Eric Goulden to take over as Astor Theatre Society chairman in January

Eric Goulden is taking over as chairman of the Astor Theatre Society in January. (Photo courtesy of Eric Goulden)

The Astor Theatre Society will have a new chairman to begin the new year.

Eric Goulden will take over on Jan. 1.

The resident of Beach Meadows is a community volunteer and retired entrepreneur. Since buying a house here with his wife Karen in 2013, he has developed and restored many older buildings on Liverpool’s Main Street and in Milton.

He’s been a full-time Queens County resident since September 2020.

At an event at the Astor last week, Goulden told QCCR he’s looking forward to heading the theatre’s board of directors for the next few years.

“I’m amazed at this building and the history behind it,” Goulden said, “and I really feel that if we can stabilize a lot of the operational side of things, I think it’s got a lot of growth and I think it’s going to be very, very welcoming and a safe place for everybody.”

Goulden will be taking over from John Simmonds, who has been chairman since September 2020. He will continue on the board as past chairman.

Simmonds helmed the board through Covid and helped revitalize the theatre. He also was chairman during some turmoil at the theatre in the past year, with the resignation of popular director and producer Ashley-Rose Goodwin.

But Simmonds said the community is once again rallying around the Astor. He said he’s looking forward to working with Goulden and the rest of the board.

“We have a good board, they’re communicating amongst themselves very well so I think we will do some good things. It’s onward and upward, so we’re excited.”

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Astor Theatre looks long term with new endowment fund

Lynn Cochrane is the vice-chair of the Astor Theatre Society. (Rick Conrad)

Liverpool’s historic Astor Theatre is launching a new endowment fund to help put it on firmer financial footing.

About 60 supporters of the Astor turned out at the theatre on Tuesday evening for the announcement.

The Astor Theatre Endowment Fund is separate from the theatre’s annual fundraising campaign. It’s a longer-term investment fund that would accept larger legacy donations from corporations or people’s estates.

Once the fund is built up to a certain point, the Astor could then use interest from the investments to cover yearly operational expenses and invest in new programs.

Outgoing Astor Theatre Society board chair John Simmonds said ticket sales from events account for about 40 per cent of revenues. Grants and fundraising are the theatre’s main sources of revenue.

Lynn Cochrane, vice-chair of the Astor Theatre Society, spearheaded the effort to set up the fund.

“I’ve been on the board for a couple of years now and every year we come up with a bit of a shortfall,” she said in an interview, “and I started looking at ways of helping the theatre counteract that shortfall, talked to a number of other theatres and they have endowment funds or investment funds that donors can donate to and their money lives on for yers and the returns come to the theatre to cover those shortfalls every year.”

Cochrane and Simmonds said that they hope that in a few years, the principal in the fund will grow to about $1 million. At that point, the Astor can decide whether to use the annual interest earned or reinvest it and continue to grow the fund.

It will be managed by Mark Sapp at Scotia McLeod in Bridgewater.

Jean Robinson-Dexter, former interim executive director of the theatre, said the endowment fund is a great step toward securing the Astor’s future.

“I think there’s lots of work to do in the whole fund development area for the organization. So I think this is a great launch for the sustainability and long-term care of the organization.”

Tom Raddall, whose family are longtime supporters of the Astor, said he believes the community will support it.

“I know the community appreciates this theatre. I know our family does. I mean, my grandmother played the piano in the silent movies in this theatre. There’s a connection for probably for most of the people that have been born and brought up here and a connection for the people who have moved here.”

“I think a lot of people including myself will give this a hard look when we go home tonight and talk about our future plans.”

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A full bag of Christmas events in Liverpool this weekend

The Queens County Museum in Liverpool reopens this weekend with its popular annual event Dickensville and the Festival of Trees. (Rick Conrad)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Liverpool, with multiple events planned for the historic Astor Theatre and the rest of downtown Liverpool this weekend.

Last weekend’s popular 14th annual Liverpool Fire Department Christmas Parade kicked things into seasonal gear.

