Business Innovators Radio - The Inspired Impact Podcast with Judy Carlson-Interview with Leigh Chandler, Executive Director, Lone Tree Arts Center

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Leigh Chandler was appointed as the Executive Director at the Lone Tree Arts Center (LTAC) in 2022, after serving as Artistic Director and Marketing Director. As Executive Director, Leigh oversees LTAC’s operations and guides the organization’s artistic vision, including Main Stage, Community Impact, and other specialized programming. Previously, Ms. Chandler served for eight years in a marketing director role at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vermont. She grew up outside of New York City and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations.https://www.lonetreeartscenter.org/https://www.facebook.com/Lonetreeartscenterhttps://www.instagram.com/ltartscenter*************************************************************Judy is the CEO & Founder of the Judy Carlson Financial Group. She helps her clients design, build, and implement fully integrated and coordinated financial plans from today through life expectancy and legacy.She is an Independent Fiduciary and Comprehensive Financial Planner who specializes in Wealth Decumulation Strategies. Judy is a CPA, Investment Advisor Representative, Life and Health Insurance Licensed, and Long-Term Care Certified.Judy’s mission is to educate and empower her clients with an all-inclusive financial plan that encourages and motivates them to pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams.Learn More: https://judycarlson.com/Investment Adviser Representative of and advisory services offered through Royal Fund Management, LLC, an SEC Registered Adviser.The Inspired Impact Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/the-inspired-impact-podcast-with-judy-carlson-interview-with-leigh-chandler-executive-director-lone-tree-arts-center

Welcome to the Inspired Impact Podcast, where dedicated female professionals share how they inspire impact every day. Authentic stories, passionate commitment, lives transformed. I'm your host, Judy Carlson. Welcome to today's episode of the Inspired Impact Podcast. Today's guest is a very special woman with a passion and flair for the inspired impact podcast. the creative arts. She's currently the executive director of the Lone Tree Arts Center in Lone Tree, Colorado. Lee Chandler, welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much. It's such an honor to be here.

I'm very excited to talk with you. Yay. So let's start. I just want to hear about your journey where you started, what inspired you to pursue the path you're on, and how it's allowed you to make an impact in your field? Well, I really have to start from the very beginning, not just in my career, but in my life. I grew up outside of New York City, and that afforded me a ton of opportunity to take in the arts. And I really credit my parents with really fostering a love of the arts. When I was a kid, it used to annoy me when I was a kid, but looking back now, I was very lucky my parents used to blast classical music on the stereo all the time. They would take us, my sister and I, to classical music concerts.

They really encouraged us to learn how to play the piano. I also learned how to play the flute and the piccolo and the clarinet. And of course, growing up outside of New York City, I was able to go to Broadway a few times, not a ton, but a few times. And it really fostered my love of being. being creative for one thing. However, what I've learned is that I'm not really a front creative person. I'm sort of a behind the scenes creative person, which is fine with me. I still get to participate. But I really credit my parents with that. And also, if anybody's listening who

has younger kids, I would so encourage that because it not only helped me love the arts, but it also makes your brain work in a different way than, you know, when you're studying math or science or English. So that's really where my love of the arts started. However, when I was going to college, I didn't really ever anticipate that I'd be able to make a living in the arts. So I went to Cornell University and studied industrial and labor relations, which is probably as far away from the arts as you can get, thinking that I was going to be a lawyer, which is what my father was. My father was an attorney for the legal aid society for a number of years. And then he was a criminal defense lawyer and then was in private practice after that and thought I would follow in his footsteps. But when I got to school,

realized that it was not something that was for me. And really what I learned, I mean, I feel like I learned how to think when I was in college. But also, I really felt like I wanted to make an impact somehow. And that really drew me to nonprofit work. So I worked for a few different organizations after I graduated, a nonprofit arts organization. Strangely enough, a nonprofit organization that put on educational seminars for attorneys. Little blip in my path, to be honest with it. And then a nonprofit healthcare organization.

But when I was done with that, I really wanted to get back into the arts because it's always been a passion of mine. And I was living in Burlington, Vermont at the time. And there was an Art Deco theater there that was built in the 30s. It was a beautiful, beautiful theater. It was really the only game in town. It was a 1500 seat theater that I would attend all the time. And they had a job opening for a marketing director. and I have been doing marketing for the nonprofit health organization and thought, you know, if I'm going to do anything, that's what I want to do. And that's what I did. So I worked there for about eight years and then moved to Colorado when my partner got transferred. And that was back in 2015. And once I started working, the theater in Burlington is called the Flynn Theater. And when I started working there, I knew I had found my home for the rest of my life, honestly. And

it's because I see how inspiring people, how inspiring art is for people. I don't know how else to say that, but one thing that I think happens when you walk into a theater to see a performance is that you get to leave yourself for a little while. Or, you know, if you're coming for entertainment, that's amazing. And you get to forget about all of your cares, all the stress that's going on in your life. and just have fun and how rare is that? I mean, if you're sitting at home watching TV, that's great and relaxing, but also your brain is probably still working. So I saw that and the effect that the arts have on just making people relax for a little while and have a good time and forget about everything. And then, of course, we had student matinees there, which of course

