fundraising

SIGN FOR 60: The History

There had been some call for an electronic update to the VTG marquee sign prior to Season 57, which was the 2019-20 schedule of shows. Carl Zeitler, newly elected as the inaugural Marketing Officer, thought to look into possible sign companies. Barely into this process, the COVID shut down happened. Fast forward to the spring of 2022, Zeitler had revised this search and had a goal to make the new sign a reality by VTG's 60th season. He titled the campaign drive SIGN FOR 60 and a GoFundMe fundraiser was created on May 7, 2022. There were donations made by Bonnie Gahris, Elizabeth Geddes, Debbi Dennison, John Vinopal, Rita Boserup, Karen Bronson, Vicki Shargo, Gerry Gallagher, Guy Sullivan, Dianne Wawrzyniak, Karin Kramer, Sue Knisely, Lisa Wallace, Eric Stuhlmann, Jennifer Seltzer, Carl Zeitler, and several anonymous donors.

Zeitler figured it would take a while to hopefully raise sufficient funds based on the sign company estimates he had researched, so he was hoping to raise donations from corporations as well as individuals going into the 59th season. In response to an email blast sent out to the entire VTG directory in early 2023, Dan Anderson replied via email on February 21, 2023, and he pledged to make a donation that would cover the cost of the electronic sign order and installation. Dan is a Glen Ellyn resident. He and his wife Midge attended VTG shows for years. Midge had been an active volunteer for several local organizations, including the Glen Ellyn Historical Society. Sadly, Midge passed away on January 27, 2023. Dan donated in her memory, although he didn't wish the sign to be named after her. He hoped his donation would encourage others to help support the organization financially.

The VTG board discussed the next phase of the process and decided that Stewart Signs was the best option from which to order the sign. The VTG membership voted and approved the expenditure of the raised funds. Zeitler had communicated with Colin Lane at Stewart Signs initially. Jody Vogel, serving as Vice President of the VTG board at the time, had experience with obtaining permits, so she took the lead on this part of the process. Jody dealt with Colin and the local affiliated sign installation company Paldo Signs during the permit process with DuPage County. With the new board term beginning in July 2023, Zeitler's second term ended, and Lisa and Dave Dolnics came onto the board. Jody had taken over as Marketing Officer and Lisa was the new President and Dave was Facilities Officer. These three oversaw different aspects of completing this process. The new electronic sign was installed on Monday December 11, 2023. Several VTG members were trained on how to program the new sign that same week. Village Theatre Guild sincerely thanks Dan Anderson for his wonderful generosity and to all those who donated and worked to make this sign a reality.

SIGN FOR 60 has arrived!