The Civilized Life in Sarasota: Town Hall 2012 Wrap-up Cocktail Party

Yay!! Town Hall Chair 2012, Kristine Nickel announced at our wrap-up party on Monday night at Michael's Wine Cellar that, though the final numbers are not yet in, it looks like we will make our very large and ambitious goal for this year's lecture series - FANTASTIC!

Kristine shared with me that "Even though there was lots of controversy at what seemed to be a very conservative line-up, that after careful research, it really showed that they were not actually conservatives, but independent thinkers and their lectures proved it."

The series continues to grow and build a larger audience outside the immediate Sarasota area and Kristine is justifiably proud of that fact. First time sponsors, Jabil Circuit from St. Pete had such a favorable experience that they are planning on returning as a sponsor for 2013. Newcomers to our area hear over and over that Town Hall is THE thing to do and Ringling College Library Association, of which Town Hall is the major fundraiser, is a must join organization.

Each year the Town Hall committee is truly the best in town and it is an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. It is basically all volunteer, other than the fabulous Phyllis, and they work hard to make it all seem effortless. You can never guess how much attention to detail goes into making this series a success. Even back when I chaired it in 2000, I said it was the best committee I ever worked with. I have chaired a lot of things in town and there is really no comparison.

Stephanie Grosskreutz is the 2013 chair and has announced her outstanding line-up. You will be receiving ticket information in a couple of weeks. For Town Hall's 34th season in 2014, we will have our first male chair, Jay Logan! Jay finally broke the TH chair glass ceiling. He will be terrific! It will be very interesting to see if there is a perceivable difference, won't it?

A wonderful chair, interesting speakers, a great committee, and lots of money raised for a community treasure - what more could you ask for?! It's the best!

Those committee members not able to attend the party, but still instrumental in TH 2012's success were: Wendy Deming, Marjorie Floyd, Ollie Johnson, and Ginny McCloskey.