![]() We need your help! We have had some issues in recent mailings that let us know that our database of member information is not “up to snuff.” The Public Affairs Committee along with the Membership Chair has put together a “survey” in order to ensure we have your current information before we do our mail out in January for the election of new Board members. We are asking ALL members to take a few minutes and click on the link below to give us your current contact info, interests in the theater, and ways you might like to help out. https://bit.ly/ptpMembership The info will ONLY go into our database for OUR use and will be securely transmitted. We will diligently protect all information you provide. Even if you think we have your information correct, please fill out the document so we can be sure. Thanks for your help! Carol Charnock Membership Chair ![]() Harrieton “Mike” L. Merritt, 93, of LaPlata, MD -- known to many in the PTP community simply as Mr. Merritt -- passed away on October 30, 2020 at the Charlotte Hall Veteran’s Home. Born on April 26, 1927 in Smithville, WV to the late John and Verbia Merritt, he is also preceded in death by his second wife, Carol Merritt; brother, J. Kester Merritt; sister, Maxie G. Seabolt. Mike is survived by his first wife, Ruby Godfrey; sons, Gary Merritt (Dulce), John Merritt and Jeffrey Merritt (Beverly); daughter, Susan Rison (Charles); brother, Ken Merritt; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Mike proudly served in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was employed as a Teacher and later as Assistant Superintendent for Charles Co. Board of Education. He was a devoted member of the LaPlata United Methodist Church, a Mason and Lion’s Club member. Mike will be missed dearly but never forgotten by those he loved and those who knew him. The family will receive friends at the United Methodist Church (3 Port Tobacco Rd., LaPlata, MD) on Thursday from 5PM to 7PM, with a private family Service. A Graveside Service will be held at Ellenboro Masonic Cemetery in West Virginia. In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, LaPlata United Methodist Church Food Bank or the Harrieton L. “Mike” Merritt Scholarship Fund (P.O. Box 1228 LaPlata, MD 20646) Service will be streamed on Facebook live at La PlataUmc. Due to our nation’s pandemic, CDC protocol shall be followed requiring masks for all guests and social distancing. Online condolences may be shared at arehartechols.com. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Harrieton "Mike" L. Merritt, please visit the Arehart-Echols Funeral Home floral store. ![]() Welcome to the second edition of the Members News! I hope you enjoyed last month’s info. Please be sure to let me know if you have anything you would like to include in this forum. If you want to share a special upcoming event involving our members or something theater related that might be of interest to folks, please send me a note at [email protected]. On October 8, 2020 the Board met for its monthly meeting. Here are some of the highlights from that meeting:
Board meetings are open to membership to observe. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 7PM. If you would like to observe, please contact [email protected]. Chris will send you a link to the meeting. On a sad note, the Players lost long time member Nancy Gasparovic on October 3, 2020. She is greatly missed by her many friends in the PTP family. Here is a lovely write up of her life. Ticket prices for Musicals have been raised to $20 for Adults and $18 for Seniors, Students and Military. This increase was made because of the rise in the cost of putting on musicals. The royalties, script/orchestral rentals and general overhead has been going up a lot in the last few years and we need to increase the prices to patrons to help cover the costs. The 301 Derby Dames are sponsoring a “Trunk or Treat” party at the Charles County Fairgrounds on October 24, 2020 from 6-9pm. PTP will be sponsoring a “trunk”. Admission is free and it’s a drive through event. Please consider supporting the 301 Derby Dames and vote for the PTP trunk as the best! If you are interested in running for the board, please send a brief note to [email protected]. The note should state who is being nominated and contain the signatures of 2 current regular members and the signature of the nominee. Please watch for more details on the nomination and election process. Looking for ways to support Port Tobacco Players during our closure (we can sure use it!)? Here are some possibilities: 1) Regular donations can be made through our website. Any amount is certainly welcome. If you like, you can specify where your money goes. Maybe you can help pay a month’s electric bill? Telephone bill? Put the money towards the sound system? Your choice! 2) Purchase items from our Amazon Wish List (discussed last month). Go to ptplayers.com -> “Support” -> “Donate” -> and then scroll down to see the many ways you can support your theater! 3) With the Holiday Season coming up, your purchases through Smile.Amazon.com can result in a donation to PTP. Click here to set PTP as your charity on Amazon, or: set up a Smile.Amazon account (if you don’t already have one!), log in, select your charity (Port Tobacco Players) and Amazon will send us a percentage of your purchase price. 4) PayPal has identified PTP as one designated for the PayPal Giving Fund. That means that 100% of any donation given through PayPal will go to us. They will no longer deduct processing fees. 5) Brick Pavers – It’s never too late to get a brick with your name, memory, comment on it! Click here for information on how to purchase one! 6) Purchase PTP apparel! We have hats, scarves, shirts, sweatshirts – all embroidered with the PTP Logo! Great Christmas presents! Click here to shop. Help me keep you informed. Let me know what’s happening and what you want to hear about. I will do my best to research your ideas and get you information. – Carol Charnock, Membership Chair Written by Ladd Gasparovic
