Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 3
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
Gessner receives Amtrak
President’s Service & Safety Award
Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra
& Chorus present Lehar’s
“The Merry Widow”
FEATURING - Upcoming
international renowned
artists and local talents in
this comedic operetta. Full
traditional production, com
plete with dancers choreo
graphed by Susanne Braddy
(Savannah Danse Theatre)
and stage directed by Peter
McMahon
The lively production
sweeps audiences along
through a waltzing tale that
has kept audiences laughing,
dancing, and cheering for
nearly a century. Mischief
abounds as the desirable
wealthy, young widow, Sonia
Sadoya, determinedly carries
out an intricate scheme to win
the heart of her former lover,
Count Danilo, in the midst of
lovers' crazy trysts, lavish
parties, and crafty pranks.
The one-night only perform
ance at the Lucas Theatre is
Saturday, January 17 at 7:00
p.m. The First City Club
offers dinner & valet parking
for ticket holders starting at
5:00 pm. Call ahead for reser
vations.
The production features
the internationally renowned
soprano Edel Shannon as
Hanna and the return of bari
tone,Thorbjom Gulbrandsoy
(Baritone soloist in 2007
“Elijah”) as Danilo.
Acclaimed director Peter
McMahon leads an impres
sive supporting cast, includ
ing Volker Rabe, Gabriele
Rosel, Oliver Mercer, and
local talents - Curt Bryant,
Billy Wooten, Claire Watts,
Jonas Boyd, Corinna
Rezzelle, Laura Roop and
Rachel Hopkins.
Tickets for “The Merry
Widow” are $52, $42, $32
with a $5 discount for stu
dents & children under 12.
Call 912-525-5050 or order
online at
www.lucastheatre.com.
For more information
about the Savannah
Philharmonic Chorus visit us
online at www.savphilcho-
rus.org. For more information
or to purchase tickets visit
www. savphilorchestra. org.
The choms is sustained
by ticket sales, members'
dues and generous patrons &
sponsor contributions. As a
501(c)3 all contributions are
tax-deductible and we
encourage community mem
bers to sustain our effort.
On December 10, 2008,
at a ceremony in
Jacksonville, Florida,
Gessner Small-Canadiate
received the President’s
Service & Safety Award the
highest employee recognition
at Amtrak. Gessner received
the award in the category of
Sustained Excellence. This
award is given to employees
who have demonstrated
exceptional overall job per
formance, substantially
exceeding performance
norms over a period of years
in most aspect of their jobs.
All recipients must maintain
integrity and show evidence
of an endeavor related to
Amtrak’s efforts to provide
and preserve quality passen-
IB Program is open to stu
dents who live anywhere in
Chatham County who meet
the eligibility criteria.
Gessner Small-Canadiate
ger rail service.
Gessner is District
Manager/Stations in the
Southern Division. She is
responsible for all stations
and station employees in
Central and South Florida
For more information,
please contact Jason
Buelterman, IB Coordinator,
at 303.1600 or at
which includes Orlando,
Kissimmee, Winter Park,
Winter Haven, Lakeland,
Tampa, Sebring,
Okeechobee, West Palm
Beach, Delray Beach,
Deerfield Beach, Fort
Lauderdale, Hollywood and
Miami. She has been with
Amtrak 29 years.
Gessner is the daughter
of Mrs. Jessie D. Small of
Savannah and the late Robert
Small of Darien. She is also
the niece of Miss. Lola M.
Dixon of Savannah. She and
her husband Otis Canadiate
reside in Winter Springs,
Florida. They are members
of Central Baptist Church in
Savannah, Georgia, Rev.
Timothy Sheppard, Pastor.
Buelterman@hotmail.com.
You can also visit our web
site at
www.sccpss.com/johnsonib.
Open House.. • Continued from page 2
Park Place Reaching Out to Troubled Teens and their Families
With many local fami
lies feeling the stress of the
economic pinch, Linda Hilts
Lamas, Executive Director
of Park Place Outreach, Inc.,
is expecting the number of
teens needing help to
increase in the coming
months. As a result, Lamas
and Park Place staff are
reaching out to families who
are having teen troubles.
"It's times like this
when teens can get out of
control," Lamas explains.
"Parents are stressed
and although teens may think
they know all that's going on,
they really don't. That lack of
control can result in family
disagreements and possibly a
runaway situation."
According to the
National Runaway
Switchboard, more than 50%
of its calls in 2007 came
from the teens 15-17 years of
age. 75% of its total calls
came from females.
Lamas wants the public to
know that Park Place doesn't
just help those staying at the
shelter. The non-profit also
reaches out to families who
think a runaway situation is a
possibility.