The South Queens Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Queens Holiday Festival on Saturday. That includes a tree lighting in front of the Astor at 5 p.m. with Christmas carols, and a free multicultural holiday concert inside the Astor at 5:30. 

Earlier in the day, local businesses will be participating in the Christmas on the Mersey food crawl and holiday shopping party.

On Sunday at 7 p.m., the 93rd annual Kiwanis Community Christmas Concert gets underway at the Astor. That event is sold out.

Local businesses are also decorating Christmas trees in the park on the Liverpool waterfront and at the Queens County Museum. 

And the museum will be open extended hours on Saturday as it unveils its popular Festival of Trees and Dickensville.

ATLANTIC CANADA 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT (9th Edition)

ATLANTIC CANADA 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT9th edition

ATLANTIC CANADA 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT

International Filmmaking Competition is open to all in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador & New Brunswick! www.48hourfilm.com/AtlanticCanada. On the 6th of September, 2024 in Mi’kma’ki, Nova Scotia, conducting our activities on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq, which is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship. We are all Treaty People.

From Dream to Screen, to Filmapalooza and Cannes!

157 filmmakers hit the streets in one wild and sleepless weekend, 23-25 August, in PEI, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick, to make 19 short films, totaling 95 films in the last 9 editions of Atlantic Canada 48 Hour Film Project.

All 19 short films will Premiere on 22 September, Sunday,1:30 pm at ASTOR Theatre, Liverpool, Nova Scotia and ONLINE. The BEST film will receive $1,000 prize from Tidekite and will compete internationally at Filmapalooza with a chance for the prestigious Cannes. The Audience will also vote for their favorite film for the Audience Award.

The 19 films and teams Premiering and competing:

  • Clipped Wings by 6 Lock Productions (Daniel McKenzie) NS
  • Pictures of a Bird by B Reals (Jack Hunter) PEI
  • Departing R.E.M. by Cinematic Cookhouse (Evan  Cook) NB
  • Timbit by DD2 Entertainment (Dan Mendoza Kariya) NS
  • Equal and Opposite Reaction by Dartmouth Productions (Patrick  Kidston) NS
  • Inside Feather Cake by Death Horse (Lee-Anne Milne &  Mark Sawatzky) NS
  • What A Time To Be Alive by G.A.M.E. Productions (Phillip R  Gannon) NS
  • The Journey of a Lifetime by House of Daisies (Joseph Raymond Ciarrocco) NS
  • The Feather by I Heart Beeno (Romi Robinson) NF&L
  • Family by Once Upon a Midnight Dreary (Danielle Marie MacQuarrie) NS
  • Colours of You by PEI P.O.V. Productions (Kirstin Lund) PEI
  • This Hour has Five Minutes by Principals Productions (Bridget A. Ricketts) NF&L
  • Dancing on a thread by Riff Raff (Oshean Juneja) NS
  • Scott, Relax by Shwing Entertainment (Connor Locke) NS
  • Ticket to Love by Stenvar Creative (David Jakub Moravcik) NS
  • Going Under by Studio E (Liz  Neubauer) NS
  • Dudes With Guns by The Boys (Ben Ruffett) NS
  • Redemption by Tromboncino Productions (Daniel  Luques) NS
  • Freehold by Boshat FILMS (Ryan  Cyr) NS

Join the filmmakers for the After Party, 4PM at Hell Bay Brewery, Liverpool, NS. Thanks for the collaboration and support: Tidekite, Astor Theatre, FILM PEI, QCCR 99.3 FM Queens County Community Radio and Queens Crown Newspaper, Hell Bay Brewery.

Get your tickets for Astor Theatre and Online Screening on the Official website: www.48hourfilm.com/AtlanticCanada

EMAILS: halifax@48hourfilm.com | ac48hfp@gmail.com

Liverpool International Theatre Festival looks for local hosts to open homes to delegates

Deborah Raddall and Jean Robinson are part of the team organizing this year’s Liverpool International Theatre Festival. (Rick Conrad)

It happens every two years, it’s less than two months away and the organizers of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival want you to be part of it.

