493 school children can't be wrong
On Friday, Jan. 19, the second preview of the Middle School Auditorium and Performing Arts Center will be held from 3:30 to 6 p.m.
As a member of the fund-raising team for the project, I strongly urge everyone in Whitefish to come check out the progress and to get a feel for the scope of the new auditorium.
You will see that the 1938 auditorium is gone and a totally new performing arts center is rapidly emerging.
The new stage has been extended out 18 feet. The seating is totally new, soaring up to the old superintendent's offices. The project now extends all the way to the school's south wall, allowing a very large lobby.
The old superintendent's offices have become a state of the art sound booth. Acoustics, lighting, sound and stage will all be of professional quality
And remember that all of this is for all the kids of all the Whitefish schools. At present, 54 percent of our students already participate in orchestra, band, chorus and drama (the national average is 32 percent) and none of them presently has a proper venue for their work.
This auditorium/performing arts center solves every artist's problems. The project will be done in early August in plenty of time for next year. This will raise the quality level of Whitefish schools to the best in Montana and be a quality venue for decades to come.
Carol and I have been involved with almost every major building project since arriving in Whitefish in 1986, and we believe that it is the most educational and badly needed effort of them all. It is for the kids of Whitefish.
This renovation is being completed 100 percent without taxpayer money. But there's one small problem — it needs to be paid for.
To date, John Kramer and we have raised more than $2.7 million for the project, but we need almost $2 million more.
Perhaps the Whitefish school children know more about the need for this project, because 493 of them have already contributed cash to help pay for it.
That's wonderful, but it's time for adults to step up to the plate. The bills are coming in fast and will all be in by September.
We urge everyone in town to make a five-year pledge now. We can take those pledges to Whitefish Credit Union, and it will allow us to borrow the necessary monies until the pledges are paid off. And please, give until it hurts.
Carol and I have issued a challenge grant to the people of Whitefish — for every $2 you pledge, we will donate $1. And we will keep donating up to $500,000. All you need to do is pledge $1 million.
How much should you pledge? That's your choice. For example, if you can comfortably afford $2 per week ($100 per year), please try and double it to $200 per year and pledge that amount for five years (2007-2011). You will have helped the project immensely — to the tune of $1,000.
There are 6,000 caring folks in Whitefish — raising a million bucks is easier than you think.
Pledge forms are available on most street corners in downtown Whitefish. If the sandwich boards are empty, call us at 862-7591 or John Kramer at 862-9555.
Please help us now, and the kids of Whitefish will be the better for it.
Richard Atkinson and his wife Carol live in Whitefish.