The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation announced the results of their joint raffle to benefit the Behind the Scenes program at the Kansas City 2010 Conference & Stage Expo. A total of $6,677 was raised from raffle ticket sales during the three-day conference, over $1,500 above last year's total.

The winners and their prizes are: George Epting, Altman Rentals' Ghostlight; Bruce Jackson, Apollo Design Technology's Smart Move DMX Rotator; Chris Hofmann, Barbizon's Stagehand Tool Kit; Chip Haas, Doug Fleenor Design's DMX/RDM Coffee Pot; Nathan Szewczyk, Field Template's SoftSymbols and Field Templates; Krystal Kennel, Broadway Master Class Pass donated by GLP; Kate Nocks, Sapsis Rigging gift certificate; William Digneit, SeaChanger's iPod Touch and colorBUG; Shoshana Sims, USITT 2010 Conference registration; Kevin Seime, Utah Shakespearean Festival ticket package; Nathan Szewczyk, Vectorwork's Spotlight with Renderworks; Amanda Thomas, Vincent Lighting Systems gift certificate; and Tyler Schyvinck, Greg William's Shooting for the Stage Photo Tips and Tricks Seminar & Photo Call.

A large crowd gathered for the pre-raffle festivities emceed by Bill Sapsis, resplendent in toga and laurel wreath, and the record-setting total. Pre-raffle activities included the announcements of a $5,000 challenge grant from Clark Transfer for the Long Reach Long Riders annual charity ride, the presentation of the annual Rosco contribution, and the ever-popular kazoo parade. Mark Engel, president of Rosco, presented a check for $2,252 for the second annual royalty payment to Behind the Scenes from sales of the color Roscolux 359 Medium Violet.

The ESTA Foundation expressed special thanks to USITT for making its presence at the show possible, Kim Craigie and Vincent Lighting Systems, Bill Sapsis and Sapsis Rigging, Greg Williams and Alice Neff, and all the Long Reach Long Riders who helped out; Molly Pilbrow, Frank Stewart, the donors of the fabulous prizes, and to all who bought raffle tickets.

All proceeds go to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes program which provides entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such as serious illness, injury, or death. For more information about Behind the Scenes, to donate, or to apply for a grant, visit www.estafoundation.org/bts.htm. For more information about the Long Reach Long Riders whose 2010 ride runs July 24 to 31, visit www.lrlr.org.

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Bill Sapsis decided to put a Roman spin on his MC duties for this year's Behind the Scenes raffle as part of the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo.

Photo/Tom Thatcher