Barbara Hadden, 3rd from left, presents a check for $10,000 to Susan Diamond of the newly formed SullivanArc Foundation. She is joined by daughter Susan Hadden, far left, and son Steven Hadden, far right. Both are recipients of SullivanArc’s services.
MONTICELLO - SullivanArc, a not-for-profit organization supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Sullivan County since 1949, concluded its 60th anniversary celebration with the formation of the SullivanArc Foundation.
The Foundation’s Executive Director, Susan Diamond states, “Our purpose will be to provide a source of long-term financial support to help supplement the organization’s traditional funding streams allowing development of new and innovative programs and services.” The Foundation will concentrate on developing resources that will enhance the sole needs of people with developmental disabilities.
Barbara Hadden, of Liberty, a parent of two long time recipients of SullivanArc’s services has helped initiate the creation of the Foundation fund with a donation of $10,000.
A group of dedicated volunteers, all Sullivan County residents have joined together as a Board of Directors and are committed to help raise funds for the SullivanArc Foundation. The board members are Luis Alvarez, Howard Braunstein, Dan Briggs, Cheryl Dorn, Steven Drobysh, Alana Goldstein, Bernita N. Kimble, Lynn McDonald, Kirk Orseck, Keri Poley, Glen Pontier and Wayne Zanetti.
Susan Diamond stresses that the success of the SullivanArc Foundation will play a key role in improving the quality of life for individuals served by SullivanArc as well as the community. “It is a tough year for everyone, but you don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference” she concludes, reminding us that cash, life insurance, stock, real estate are all assets that can contribute to achieving SullivanArc’s mission and help the SullivanArc Foundation grow.
Ms. Diamond can be contacted at 845-796-1350 ext. 1003 for information regarding tax-deductible gifts, IRA charitable rollovers, charitable gift annuities, planned giving or corporate giving. Or visit their website at www.sullivanarc.org.
* Editor’s note – On the occasion of SullivanArc’s 60th Anniversary the following video was made by Geraldo Rivera. It tells of the extraordinary accomplishments of this dedicated organization and is included here to give a glimpse into what can be done with love and dedication of service. Way to go SullivanArc!








Paul Austin’s “Not Much to Say” Debuts at LFT
December 3, 2009 by thecatskillchronicle
Story and photos by Ted Waddell
James Sullivan as “Stanley” and Dana Preibe as “Winnie” meet “Buster,” portrayed by Valerie Mansi (center).
LIBERTY – “Not Much to Say” a new play in three scenes by Paul Austin, founder and artistic director of the intimate-space Liberty Free Theatre, where the motto is “everyone welcome, always”, debuts this week for a run of eight performances.
“Not Much to Say” takes double billing along with Ara Watson’s acclaimed “Final Placement”, in Austin’s words about “Final Placement,” “It is brutally candid and profoundly compassionate as it investigates the confrontation between a social worker and a young mother whose child has been taken away from her.”
In explaining the back story of “Not Much to Say,” Austin said he penned it as a homage to Nobel Laureates Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. “When I was a young actor in the late 1950s and early 60s, Beckett and Pinter were just arriving in young theatre peoples’ awareness, and it was a real eye-opener for me,” he recalled.
“They were new authentic voices in a time of seminal changes…you couldn’t articulate it, but you could feel it, it did something to you, and it opened up a new way of thinking and looking at the world.”
As young actors ‘world turned’, Austin said the works of the two post-atomic era playwrights caused them to view the world at large as “at once more fascinating and more frightening…the realization that death is inevitable, and both these writers helped us accept that. They were the playwrights of the vast empty wasteland of nuclear disaster,” he added. “It’s not all Norman Rockwell paintings.”
“Not Much to Say” is a comedy caper with a dark side about a couple of young lovers nabbed stealing money from an “important person” a sinister presence who settles scores with a silenced semi-automatic pistol. As Austin fleshed out the characters and pared the dialogue to one-word-at-a-time, he selected their stage names based upon associations to Beckett and Pinter.
Mansi has appeared at Liberty Free Theatre in “Goods & Guns,” “Off the Wall” and “The Universal Wolf”, along with productions staged by Way Off Broadway and RISE’s “The Vagina Monologues.” She studied at HB Studio in New York City, and recently participated in a staged reading of Andy Bloch’s “The Bellflower Sessions,” alongside Forbes March, Paula Ewin and T.J. Johnson.
“Buster’s” two henchmen, “Hal” played by Tom DelFavero and Michael “Friz” Frizalone as “Sam” derive their stage names from Pinter and Beckett, respectively.
Priebe in the role of “Winnie,” in homage to a female lead in Beckett’s “Happy Days,” is a regular at the Liberty Free Theatre, where she has been seen in “Face Divided,” “Betrayed by Everyone,” “The Person I Once Was,” “Why We Have a Body,” and Rilla Askew’s “By the Time We Got to Woodstock.”
Other notable roles include Billy Einhorn in “House of Blue Leaves,” Jonathan in Way Off Broadway Too’s “Dracula,” and for the Little Victory Players, the portray of Christian in “Cyrano deBergerac.” Film credits include an appearance in Ron Littke’s “Murder at the Stone Arch Bridge,” and in Littke’s radio play “No U Turn.”
“Not Much to Say” is not recommended for kids or folks with overly sensitive ears, as the terse language is at times a bit salty.
Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at
3:00 p.m., December 3-6, and December 10-13. Seating is limited, so reservations are recommended. For information/reservations, call 292-3788. The Liberty Free Theatre is located at 109 South Main Street, Liberty, NY.
To view more photos or to purchase prints from Paul Austin’s “Not Much to Say” Debuts at LFT visit the Chronicle on Zenfolio.
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