Thank you, Niswonger sponsors!

As concert attendees, you hear me thank our sponsors, underwriters and others who help financially support that event. I imagine, a lot of times, you take it for granted and know that you are going to hear the similar rhetoric as before. I’ve been there. I know how it is. But I want everyone to know just how valuable these supporters are. And to the sponsor, there is great value in potential buyers hearing their name repeatedly mentioned. You know this from all the TV and radio ads you have ever seen and heard.

Specifically to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, we have seen enormous growth in the amount of support we have been fortunate to acquire. We are now in the midst of planning for our 10th season.  A few of us have been around for every year … and even beyond that while in the planning stages of our facility and its operation.

I remember the first complete season and budget I ever put together. We had an operating budget of about 15 percent of what we currently have. Our offerings of events, i.e., concerts, speakers, shows, rentals, have increased by nearly 300 percent.  But even more so, the quality and cost of the events we are bringing in have experienced a big crescendo over the nine years. If our average concert used to cost around $15,000, we are now looking at more than double that as an average, and our highest priced events are now much more.

This is all part of our growth.  My board, our staff and I are extremely appreciative to all who have contributed to this growth.  In the industry of performing arts, I get to talk with many other presenters throughout the region and country who have experienced a diminuendo (sorry for all the musical terms, but I guess that’s how I think!) in their events and quality of offerings to their patrons.

The growth we have experienced could not happen without you, the ticket buyers, as well as the sponsors and underwriters. The value we can now offer to these people has grown exponentially! Our reach in the region has increased to a much broader clientele. Our goal is to make a sponsor’s support one of their best reasons for investing their money.

Ticket buyers used to represent a huge percentage of our overall budget.  Now, even with our huge growth in ticket buyers, our sponsors have stepped up to represent a more industry standard part of our budget.  So when you hear that Van Wert Federal Savings Bank and StateWide Ford are our season sponsors, know that their support is invaluable to us, and you the ticket buyer. Or when a presenting or supporting sponsor has given to a certain concert, let them know how much you appreciate them. They have just made your ticket more affordable.

They have also allowed us to step up our game by bringing even more appealing concerts and artists to Van Wert. That deserves a special “pat on the back” and maybe even a “going out of your way” to thank them.

There are so many individuals, businesses and corporations to thank for the success of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. So the next time you hear us thank a certain underwriter or sponsor, take notice and be thankful, with us, for what they have provided all of us.  It is a team effort between them, you, the ticket buyer, and us to continue making this work.

I am thankful and grateful for all the supporters of the arts. It enriches our community as well as our economy. We in Van Wert are provided something most other communities our size envy. I know this because I am told quite often. Let’s never take for granted what we have, where we have come from, and where we expect to go.

It is now March and soon it will be time to announce the Fountain Park Summer Music Series. In the meantime, The Van Wert County Foundation is taking names of non-profit organizations that would like to serve food and raise some funds at one of the summer concerts.  It is a whole new line-up and there will be some big things in store this summer. Call The Van Wert County Foundation (419.238.1743), stop by (138 E. Main St.), or email me at paul@vanwertcountyfoundation.org.

FINÉ.