FOLA Holds Annual Meeting January 26

FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will hold its annual membership meeting on thursday, January 26 at 7 PM in the Conference Room at Ludlow Town Hall.


According to Ralph Pace, FOLA Chair, the agenda will include:

•  a summary of the 2011 activities and programs
• a financial report on the status of FOLA
• an update on FOLA's 501(c)(3) status
• the program projections for 2012
• future plans and goals
• election of officers for 2012
• other business 

Pace noted that FOLA had been very active in 2011, citing the following activities sponsored by FOLA during this period:

1. · Skip Gorman and Connie Dover in a country-western concert 
2. · The start of the ‘1st Thursday’ movie series, showing nine family-oriented movies that included: 
3.                § Secretariat 
4.                § March of the Penguins 
5.                § Mamma Mia 
6.                § Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
7.                § To Kill a Mockingbird 
8.                § Chariots of Fire 
9.                § Close Encounters
10.                § Harvey 
11.                § North by Northwest 
13.  · Rutland Curbstone Chorus in concert 
14. · Sponsored major healthcare forum on Vermont’s proposed “universal healthcare” plan 
15. · Gypsy Reel concert 
16. · A Civil War remembrance piano concert 
17. · Original comedy skits by Stan and Jane Hart, “Old Enough to Know Better”, that drew over 175 people 
18. · The annual Community Christmas Celebration, that drew over 220 people in 2010

As part of its community support goals, FOLA was involved in three collaborations with other town and area groups:

• · The Movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, was shown and advertised as a collaboration with the Friends of Fletcher Memorial Library to mark the 50th anniversary of that historic book and film 
• · In conjunction with Black River Academy Museum and the Town of Ludlow, FOLA helped present a piano concert of Mark Twain and Civil War era piano music by Jacqueline Schwab 
• · The healthcare forum, featuring representatives on both sides of the issue, was sponsored by FOLA in conjunction with the Rutland Herald  

In keeping with FOLA’s purpose to enhance the auditorium and promote its use for the benefit of the residents of Ludlow and the area, FOLA formally turned over to the Town of Ludlow the movie and graphics equipment it had purchased in 2010, with the assistance of David Giancola of Edgewood Studios in Rutland. FOLA purchased two Sony blu-ray units to add to this equipment.

FOLA also upgrade the audio system in the auditorium to enhance the sound quality and enable it to support third party user interfaces, such as musical instruments and LPC-TV. FOLA also purchase custom made shades for the main section of the auditorium to provide room darkening facilities when showing movies. In keeping with the donation of an upright grand piano by Glenn Brown, FOLA paid for two tunings of the piano during the year. To make the auditorium slightly more comfortable during the summer, FOLA purchased five quiet floor fans to provide air movement during hot weather. All of the purchase items were given to the Town of Ludlow.

The current officers of FOLA include: Ralph Pace, chair; Anita Alic, Vice Chair; David Almond, Treasurer; Janet Pace, Secretary; and Bruce Farr, Program Director. The meeting is open to all FOLA members; all interested non-members of FOLA are invited to be guests at the meeting. For information, call 228-7239.