To the editor:

BETA (Brown County Enrichment for Teens Association, Inc.) would like to share that the 2020 annual fundraiser “Brown County Youth Music Showcase” on Saturday, March 7 was a great success.

As in the past six years, it was such a beautiful and inspiring program put together by our fabulous local musician and host, Kara Barnard, her students, and BETA teens participating in the program.

BETA also would like to thank the many people who showed up one hour early before the program started in order to bid for our silent auction items. We can’t thank enough the Brown County community and would like to sincerely thank each of you.

First and most of all, we would like to thank Kara Barnard and her music students for sharing their talents and time with us: Izzy Miller; Ryan Watters; Hunter Tolle; Elio Miller; Jackson O’Shea; MacKenzie Crum; Emerson Blankenship; Scout and Cypress Baldwin; Jack and Thad Hobbs; Alexa, Jessica and Jazmine Garduno; Leonie, Willow Kruggel, Jon, Katy, Benjamin, Samual, Kyland of the Richardson Family; Jesse Augsburger; Mary Rosa Augsburger; and Nathan Dillon, BETA’s band music teacher and his teens, Zach Proffitt and Audric Burris.

We also thank Allison O’Shea, Shannon Whitehorn and Laura Connallon for helping on or behind the stage.

We also deeply thank M.K. Watkins and Bill Hastings, Brown County artists, for their generous donations of paintings for the live auction, and thank the Baldwin and the Austin family for generously purchasing the live auction items.

We also give our special thanks to Heather Nicholson and Art Alliance Brown County artists for their great support for the display of art pieces for the event.

We would like to thank Hannah Estabrook, the new director of the Playhouse, for her wonderful technical and program support, and the Playhouse board and staff for their ongoing support of BETA.

We also would like to give a special big thanks to Christy McGinley, Colleen Smith, Sarah Lyttle, Bill Hastings, MK Watkins, Brenda Krieger, Jenny Austin and Annie Hawk for their incredible work for the silent auction, and Carri Spires for her great food offering, and also Sherri Houze, director of Mother’s Cupboard, for her generous donation and support of food.

We also especially thank Connie Casey and Pam Boer, BETA adult volunteers, and many BETA teens, for their great support for the pre-event work.

We also thank Larry Hanson and Sara Clifford, Brown County Democrat, for their great article and advertisement support, and also give our thanks to Our Brown County magazine for generously publishing our event in its magazine.

We also thank Brown County Eagle Manufacturing, Colleen Smith and Ricky Stanley for their banner support, and Luke Tilton for his generous support for the banner location.

We would like to also thank the following individual donors and organizations for the silent auction donation: For artist donations: Anabel Hopkins, Ann Woods, Anne Miller, Ascension Fine Arts/B3 Gallery, B. Skinner, Bandy Russell, Dr. Beverly Murphy, Bill Hastings, Carolyn Richard, Charlene Marsh, Cheryl Ann Gregg, Chris Gustin, Daren Pitts Redman, Dixie Ferrer, Elizabeth Parrock, Kathy Sparks, Larry Pejeau, Lory Winford, M.K. Watkins, Nancy Crocker, Tom Lowe and Yvonne Oliger. For other donations: Del Newkirk and Laurie Teal as authors of their signed books, and The Democrat newspaper, Beth Drew of Mary Kay, Christy McGinley of Brown County Soap Company, Joanne Rozzi of Male Instinct, Laura Blackthorn, Pam Boer, Connie Casey, Sherri Houze of Mother’s Cupboard, Susie Woodall, Tori Norman, Brown County Playhouse, eXplore Brown County, Big Woods restaurants, Chocolate Moose, Johnny’s Grub to Go, Our Sandwich Place, Mandy Simmons’ Hair Salon, Tabby Hilligoss of The Wild Hair and Sun, Mark Shields of Brown County Parks and Recreation, Lisa Bowman of Hope for Hearts Horse Farm, Marci MaAnn of Salt of the Earth Massage and Wellness, and Sarah Lyttle Yoga.

Also we especially thank Barry Herring, president of Brown County Music Center, and Dr. Laura Hammack, Brown County Schools superintendent, for generously donating their lunch offers.

We also give our huge thanks to Carol and Al Drake of Touch of Silver, Gold and Old for their generous donation of many jewelry items that made our event look bright and splendid.

BETA is so thankful to our amazing community for your heart and care, and hope you all stay safe and healthy!

Sincerely,

BETA staff and volunteers, the BETA board and all the teens who benefit from BETA programs (submitted by Anne Hawk)

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