Town Hall Enters its Fourth Decade with Big Issues, Notable Speakers and Full Houses
[SARASOTA, FLA: January 17, 2011] For the first time in the history of the Ringling College Library Association’s Town Hall Series, both morning and evening series, ten events in all, are sold out prior to the start of the season. The series opens on Wednesday, January 19 will a full house attending to hear author and visionary, Greg Mortenson.
Series subscription sales moved along very quickly, first with renewals in the spring and the first phase of subscription sales open to Ringling College Library Association members only. After the series subscriptions were opened to the general public, the subscriptions sold filled well over 90% of the capacity, roughly 3500 seats in total between the morning and evening sessions.
“I congratulate Kathleen Weiner, chair of the 2011 Town Hall Series and her committee members, and all those who have helped organize and promote Town Hall this season, on a job very well done”, says Ringling College Library Association Board President Grace Riker. “We are extremely proud at this moment to be in this position as a result of their dedication to the mission of the Ringling College Library Association.”
The highly popular speaker series which has hosted the upper echelon of intellectual and artistic leaders including Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize winners and Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winning artists, now enters its 31st season with full houses for a total of 11 events in 2011.
Thanks largely to the success of the Town Hall series as a fund-raising vehicle over the past 30 years, the Ringling College Library Association has become the largest cumulative benefactor to the college as whole, and to the library and its collections, in particular.
“We are particularly grateful for the vision and generosity of our sponsors representing a dynamic partnership between ‘for profit’ and ‘not for profit’ sectors,” says Town Hall 2011 chair Kathleen Weiner. “This year we welcome new sponsors Williams Parker Harrison Dietz and Getzen, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Robert W. Baird & Co., Harris Private Bank, Sabal Trust Company, and Boar’s Head.”
The long-standing success of Town Hall is also due to sponsors who have supported the series year after year. Among them are the Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation, SunTrust, and U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. Each has remarked that Town Hall consistently delivers some of the most thoughtful and engaged audiences that our community sees each year.