"We help anyone who needs
it, but what we really like to
do is guide families and help
them to avoid having a child
runaway," she explains.
"It's a horrible thought to
think of a child being out on
the street. If home is the
safest place they can be, we
want to help them and their
families to make that hap
pen."
In 2009 Park Place
Outreach will celebrate 25
years of service in the local
community. The milestone
will be celebrated through
out 2009 with a large event
planned for the fall.
Park Place Outreach
provides emergency shelter
and street outreach for ado
lescents ages 11 through 17
and their families. It is the
only agency located within
Chatham County that serves
youth at no charge who are
accepted without a referral to
receive help. Park Place
Outreach opened in 1984.
There are approximately 15-
30 youth served each month
and about 200 each year.
For more information
on Park Place, call (912)
234-4048 or log on to
www.parkplaceyes.org
Distributed by
CarriageTrade Public
Relations, Inc. on the Local
News WIRE(TM)
Savion Glover’s BARE SOUNDZ
comes to Savannah February 5
Read for Ticket Information
The organizers of the
20th Annual Savannah Black
Heritage Festival (SBHF),
presented by the City of
Savannah and Savannah State
University, are pleased to
announce a special perform
ance of Savion Glover's
BARE SOUNDZ on
February 5 at the Johnny
Mercer Theater, Savannah
Civic Center, at 8 p.m. Savion
Glover is a nationally
acclaimed tap-dancer who
has performed on Broadway
and in film. Most recently, he
was the motion-capture
dancer for the animated char
acter, Mumble, in Happy
Feet. Free, reserved seat tick
ets for this performance are
available, and will be distrib
uted according to a procedure
that will primarily reach tar
geted audiences, including
limited seating for the general
public.
Shirley B. James, chair
person of the Savannah Black
Heritage Festival Committee,
stated, "This special, free per
formance is presented specif
ically to provide access to the
art of dance for Savannah's
youth and community organi
zations. Some seating will
also be available to the gener
al public, but seats are limited
for all categories.” In order to
ensure that youth in under
served populations and stu
dents enrolled in dance stu
dios in the City of Savannah
and Chatham County receive
priority seating for this event,
a special application/ ticket
lottery system will be used
for groups. Group tickets will
be distributed on February 4,
and remaining tickets will be
distributed to the public (two
tickets per patron) on
February 5. A special block
Savion Glover
of tickets will be reserved for
military families. “We are
proud to provide the opportu
nity to share this event with
many of our families whose
loved ones are making the
sacrifice to serve our coun
try,” says James. These tick
ets will be delivered to and
distributed by the appropriate
office for Fort Stewart-
Hunter Army Airfield.
To qualify for the ticket
lottery, youth organization
directors, school administra
tors (k-12) and dance studio
directors should submit an
application for tickets, which
will be distributed through a
lottery system in order to pro
mote a fair and equitable sys
tem. Applications are avail
able at www.savannahblack-
heritagefestival.com and
www.savannahcivic.com . To
receive an application via
mail, fax or e-mail, call the
Black Heritage Festival office
at 912-351-6320.
Applications must be returned
by January 23, 2009, and a
confirmation/acknowledge
ment of receipt must be
obtained from the SBHF
office before January 27. The
application may be faxed to
912-351-6358, mailed to the
Black Heritage Festival at R
O. Box 40284, Savannah, GA
31404, or electronically sub
mitted to
heritage@savstate.edu.
The application may also
be picked up at one of the fol
lowing locations:
• The Black Heritage Festival
Office, 102 Herty Hall, on the
campus of Savannah State
University, (Monday 8 am -
12 pm, Tuesday 1 pm - 4 pm,
Wednesday 8 am - 12 pm,
Friday 10 am - 3 pm, Sunday
2 pm - 6 pm )
• The Department of Cultural
Affairs at 9 West Henry Street
(Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5
pm)
• The Savannah Civic Center
Box Office (Monday - Friday
10 am - 5 pm).
All groups submitting an
application for the lottery
must have a representative
present during the lottery to be
considered for tickets (please
bring the
confirmation/acknowledge
ment of receipt). The lottery
will be conducted on Tuesday,
January 27, at 5:30 pm at the
Savannah Civic Center.
Tickets will be distributed in
lots of 15, 20 and 25 based
upon the size of the groups
indicated on the application.
Groups that receive tickets
through the lottery system will
have to secure and sign for
tickets at the Savannah Civic
Center Box Office between 10
a.m. and 4 p.m. on February
See Savion Glover, page 6
'Free Checking
'Great CD Rates
'All Tyges of Loans
H.Vmtacl One Of Our Financial Services Specialist? f or Details
}FDIC www.caruerstatebank.com
ftuuHOnatf
LENDER