The Board of Directors said goodbye to several dedicated members recently.

• Fran Cecere and Roy Carter

After many years of dedicated service to Windmore, as a Board member and as a capable Executive Director, Fran retired from the Windmore Board of Directors in June. Fran served as Board President for many years and recently completed a term as Board secretary. Her husband Roy Carter, who served as Board Treasurer for many years, also retired from the Board of Directors in June. Fran continues to serve as program manager to the Pen-to-Paper program, and participates in the Publishing Group, as well.

• Donna Chabot

Donna also left the Board in June, after completing an unexpired term for a previous Board member.

• Lakesha Davis

In August, the Board of Directors was informed that Lakesha Davis would be stepping down for personal reasons before completing her term. For the short time that Lakesha served on the Board, she was an active Board member with wonderful insights. She was recently elected Board secretary. William Bradford has assumed the Board secretary's duties as following Lakesha's resignation. 

These first few months of the new fiscal year have been very busy for our board! Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to our secretary, Lakesha Davis, who had to step down from the board. We wish her all the best. One of our new board members, Bill Bradford, stepped in to fill the

spot and has taken on the job with enthusiasm! We’ve also added a new board member since June to fill a vacancy. We welcomed Becca Buncie to the Board in August and look forward to her contributions as well.

To ensure the work of running Windmore is spread more evenly, we have established committees to work on projects and make recommendations to the board. The Strategic Planning Committee has been hard at work developing a new strategic plan for Windmore, including rewriting our mission and vision statements! The Board voted to adopt the new

statements at the August meeting, and they are as follows:

Mission

Windmore Foundation for the Arts encourages a lifelong passion for the arts by providing a culturally rich and immersive experience for people of all ages. 

Vision

To provide a home for the surrounding communities to engage with the

arts through awareness, participation, and education – on the stage and in the studio.

There is no doubt the world changed during the pandemic and Windmore must change with it. Though some fear and trepidation about facing the post-COVID landscape is natural, I am excited to find ways to reinvigorate the arts in the surrounding communities and I am looking forward to new opportunities. It’s an exciting time to be a part of Windmore, and I would like to invite all members to seek new opportunities to get involved.

-Tammy Buckalew

In a recent conversation with our Executive Director, I expressed my deep affection for the other members of the band. I told him about the way our leaders take younger musicians under their wings and encourage them. I explained how our conductor, Chiara, gets excited when she teaches us about the music theory behind what we’re playing, helping us all become better musicians. I told him one of my favorite things about our band is watching the low brass section divide up music, ensuring that all the important parts are covered for the instruments we don’t have (yet!). I told him how much I have come to value the friendships I have with other members of the band. I shared with him that whenever something needs to get done, there’s always someone there to do it. Everyone pitches in to help with set-up and take-down for every rehearsal and performance. There is laughter; sometimes it’s poorly suppressed giggles in an individual section, sometimes it’s a full-band belly laugh.

We have just started a new season and are excited to be back together making music and enjoying each other’s company. 

This season will see some new additions. Thanks to a grant from the Loeb Foundation, we’ve been able to order new percussion equipment that will add tremendously to our sound. We’re also always ready to welcome new members! In addition to a great musical opportunity, we hope you’ll also enjoy the friendship and camaraderie we experience.

Stay tuned for updates on our schedule! If you have any questions about the band, please reach out to us at pcb@windmorefoundation.org.

-Tammy Buckalew

AUDITION NOTICE

It may be spooky outside now, but did you know that it's a tradition to tell ghost stories at Christmas? StageWorks is producing the most famous ghost story of all!  We are excited to announce auditions for A Christmas Carol Radio Play by Joe Landry.  We are looking for 5-10 Actors ages 15 and up. Auditions will be October 22 -23 with Rehearsals starting on the 30th.  Performances will be December 17 and 18 at Rixey Manor in Rixeyville.

The Charles Dickens holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, complete with vintage commercials for fruitcake (extra-fancy), and the magic of live sound effects and musical underscoring. A handful of actors bring dozens of characters to the stage, as the familiar story unfolds: Three ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a thrilling journey to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. A charming take on a family favorite that will leave no one saying "Bah Humbug!"

Audition Registration:

https://forms.gle/wucENyHfjkUbuBeU6

Interested in participating with StageWorks?

Do you have a love of theatre?  Acting, directing, set design, tech, stage management or just the love of the craft?  Come to an interest meeting at the Windmore office on Tuesday, October 18th at 6:30pm.

This is for anyone of any age who just wants to get involved.  It is an informal meeting where you will get a chance to meet the leadership of StageWorks and find out what we are doing and how you can participate!  To RSVP please email Jessy at stageworks@windmorefoundation.org or use the link belo 

Interest in StageWorks:

https://forms.gle/KYiN7XEs7SZiZfsz9

Jessica Mahr

Artistic Director - StageWorks

New Anthology has been published!

Windmore’s Pen-to-Paper Writers’ group has published a new Anthology, Some Other Words. This 270 page book is full of stories, poems, and illustrations from Twenty-two Windmore members. They have also included eight stories in Memoriam to honor writers from the past. The Anthology Committee worked with Les Walters to design the cover. Fran Cecere edited the book with a team of beta readers and Caryn Moya Block formatted the book.  

The book includes stories and poems for all ages. Included are stories about Celebrations, Animals, Family, Love, and just plain Fun. The illustrations add life and special appeal to the selections. 

The anthology is available on Amazon for $11.99 plus shipping and handling. eBooks are available for $3.99 from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. 

The Pen-to-Paper meetings are on the first Tuesday of every month. The morning meeting starts at 10:15 AM* and the evening meeting starts at 5:00 PM in the conference room of the Culpeper Library. For more information email pen-to-paper@windmorefoundation.org.

October meetings

In October the Publishing Group discussed the process for editing and publishing of an anthology. There was also a discussion on trying to sell your books at a craft fair - what is needed to draw attention to your table and how do you talk to attendees of the show. The benefits of sharing a table at the craft fair were also discussed. 

One of the publishers discussed why it is helpful to upload your book to Smash Words and how they help sell your books.

The Publishing Group meets on the second Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is November 8, 2022 at 10:15 AM* in the Culpeper Library Conference Room. Anyone interested in learning about publishing is welcome to attend.

*Please note that the Culpeper County Public Library does not open its doors to the public until 10:00 AM. Anyone arriving before 10:00 AM will need to wait outside of the library.