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Ushers help Community Arts Center shows run smoothly

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Representing dozens of ushers at the Community Arts Center are from left: Sue Dymeck, Rita Marzzacco, Karen Geise, Pat and Tom Kaczmarek, and Susan Baker.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Today the Sun-Gazette continues its ninth annual Person of the Year series. Each day will shine a spotlight on each of the finalists. On Tuesday, the Sun-Gazette will name its 2019 Person of the Year.)

Since its renovation in 1992, the Community Arts Center in Williamsport has welcomed more than 1 million guests to its performances. That number is, of course, largely composed of return patrons, many of whom make it a point to revisit the theater at least a few times per season. But what keeps them coming back year after year?

The obvious answers would be the building’s beautifully ornate decorations and the fantastic line-up of shows that the CAC hosts each year. But just as important is the incredibly high level of service that the venue provides for its concertgoers, which wouldn’t be possible without the nearly 250 annual volunteers who dedicate their free time to serve as ushers.

Known as “goodwill ambassadors,” the CAC’s Volunteer Corps are vital to ensuring that every person who walks through the venue’s doors are given a first-class experience that leaves a lasting impression. The volunteers are responsible for numerous jobs, including helping people from their cars, greeting and directing patrons upon their arrival at the theater, scanning tickets, handing out programs, ushering patrons to their seats, assisting guests with special needs, providing a seasonal coat check service, selling concessions and being of service to all patrons with questions or concerns. They also tend to sick concertgoers and are responsible for knowing the fire codes and how to evacuate the building should the need arise.

Simply put, they help keep the CAC’s shows comfortable and safe for everyone involved.

“They are so much more than ushers, they make our shows run smoothly,” said Ana Gonzalez-White, development director at the Community Arts Center. “In many ways, they serve as liaisons between the CAC and the community.

“I don’t want to imagine a day at the CAC without our volunteers. There certainly would be a lot more questions being asked of me and our house manager if we didn’t have the ushers,” Gonzalez-White added. “With the number of patrons we see in one show, having them stationed and available is a huge help, and a big service to our guests.”

Through the years, the men and women volunteers at the CAC have provided well in excess of 20,000 hours of service to the community. Most of the venue’s current volunteer members have been in their positions for many years, and there are seven — Sylvia Miller, Susan Baker, Jody Tedesco, Sue Berta, Deb Davison and Jeff and Kathy Richards — who have been offering their time to the concert hall since 1993, when the CAC first started providing training classes for volunteers.

“I think it’s impressive how many people have been here for so long. The majority of ushers have been here for years and years,” said Sarah Bazydlo, CAC house manager. “I mean, I am the newest usher, if you think about it. I am in awe of how long they have been doing it.

“My job would be impossible if there was constant turnover,” she added.

Bazydlo, who only recently became house manager, said that she came into her new position with “not a lot of direction” and “just kind of jumped in.” Because of that, she had to rely on her seasoned volunteers all the more, until she got settled in.

“They were a dream,” Bazydlo said, mentioning that the volunteer house captain and supervisors do a lot of the footwork for her. “Everybody has been very helpful.”

Sylvia Miller is the CAC’s current house captain, and as such she works as an assistant to Bazydlo. She also oversees all of the other ushers on show nights.

Though the CAC has hundreds of volunteers, the venue only needs about 50 of them at each show to keep things running smoothly, Miller said. She also mentioned that at the beginning of each month a sign-up sheet is posted, so they know who is available to work each show. The duties for each performance are then delegated from there.

“Our responsibility is the theater and the people who are here,” said Miller. “We love the job and we love the theater.”

Miller loves working at the CAC so much, in fact, that she usually gets to the venue at 6 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. show, even though that’s earlier than the volunteers are required to be there. Only one other volunteer beats her to the concert hall before performances — Lou Hunsinger Sr.

“I love interacting with people. I interact so much that I go on Vince Lombardi time — if you are 15 minutes early, you are a half-hour late. I am usually here around a quarter-after-five,” said Hunsinger, who has been a volunteer since 1995. “It keeps me young.”

Hunsinger, a greeter at the venue, is a supervisor for the other volunteers working outside the CAC doors. He said that he likes to mentor new volunteer members when he can, and above all else he stresses the need for them to be courteous whenever interacting with a patron.

“I want them to be helpful whenever possible,” he said.

George Casella, a 10-year veteran of the CAC’s Volunteer Corps, also works as a greeter for the theater. He still remembers Hunsinger showing him the ropes when he first started in that position at the CAC.

“Lou has been on since I came, and I learned what I need to know from him,” Casella said.

Casella mentioned that he was a patron of the CAC for over 15 years before he decided to volunteer there. After watching nearly 120 shows there by his estimations, he said he finally wanted to see things from “inside out.”

“We make patrons feel like they are special, and that helps,” said Casella. “I like to be on that side of it.”

Rita Marzzacco, another longtime volunteer member, has been working with the CAC since 1998. Like many others, she said she was inspired to volunteer because it was a way for her to give back to the community and she wanted to be a part of the excitement that goes on at the venue during show nights.

Given how long she has been serving there, she has seen the concert hall undergo many transformations through the years, she said.

“We have gone through a lot of changes, and I think the CAC has become one of the nicest places to visit,” Marzzacco said.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a show at the CAC can attest to the fact that the venue runs like a well-oiled machine. That cohesiveness and efficiency comes from the close-knit atmosphere among the volunteers themselves.

“It feels like a family,” said Sherry Karchner, who has volunteered as an usher since 1995.

Karchner said she wanted to work at the CAC as a way of “meeting new friends and people,” after she first moved to Lycoming County. She considers that a mission accomplished, but did mention that at times being an usher can have its stressful moments.

“You can get a little upset because you get so many patrons at one time. Sometimes we also have people in the wrong seats, but we get them all straightened out,” Karchner said. “You have to know your seat numbers, that’s for sure — your odd and even sides. That is usually what we try to teach the new ones coming on, where the seat numbers are and everything.”

Though the great efforts of the CAC’s Volunteer Corps might be taken for granted by some, they have not gone unnoticed by the local organizations that host their seasons at the concert hall, like the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra and the Williamsport Community Concert Association.

“Our ‘Star Volunteers,’ as we refer to them, play a significant role in creating a welcoming environment and a pleasant experience to WSO concertgoers,” said Hind Jabbour, WSO director of operations. “Greeting attendees with kind words and warm smiles upon arrival, helping them with their coats, walking them to their seats, and wishing them a pleasant evening as they exit, add an extra layer of warmth and connectivity to the music and the WSO.”

That sentiment was shared by Cynthia Staiman Vosk, executive director of the WCCA, who said that, “One of the pleasures and gratifying benefits of presenting our concerts at the CAC has been the gracious, attentive and competent usher staff at every show.”

“We know our attendees are in good hands from the moment they enter the theater until the moment they leave,” added Staiman Vosk. “We applaud these wonderful volunteers.”

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