The festival is looking for local residents to open their homes and help welcome the almost 90 people coming to Liverpool from 10 different countries for the four-day event.

The volunteer-driven festival is celebrating its 16th edition from Oct. 17 to 20 at the Astor Theatre.

This year, amateur theatre troupes from Morocco, Egypt, the country of Georgia, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, Wales and the U.S. will be putting on one-act plays in an event that celebrates theatre and international friendship. Winds of Change from Liverpool will also be putting on a play at the festival.

“For those that haven’t been to the festival in the past,” says festival chairwoman Jean Robinson, “they are one-act plays and they have to be between 25 minutes long and 50 or 55 minutes long. And so, it’s a great introduction to theatre and different types of theatre.”

Deborah Raddall is in charge of LITF’s marketing and promotions. 

“LITF is a celebration of culture and theatre and community. And it’s a chance for us, meaning Liverpool, to experience the world.”

The festival relies on 40 to 60 volunteers from the community to make it happen.

Members of the theatre troupes are billeted at homes around Queens County. This year, organizers are putting an urgent call out for people to open their homes to the actors and crews coming to Liverpool.

LITF asks hosts to provide a bed and some breakfast for festival participants. The festival looks after everything else, including other meals and transportation. Hosts also get two free tickets to the play involving their guests.

Raddall and her husband Blair have hosted troupes in their home for many previous festivals.

“It’s a wonderful experience, my experience has been really great with that. We’ve been hosting almost every year and we’ve made wonderful friendships and connections. It’s quite unique for a theatre festival.”

“All you need to do is have a bed. It’s a bed and breakfast situation. What we ask of our hosts at a minimum is to provide a bed, provide a breakfast for them in the mornings and to pick them up when they arrive, if it’s a reasonable time. … At a minimum interaction, make them welcome in your home, give them something to eat in the mornings and our festival is designed to pick up all the rest of the stuff. … We’re really looking for a welcoming space and a little bit of breakfast.”

Robinson said hosts and guests have made lasting connections.

“Hosts can be as engaged in the festival as they want to be. We know that these have become lifelong friendships and also new experiences. People have gotten to go skating for the first time with their host, even being taken to the ocean to see a beach for the first time, going out on a lobster boat or things like that that have really cemented those relationships.”

Raddall says they’re still looking for space for about 40 troupe members. Troupes and potential hosts fill out questionnaires so that organizers can help make sure the experience is as positive as possible for everybody.

“It’s a process that’s not just we’re just going to chuck somebody on your doorstep without having a conversation about what works best for you and what works best for them.”

If you’re interested in becoming a host for the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, you can contact info@litf.ca , check out their website at litf.ca or message them at their Facebook page.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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‘We still love her’: Sarah Mitton’s hometown fans react after Olympic result

Hundreds of Sarah Mitton fans cheered on the Olympian on Friday afternoon at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

It was a disappointing result for Brooklyn’s Sarah Mitton on Friday in the shot put at the Olympics in Paris, but for the hundreds gathered at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool, she’s still a hometown hero.

It was a boisterous crowd that cheered Mitton on at the live viewing party as she tried for Olympic gold in the shot put. People were decked out in red and white and waved Canadian flags. Every time Mitton showed up on the big screen, people erupted into cheers and applause.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Mitton’s day.

After three throws, Mitton did not make the cut for the final eight competitors. Her best throw was 17.48 metres in rainy and wet conditions.

Her third throw appeared to be close to the 20-metre mark, but she fouled out after losing her balance and stepping out of the throwing circle.

Mitton was a favourite going into the Olympics, after dominating most events this year. She won the World Athletics Indoor Championship in March and broke her own Canadian record three times. She also qualified easily for the Olympic final, with her first throw of 19.77 m.

Before the event, anticipation was building for the 250 people gathered at the Astor to watch Mitton compete live. 

People travelled from around the South Shore and beyond to cheer her on.

Karen Hofrichter of Hubbards was there with her granddaughter Lily Lantz of Chester. Hofrichter and Lantz arrived an hour before the viewing party and snagged seats front row centre.

