Record Set at Radnor Show — Thank You Volunteers!
Thanks to the hard work of Chestnut volunteers and the incredible quality of artwork by Chestnut artists — combined with loyal Radnor Lake patrons and fans — we set a new record last weekend!
Over the event weekend (Patrons Party through Sunday), we sold 111 paintings, plus 21 paintings that were 100% donated, for a total of 132 paintings sold. Total sales (including the donated paintings) were $65,625. (These are the sales highlights. We’ll have more details at our next Membership meeting in January.)
The Friends of Radnor Lake (FORL) folks were very pleased with the results and considered Thursday night’s Patron Party to be a big success, with 41% of total sales coming from that 3-hour event alone.
In addition to the great support from Chestnut volunteers, Marci and I had a great team working with us on the FORL side (including Chestnut founder and FORL Board member, Kim Barrick, and FORL Operations Manager, Gretchen Pritchett), and awesome support from Park Manager Steve Ward and his Rangers and administrative staff. If you happen to be over at Radnor Lake anytime soon and run into a FORL staffer at the Visitor Center, or one of the Rangers out on the trails, please stop them and thank them for their support and involvement in our paint outs and events. Hopefully this will be a recurring fundraising event for many years to come!
And just so you’re aware, I sent an email to Pope Francis this morning recommending Denise Hawkins for sainthood. Where would we be without this lady?! She has put in countless hours, not only managing sales transactions every day over the event weekend, but also in front of her computer (often in the wee hours of the morning) compiling title block information and working up spreadsheets and reports for sales activity, drop-off/pickup check lists, and many other tasks and activities most members aren’t aware of. Rachel Blair, of course, was doing her usual terrific job of handling event details and making sure everything was moving along smoothly and without a hitch. (Put your tiara back on, Rachel!) And Andrea Jones, operating from a higher helicopter, has always been there when Marci and I needed her help, advice, and leadership.
The quality of artwork that Chestnut members presented was very impressive and a big, if not the biggest, factor in the show’s success! We heard repeatedly (from members, FORL staff, and Radnor fans) that the show was beautiful and the quality of our artwork had significantly improved over past shows.
We’re a volunteer organization and there’s no way we could have pulled this event off without the loyal and dedicated work and support of our volunteers. There’s no question about it — volunteering is interwoven in the fabric of our past and future success as an organization. So, again, thank you so much for your help, volunteers!
Marci and Ed
