The LRLR Celebrate Ten Years at USITT Conference with Behind the Scenes Raffle

The Long Reach Long Riders celebrated their tenth anniversary with a raffle and live auction to benefit Behind the Scenes during the USITT Conference in Milwaukee. Sales of raffle tickets and BTS and LRLR-branded swag raised more than $12,000 for the charity, a 25% increase over last year's event. Master of ceremonies, Bill Sapsis, threw out a last minute challenge to the gathered crowd; if they came up with at least $500 in the last few minutes before the raffle, he would double that with a $1,000 donation. The crowd happily rose to the challenge and made Bill pay off.

The winners and their prizes are: Brian Gilmartin, grand prize, Vectorworks Spotlight with Renderworks; Scott Garey, Stage Technician's Kit from BMI Supply; Fran Sutherland, $250 Visa Gift Card from Daktronics; Megan Henninger, DMX USB pro MK2 with case from ENTTEC; Karen Brown-Larimore, Kindle Fire from InterAmerica Stage; Roger Bardwell, 16GB iPad Mini from iWeiss; Eileen Devany, 50 sheets of gel from Lee Filters; William Hanna, $250 Gift Certificate at Rosebrand.com; Jeff Mateer, $250 Gift certificate at Sapsis Rigging; and Christine Wille, USITT 2014 Full Conference Registration.

The large crowd gathered for the festivities enjoyed the traditional kazoo parade in special recognition of the Long Reach Long Riders who have raised more than $350,000 for charity since their first ride to Long Beach ten years ago, swag freebies donated by InterAmerica Stage and Teqniqal Systems and a live auction. The auction included two tickets for the hard to get The Book of Mormon along with a backstage tour donated by IATSE Local One and beautifully handcrafted pens, wine stoppers, and seam rippers from Shan and Trish Ayers, which were highly prized by the winners.

Sapsis highlighted the companies who have signed up for the Behind the Scenes Pledge a Product Program that allows a company's employees and customers to participate in supporting the charity. Rosco made their annual presentation at the show of the proceeds from the sales of Roscolux #359 Medium Violet while Electronic Theatre Controls surprised us once again with a check for the proceeds of the iRFR smart phone app, presented by the app's developer Chris Mizerak. Sapsis also recognized TMB for their recent pledge of ProXS Professional lighting fixture accessories, Apollo Design Technology for the Apollo BTS Wrench, and Lex Products for the Bento Box series.

Special thanks go to USITT for making our presence at the show possible; to Moe Conn, Patt and Frank Stewart, and Alice Neff and Greg Williams for their invaluable help; to the donors of our fabulous prizes; and to all who bought raffle tickets, auction items, and swag.

All proceeds go to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes program, which assists entertainment technology industry professionals or their immediate family members who are ill or injured. For more information about Behind the Scenes, to donate, or to apply for a grant, visit their link below. For more information about the Long Reach Long Riders whose 2013 ride runs June 28 - July 6 and starts and ends in Cleveland, Ohio visit their link below.