Just in Showcase
September 2020
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First Vice President
Jill Fosselman
A lot has happened this past month. Every single designer who originally signed on to participate in Showcase House this year returned to complete and to install their design spaces. Peter Valli returned to photograph, videotape, and photograph some more for our program book (which will go digital-only this year) and for our virtual experience Ultimate Viewpoints: 56. Even though we were not able to open for public tours, we want the world to know that PSHA powered on and was able to complete the 56th Showcase House despite COVID-19 making hash of life as we knew it. Look for an email soon detailing how members can experience Ultimate Viewpoints: 56. Media Preview Week was a big success and was well attended by local ABC and CBS stations, KPCC’s Suzanne Whatley, Meredith Publications, Pasadena Magazine, and Chinese media, just to name a few. Amidst all this we pulled off our first ever virtual fundraiser under the direction of the “Pitbull with lipstick” (her own words) Marybeth Rehman-Dittu, who whipped up sponsorships and donations, and Lynne Graves, who helmed the online auction.
We thank everyone who helped along the way with the Showcase House and with Showcase Strong. Your sweat (yes, the worst heat wave of the year occurred during all of this), your donations (of products and money), as well as your active bidding, saw us through this tough time. We couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved and we are almost sad to be handing back the keys to the owners on September 30.
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Lynne Graves
Marybeth Rehman-Dittu
SHOWCASE STRONG Campaign Raises OVER $103,000
through Auction and Donations
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When the going gets tough…PSHA pivots and redirects our annual fundraiser! Due to COVID-19 restrictions, sadly our stately and magnificent 56th Showcase House was not allowed to open to the public. However, we are looking forward to the much anticipated virtual tour. In order to continue our mission to raise funds in support of our three Music programs and Gifts & Grants philanthropy in diverse communities, PSHA responded with our first ever on-line auction with Rosie the Riveter as our inspiration for Showcase Strong. Our campaign netted over $103,000!
An auction committee was quickly formed to accomplish our goal with expert Lynne Graves serving as Chair. Members included our dream PR/Marketing team of Dotty Ewing, Analily Park and Charlotte Lacey. Our organizer and motivator Erin Dundee was joined by two enthusiastic contributors, Colleen Robertson and Diane Boysen. Other committee members included Christine Upton (liaison for Gifts & Grants auction items), Cathy Hilton, Marybeth Rehman-Dittu, Hilda Hacobian, and advisors Vikki Sung and Jill Fosselman.
Showcase Strong’s success was due to the motivation, strength, generosity, and inspiration of the men and women of the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and the broader community. WE WISH TO EXPRESS OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!!
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Gifts & Grants
Marybeth Rehman-Dittu
We are pleased to announce that Gift & Grants will begin accepting applications starting Thursday, October 1, 2020. Applications are due by November 15, 2020. Organizations can follow the link on our website to submit an application. I look forward to working with G&G committee members in continuing our efforts to support the many diverse and worthwhile projects in our community! Thank you.
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Membership
Lydia Rubin
The Membership Committee will be very busy this year with the "Year of the Member" campaign. We will be asking the entire membership for recruiting ideas and fun suggestions for get-togethers in this time of Covid. Please email me with any suggestions.
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Change your contact information?
Please notify Lydia Rubin at
perazarubin@yahoo.com
or you'll miss out on all the good stuff!
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Instrumental Competition
Sally Hazen
This year I will be working with the Music Task Force in exploring options for extending the Instrumental Competition into our local high schools. If you would like to make a comment or suggestion, please feel free to email me at sally@sallyhazen.com.
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Youth Concert
Barbara Lake
I met by phone with the LA Phil team that coordinates the PSHA Youth Concert to discuss plans for the 2020-2021 year. Some of the ideas discussed at this time included digital field trips, teacher workshops via Zoom, a specific episode with Gustavo Dudamel, and a link to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
The team is anxious and excited to offer some type of Youth Concert experience for the students this spring. It was a positive and productive meeting joined by President Barbara Damerel. We will be meeting again to further discuss the possibilities.
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Public Relations / Marketing
Dotty Ewing
Living in an Online World
Last month you met our new PR/Marketing Team. This month we’d like to update you on the continuing and evolving work of our “Activated Eight.”
Many of you have notice stepped up communications about all that has been part of our “pivot plan,” taking us through the pandemic and fully into the online world. That’s where many of us live now: in meetings on Zoom and in safe communications with friends, family, designers, resources, vendors, customers and consumers.
Good news: we are taking the Showcase House and our fundraisers (Showcase Strong!) online so that we can stay in touch with good friends and make new friends online. Our new website (courtesy of Kaytie Watkins and Co.) has generated at least 150 new leads through the “Please send me updates” feature on pasadenashowcase.org. And over two years, our Facebook activity has been gratifying: followers have increased 20.4% to 5014.