Lantz is a 14-year-old shot put athlete herself at Chester Area Middle School. She said she was at the Astor to cheer on her idol. 

Hofrichter said the result wasn’t what they expected, but she’s confident Mitton will be back.

“Unfortunate. It was a tough day, tough with the weather, I think. Not everyone was doing their best. But you know what? We still love her. She gave it her all. And she can regroup and come back. We know she’s got it in her.”

Lantz said that the conditions didn’t help. Early on in the final round, another athlete slipped on the rainy surface and fell after her throw.

“I personally feel like (Mitton) might have gotten in her head after that one girl had slipped,” Lantz said.

“She tried her best and unfortunately lost her balance on that one throw, her good one out in the 20s. Which is OK, she tried her best and she’s gonna come back and she’s gonna hit harder.”

Ruth Anne Zwicker of Liverpool said despite the result, she’s still proud of what Mitton has accomplished.

“I’m so proud of Sarah. She’s worked so hard. My heart’s sad for her today because I know this isn’t where she wanted to be. But I’m excited that her mom (Bonnie) is there with her today. And proud to be a Canadian.”

Dave McKiel of Alberta was visiting his parents and watched Mitton compete.

“I know that the community is very proud of her and her efforts up to this point. It’s kind of disappointing that she didn’t advance today but she’ll receive a hero’s welcome the next time she’s back because everybody is super proud of her efforts.”

“The turnout and the crowd, you can tell the community loves her and supports her.”

German athlete Yemisi Ogunleye won gold in the event, with New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche taking silver  and China’s Jiayuan Song capturing bronze.

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Liverpool artist creates beach tribute to Brooklyn’s Olympic shot put star Sarah Mitton

A large sand beach is pictured, with the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic rings drawn on the sand, with Paris 2024 on one side of the tower and Go Sarah! on the other

Liverpool artist Jane Stevenson created this tribute to Sarah Mitton on Wednesday in the sand at Summerville Beach. (Jane Stevenson photo)

For most people, a day at the beach might involve some swimming or lounging on the sand.

For Jane Stevenson, a day at the beach involves creating a 120-by-60-foot piece of sand art as a tribute to Olympic shot putter Sarah Mitton.

The Liverpool artist’s creation on Summerville Beach featured an 85-foot Eiffel Tower with a Canadian flag in the middle and the Olympic rings at the base, with Paris 2024 on one side and “Go Sarah!” on the other.

“She’s a friend and she’s a marvellous person,” Stevenson says of Mitton, who is from Brooklyn.

“I’m enjoying drawing in the sand and I thought what a great thing to be able to do. So I started with the rings one day and I thought that’s not enough. So I stuck a little Eiffel Tower on it and looked at it at home and said that’s not good enough. So, four more tries and not succeeding. Finally, new strategies and a little more homework on the design, on the fifth try, it all came together.”

Stevenson created it in about two and a half hours late Wednesday afternoon. 

She shared a photo and drone video to her Facebook profile Wednesday evening. That post was shared widely. And CBC’s Olympics reporter Devin Heroux posted the photo on his Twitter feed Thursday morning after Mitton qualified for the shot put final.

“It’s gone far and wide, so that’s kind of cool. And lovely comments about it. So that’s really nice too. People really enjoyed the picture and the sentiment behind it. It was fun.

“That’s the most far-reaching anything I ever do will get. So that’s quite a compliment to have them want to do that with it. So I’m pleased with that, it’s more than I thought would happen with it.”

It was Stevenson’s fifth time trying to get her design down in the sand, after plotting it out precisely on paper.  

“The first one went down on the sand on the 27th of July, so between then and yesterday I finally got it right.”

She and her husband Garth used a very long tape measure and a homemade compass to plot out the basic lines of the piece. And then she used a rake to fill in the detail of the Eiffel Tower and the Olympic rings.

Stevenson says that she used the drone only once as she was putting it together.

“Just eyed it. Did it by eye. My lines and my paper that I was going off of were really precise and then we really measured precisely this last time. I had my homework really well done on the fifth try. And then you can just can tell visually that it looks alright. It was math, and drawn lines.”

