Lawrence J. Hill
USITT@50 Chair

The last toast to the first 50 years has been made. In Kansas City, Missouri we were filled with memories, listened to fabulous speakers and panels, and celebrated away each night. Now we come to the end of another important portion of the homage to those 50 years, the fundraising campaign – Securing Our Future.

Briefly, the perfect ending to this fundraising campaign is this final plea to all who need an additional nudge. Remember that donations made to the four major funds supporting our mission can be made online with a match of 50 percent through June 30.

I refer to a master of the extended endings for this message: Count Basie's monumental recording of April in Paris. At the seeming end of this bravura piece, there is a pause and the Count says, "One more time!" (Think about one last contribution to the Institute's future and get the added match.)

That grand riff is explosively repeated with a second pause when the Count says, "Let's try it once more!" (This may be your first or last chance; go online now.) The recording concludes with same not-to-be-forgotten melody.

So humming that tune, go to YouTube, scroll your iPod, or play that scratched LP and listen to the Count's advice about "one more" while you go online and contribute.

That support may be just that extra bit needed to push us to or beyond our goal.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of USITT, we thank you.

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