It's with great sadness we announce that our loving, energetic, larger-than- life mother, Nancy Hardin Gasparovic, passed away yesterday in Fredericksburg, VA. My sister Shannon Gasparovic Christianson and I couldn't have asked for a better mom to raise us and show us what it looked like to succeed in faith, family and in life. Our children- her grandchildren - couldn't have asked for a "Gigi" to love them more or have more fun with them. Nancy- our mom- was one of a kind. She was the eternal optimist. An always positive force in life that always made things more fun and more interesting! She loved fiercely and deeply - not just our family - but her VAST "extended family" of friends (many of whom we've never even met) that was always and still growing. She never met a stranger! She always made things more fun. She had incredible energy and she could still keep up with the best of them even into her 70's! She grew up in Beech Creek KY in a house that didn't have indoor plumbing. She won beauty pageants and scholarships to attend college (a first in her family), and put herself on a path to become an extremely successful woman in family, business, life, and in her faith. She put others first all the time. She changed not only her trajectory in life but the rest of her family and impacted and influenced so so many more. The world is definitely a better place because Nancy Hardin Gasparovic lived in it while she did. She played life BIG while she was here, helping so many people and always giving back to the community and to others in need. She was always helping others. Always. She taught us and SHOWED us that we could do anything... ANYTHING. And she believed we could. And we believed it because we watched her live life fearlessly and accomplish so many things not just for her or our family, but for others and the community. I'll miss my mom in so many ways. I owe so much gratitude of who I am and what I have to her influence and passion for life. She was our choir director. She was our music teacher in school. She was so much to so many. She cut a wide path and a deep path. Most important of all, she's always been a believer- a true Christian. She loved the Lord, and we know she's in heaven wrapped in His arms. She wasn't scared to die. I won't say that she was ready to go, because she loved life so much and I know she would've wanted to hang around longer to watch her grandkids grow older and graduate college and to have more fun in this world. But I can tell you from the conversations we had this year about the ** 2020/pandemic/murder hornets/"is the world possibly ending?"** environment we've been in, she and I had conversations specifically about dying. She told me that if the Lord was really coming in 2020, that she was ready to go! She wasn't scared to die because her faith was strong and she knew who she belonged to. I have faith because she did first and we're continuing to create the generational faith in our family that she helped grow and strengthen. That's a true legacy. What's the hardest part of losing her now? Those who know her know this... she loved PEOPLE and PARTIES! Her service would've never been a small, stuffy funeral, but a massive Celebration of Life!... A party to celebrate a life that was very well lived. Obviously with COVID and health and safety precautions we won't be able to give her that huge celebration at this time. But it will happen, we promise, when it's safe and possible. And it'll be exactly what she would have wanted: Her friends and family and those who love her, being together, having fun, sharing laughs and memories, making new memories, and sharing the love and joy that life offers us when we share it together. It sounds cliché, but tell your family and friends you love them. I would give anything to hang out with my mom one more time. But I do know that the last time I spoke to her I ended the call telling her I love her. We always did that. And I know she knew she was loved by me, Shannon and our families, and all of you. And I know she knew she was loved by and belonged to the Lord. Mom, Rest In Peace. We wish you were here longer with us, but we'll go on without you in this world in the way you'd want us to, and we'll continue to live life and create memories and adventures and help others and continue to honor you, our faith and your legacy in all we do. ![]() Hello! Welcome to our new Members News series! We (the Board of PTP) hope to use this space to keep the membership up to date on board actions, upcoming events, highlights of members doings, and anything you might want to hear about! You can let me (Carol Charnock) know what you want to hear about by contacting me at [email protected]. On September 15, 2020 the board met for its monthly meeting. Here are some highlights from that meeting:
Did you know that PTP has an Amazon Wish List? You can help us out by purchasing (for the theater) items like hand wipes, plastic cups, trash bags, tools/accessories for the shop, batteries for our headsets, etc.!! In order to see our wish list and make a purchase, click here or navigate the website from ptplayers.com -> “Support” -> “Donate” -> and then scroll down to see the many ways you can support your theater! We are going to do a Facebook Live tour of the theater to let you know about the renovations that have been done so far. Our Facilities Chair, Chris Magee, will give us an update of the changes and the comments will be open for questions. There will also be some FAQs for your information. If you have questions you would like addressed during the tour regarding the renovations, please send those questions to me at [email protected] and I will forward them to the team. We will keep you informed when the tour will be presented. Please help me keep you informed by keeping me informed! Let me know what you want to hear about, whether the information provided is of interest to you, and/or how I can help you get involved with the theater. This is OUR community theater – let’s stay connected! – Carol Charnock, Membership Chair |
AuthorPort Tobacco Players Archives
January 2024
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