Stevenson has created eye-popping pieces of public art before, most recently for a Privateer Days parade float for the Mersey Rose Theatre Company. That featured a huge tea party set for the company’s upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. She’s also created displays for the Astor Theatre, including a life-sized Barbie doll package.

She’s done six or seven other beach art pieces this summer, but this one was the biggest and most complicated. She started at 4 in the afternoon near low tide and finished it around 6:30, racking up about 50,000 steps along the way. 

“I thought I’d won the gold medal, the gold medal in the Olympic sand drawing. It was a very good feeling to get the result I wanted.

“This was fun to do. I really wanted it to work for Sarah. … Not bad for a day at the beach.”

She’s not sure if Mitton has seen it yet, but she knows her mother Bonnie has. Stevenson says she’ll be at home on Friday afternoon cheering on Mitton as she goes for gold.

Mitton qualified for the final on Thursday with her first throw, which was also the farthest in the field.

The Astor Theatre is holding a live viewing party of the shot put final from 2 to 4 p.m. It’s free to everybody. The final is scheduled to begin at 2:37 p.m. Atlantic time.

“On the edge of our seats. She’s looking pretty good. This morning it looked effortless for her. She qualified so easily. I have good feelings for her tomorrow. I think she’ll do well. She’s worked hard, she’s ready.”

Stevenson says she appreciates all the positive feedback she’s received on her beach sand tribute.

“Thank you to everybody who has commented on it. That means a lot as well that they have enjoyed it so. That’s made it even more worthwhile. And, go Sarah!”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Queens County’s Sarah Mitton qualifies for Olympic shot put final

Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, Queens County, has qualified for the shot put final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This is a photo from the World Athletics Indoor Championship in March where she won gold. (Sarah Mitton photo)

Brooklyn’s Sarah Mitton qualified for the shot put final at the 2024 Olympics in Paris this morning on her first throw.

The 28-year-old world indoor champion made it through to Friday’s final with a throw of 19.77 metres, which was the best of the qualifying round. The qualification standard is 19.15 m.

“That’s the way I like it,” Mitton told CBC Sports. “It’s a lot less stressful when you’re one and done.”

Mitton’s mother, Bonnie, was in the Stade de France to see her daughter go through to the final.

The top-rated American and two-time world champion Chase Jackson did not make it to the final. She missed her first two attempts and threw 17.6 m on her third.

New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche was the second-best qualifier at 19.25 m and Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye was third with a throw of 19.24 m.

The final is scheduled for Friday at 2:37 p.m.

The Astor Theatre in Liverpool is holding a watch party so that Mitton’s Queens County fans can watch the event live. That goes from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Jerri Southcott resigns as executive director of Astor Theatre

Jerri Southcott has resigned from her job as executive director of the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad / File photo)

The Astor Theatre will soon be without an executive director for the third time in the past 15 months.

Jerri Southcott, who took over the top job at the historic Liverpool theatre in February, recently tendered her resignation.

Her last day at the Astor will be Aug. 9.

In a letter to members of the Astor Theatre Society, the board said Southcott is resigning for personal reasons.

In an interview on Tuesday, Southcott told QCCR she didn’t want to go into details. But she said she decided to return to her career with the federal government.

“At this point, it’s a personal decision and it’s the right one for my family and me right now.”

Before she took the Astor job, Southcott worked in communications for Health Canada and with other federal departments. And before that, she worked as a journalist with CBC and Advocate Media.

Southcott, who lives in Mahone Bay, was in the job for just over a month when associate artistic director Ashley-Rose Goodwin resigned. That set off a firestorm among some in the community, angry that Goodwin was no longer at the theatre.

Some of Goodwin’s supporters vowed to oust the Astor board. That didn’t happen and the controversy eventually died down. 

But the episode at times was heated and personal.

Southcott said that did not play a part in her decision to leave.

“I have a real passion for the organization, for the Astor Theatre. I see a lot of potential and hope there is somebody who will take over and realize its potential.”

John Simmonds, chairman of the Astor Theatre Society, said Southcott did a lot of great things in her short time as executive director.

