council on World Affairs, and the President's Council for Research at U.T. Southwestern.

Bob is President and Treasurer of the Baylor Oral Health Foundation, serving in this capacity for the past 15 years. The foundation is a non-profit corporation created in 1993 to support the Texas A & M University Baylor College of Dentistry. Its mission is to provide Baylor College of Dentistry with funds to support excellence at its world-class dental facility with leading-edge academic research programs. He has been named to TAMU Baylor College of Dentistry's prestigious Hall of Fame and was selected as the Outstanding Community Leader of 2012 by the Dallas County Dental Association. Bob is a former banker who served as President of Promenade National Bank of Richardson for over 17 years. He is also a lifetime member of The Salesmanship Club of Dallas which presents The Byron Nelson Championship Golf Tournament benefiting needy children in Dallas.

"Seeing how valued the arts are in many countries we've traveled has given us a rich understanding of the importance of theatre," said Barbara Bigham. "It's made a true believer out of me."

Bob Bigham couldn't agree more. "What I've discovered each time we come back home is just how outstanding the cultural arts are here in Dallas. WaterTower Theatre is as good, if not better, than anything we've experienced abroad and elsewhere in the country."

 

---

Join Team BroadwayWorld

Are you an avid theatergoer? We're looking for people like you to share your thoughts and insights with our readers. Team BroadwayWorld members get access to shows to review, conduct interviews with artists, and the opportunity to meet and network with fellow theatre lovers and arts workers.

Interested? Learn more here.

---

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!