You may have recently noticed a real uptick in our Instagram activity, thanks to two especially talented social media mavens on the team, Charlotte Lacey and Analily Park. Instagram followers, that coveted younger group we need as we move forward into the future, are up 86.6% to 3,441 over two years, with much of the growth in this year.
Another younger and digital-savvy member, Linda Shen, is activating our until-now sleepy page on Pinterest. Did you know that this year’s Breakfast Room designer Jeanne Chung tells us that Pinterest is her #1 source of leads for her business? And Pinterest is where 60% of Millennials go to discover new products (https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/). We are going where they “live” to engage them with the Showcase mission, commitments to music, and design news.
Outgoing PR Chair Michele Lembo developed a new editorial effort to forge stronger communication lines to influencers and bloggers. These online writers, some of whom have large national followers, can be especially helpful to us as our tours and other initiatives are also available to a national audience of potential buyers.
In April, we started the Spotlight series of emails, addressed to our “friends and family”--members, designers, resources, vendors and the media. This email initiative performs very well for us, further educating our audiences to understand our mission and engage with us. To get specific, we are delivering above industry average “open” and “click-through” rates. That means people are opening our emails more often than other emailers, and more people are clicking through to our website pages www.pasadenashowcase.org and our music and membership pages, as well as our recent fundraising page that supported Showcase Strong. Also importantly, we have very few “unsubscribes.” At 0.2%, we are far below the industry “problematic” range of 0.5% of recipients who elect to no longer receive emails.
Michele and Ying Ying Lin keep us active in traditional print and other local media, too, with Ying Ying taking full and successful control in the Chinese media space, another important market for Showcase.
Mary Jarrett was on deck all through this year’s Media Week, conducting tours and keeping our media guests updated. We were delighted to see Britta Piotrowski back in the active Showcase family, too. And my special thanks to Colleen Robertson, who kept us all thoughtfully hydrated and nourished throughout the week.
We are so happy to be able to keep you all informed, via Just in Showcase as well as in emails, with Facebook and Instagram. Be sure and “follow” us on Facebook and Instagram. The PR/Marketing Committee welcomes your feedback and great ideas to move us even further ahead!
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Publications
Cathy Hilton
We are currently preparing this year's roster so if your email address or contact information has changed, please let me know so we can make those changes before printing. We will update you about distribution once they are printed.
Vikki Sung is doing a terrific job of crafting our Just In Showcase newsletters. Here are the dates that you can expect to see the latest issue arrive in your email inbox throughout the year: October 28th, November 25th, January 27th, February 24th, April 28th, May 26th, and June 23rd.
If you miss an issue, go to the Member's Section of our website to find current and past issues listed under Newsletters. If you need any assistance with login, feel free to reach out to Cathy Hilton at hilton.cathy@gmail.com.
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Season Tickets
Irma Miller
Refunds for Member ticket fees were automatically made for the Walt Disney Concert Hall concert series that has been cancelled through December 31, 2020. We will update you when new information comes from the LA Phil or Hollywood Bowl.
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Associate Representatives
Kathryn Hofgaarden, Gretchen McNally & Eileen Reilly
As we continue to find our way in this unprecedented and confusing year, one of the things we want to preserve is our connection with PSHA and each other. Associate members have always been valuable due to their experience, service and commitment to PSHA over the years. To that end, we have been struggling to come up with what we can do in this environment.
We urge each of you to reach out to us with ideas on how we can connect. One of the ways we thought of is small gatherings –- coffee, casual lunches or dinners. Would you be willing to host? Do you have a venue in mind? We need to hear from you! Please send any ideas to Gretchen at gretchenlmcnally@gmail.com.
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Important Dates
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Ultimate Viewpoints:56 (a virtual Showcase experience)--October 2020
- October General Meeting--October 14, 2020
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October Birthdays
10/1 Sally Holt
10/3 Rebecca Ebershoff
10/6 Anslyene Lloyd
10/6 Judy Tsai
10/7 Carolyn Fox
10/8 Kim Covey
10/12 Gretchen McNally
10/15 Fran Biles
10/15 Karen Daroca
10/15 RoseMary Mitchell
10/16 Charlotte Lacey
10/21 Bernadette DeMesme-Anders
10/23 Kristin Bennett
10/24 Garrett Collins
10/25 Dianne M. Magee
10/26 Marjorie Lindbeck
10/26 Louise Strnad
10/30 Hilda Hacobian
10/31 Mary Jarrett
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Not getting PSHA emails?
Please be sure these are included in your email contacts:
president@pasadenashowcase.org
psha@pasadenashowcase.org
emailadmin@pasadenashowcase.org
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Thank you for your time, effort and dedication to PSHA.
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