“She’s been a stalwart and accomplished some significant things with grants and operations and community outreach and contact. So we’re very sad to see her go.

“Jerri was very much happy in her job. She loved what she was doing and she saw the contributions and she had the support, for the most part, of the board. But I think she decided maybe this is a better route for (her) to go.”

Simmonds said the board hasn’t decided yet when or if it will search for a new executive director. It’s been difficult for the theatre to find and hang on to one.

When Southcott was hired, it had been four years since the Astor had had a full-time executive director. Jean Robinson-Dexter filled in on an interim basis at various times since September 2020.

In May 2023, the theatre thought it had found a new manager, but that person decided not to take the job after all. Another search resulted in the hiring of Lesli Chandler, who began the job in July 2023 but resigned that September.

“We’re going to regroup,” Simmonds said. “We’re going to do some fundamental thinking, both staff and board, to determine what our best next approach should be.

“Our staff is very loyal and committed to doing what they need to do to get us through this. … We can take the time with a clear head and sort out what the best future for the Astor might be and how to prepare for that future, whether it be staffing or organizational change.”

Simmonds said that Southcott has committed to do what she can before she leaves to ensure the transition is smooth. And he said regardless of what happens, the board wants to make sure the Astor continues to serve the community.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Astor Theatre to launch campaign to modernize, upgrade facilities

More than 70 people turned out for the Astor Theatre Society’s annual general meeting on Monday evening in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

After years of discussing the need for it, the board of the Astor Theatre says that 2024 will be the year that they get serious about securing funding for a modern HVAC system.

The 122-year-old building has only ceiling fans in its performance space, making it pretty steamy in the middle of the summer.

The Astor Theatre Society board announced at their annual general meeting on Monday night that it plans to go after federal and provincial funding this year to make the whole building more energy-efficient and to install a state-of-the-art heat pump system.

That system would keep the Astor cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They also plan to replace windows, reinsulate the roof and change all lighting to energy-efficient LEDs.

Board member Lynn Cochrane told about 70 people gathered for the AGM that the board will work with the Region of Queens, which owns the building, to ensure they maintain the structural integrity and acoustics of the Astor.

She said it’s part of a major capital campaign that the Astor will launch this year.

They also plan to create an endowment fund, supported by corporate and individual donations, to ensure the Astor’s financial security.

“It is our Astor,” Cochrane said. “So this endowment will protect it for many years, and hopefully save us from having to go hand to mouth with our finances every year.”

The Astor also got a $100,000 donation from the Greenfield-based sawmill Harry Freeman and Son Limited. 

Board chairman John Simmonds told members that the Astor is in good financial shape, even though it reported a $40,393 deficit for the nine months ending Dec. 31.

The theatre’s total audience last year from April 1 to Dec. 31 was about 12,000, with 60 per cent of that coming from Queens County and 40 per cent from outside the region.

“So we’ve had a lot of people through these doors,” Simmonds said.

The first four months of 2024, however, were stronger, with 18 events bringing almost 3,750 people to the theatre, and a net gain of $27,900.

The Astor hosted many popular concerts and events from January to April, including the late February/early March production of Follies, its first adult musical production since 2018.

“The last few months have been very important to the Astor, we’ve been so successful, we’ve had so much going on,” Simmonds said.

He said the board plans to sign a 10-year lease with the region, which will help the Astor in its fundraising goals. 

“It also gives us an opportunity to go after grants that require a 10-year lease so that we can establish to the grantors that we are going to stay around for a long time. So that could bring in some fairly big numbers to allow us to do some of the things we want to do.”

The Astor’s net assets as of Monday’s AGM are $232,000, according to treasurer Loris Azzano.

The Astor Theatre Society’s members also voted to add three new people to the board of directors, bringing the total to 11.

They are Melanie Atkinson, who also volunteers at QCCR, Terri Faber and Cynthia Walker.

They join Simmonds, Azzano, Cochrane, Anne Espenant, Willo Treschow, Dan Williams, Heather White Brittain and Colleen Wolfe.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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