we have in the Lone Tree Arts Center as well. And I saw how our artists could inspire young children to be excited about learning because they don't realize that they're learning something necessarily when they're watching something on stage. And I was hooked. I mean, how can you argue with that? Like the rest of your life and feel like you're inspiring people that way? Of course. So I moved to Colorado, like I said, in 2015, started off as the marketing director here, the Lone Tree Arts Center. And I will just back up for a second and say that one of the reasons that I wanted to work here specifically in Lone Tree is that it has a really unique setup and

presenting and programming models. So first of all, people may know this or maybe not, but the Lone Tree Arts Center is owned and operated by the city of Lone Tree. And it's a very unique thing. Not usual across the country. Most arts organizations, most performing arts organizations are nonprofits. We are not. We have a nonprofit arm, but we do get some support from the city of Loan Tree. We also need to fundraise to make up the rest of our budget. But that's really unique and has some real advantages, to be honest with you. It's got some real advantages. So that was one reason. I was curious about that.

But also, the Flynn in Burlington was really just a presenting organization. And what that means is that we brought in artists, local, national, international artists to perform on our stage. And the Lone Tree Arts Center is a program producing and presenting organization. So we do that. We bring in local, Colorado-based, national, international artists to perform. but we also produce our own theatrical shows, which means we hire the director, we hire the choreographer, we hire the actors,

we hire the whole creative team. And we do two to three of those a year. And they're professional. We operate under an actors' equity contract, which means it's a little different than, say, a community theater. So we do auditions sometimes in New York and L.A. We try to hire as many actors as we can from Denver

or from Colorado, obviously. But when you're a professional theater, it means that the actors get paid a lot more. And the quality of what you see on the stage is what you would see, for example, at the Denver Center or even on Broadway, in my opinion. So that was very appealing to me to learn what that was all like.

I had never produced anything before in my life. And I thought, well, that seems fun. So I came in 2015, was the marketing director. and then became the artistic director in 2021, which means just basically being in charge of the programming and figuring out what we're doing on our stage, and then became the executive director a year later. Wow.

And here I am. And here you are. And you're here for a time, right? Or forever? Or what are your thoughts, Lee? I hope so. I mean, who knows what the future will bring, but what I will say is very exciting.

exciting about the city of Lone Tree is that we're growing by leaves and bounds. We have about 15,000 residents right now, but there's a ton of development happening east of Interstate 25, and that's going to probably double our population within the next 10 years, which provides a ton of opportunity for us as an arts center in so many ways. But one of the things that I'm most excited about is that we're building a regional park east of 25 and it's going to have an amphitheater that's probably going to seat anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people and the Lone Tree Arts Center will program that. So I'm incredibly excited about that because, again, it provides so much opportunity for people. You know, we are based on Lone Tree and certainly we serve Lone Tree residents, but we really draw from the

whole South Metro area, and even from Denver and North, to be honest. And this will give people another option, people who maybe don't want to drive down to Denver anymore because of traffic or, you know, whatever. And there are things that I'd love to do in that amphitheater that are not happening in the South Metro area. For example, I don't hold me to this because who knows what will happen, but I would love to be able to produce Shakespeare in the Park here, which is not something that really exists in the South Metro area. There's, there is a Shakespeare in the Wild program that runs for two weekends, but this, that's a little different than what I'm talking about. So, so there's so much opportunity and there's so much support for the arts in the South Metro area.

So I don't know why I would leave. I don't know why you would leave either. It sounds like things are really moving forward fast and furiously with your program. So tell me a little bit more about the producing aspect and how do we know that what we're going to come and view is produced or presented? Sure. It's a great question. So typically when we have what we call extended runs, it's a produced show. So something that we'll run. So something that will run. For us, typically it's two weeks. It might be three weeks. So, for example, this past fall, we produced Million Dollar Quartet, which is a fictionalized account of the night that Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash jammed together at Sun Studios in Memphis.

We ran that for two weeks. We had, I think, 13 performances. It was incredible. We built the set. Again, we hired the director, we hired the actors, we hired the choreographer, we had the whole creative team was something that we put together. And it's an extended run. It's a musical or a play. Generally speaking, if you're seeing a musical or a play on our stage, it's something that we've produced. And then our presented shows are more like touring artists. So, for example, this

Saturday night, we have Richie Fierre from Buffalo Springfield, who's going to be performing on our stage. We have the miracles coming in a couple of weeks. Smokey Robinson, obviously not with them anymore. But, you know, that group is coming. Or if we have a dance group or something like that, generally speaking, it's a presented show and not produced. So when you do the produced shows, were there already people on staff who could find the direction? and find the actors and actresses, or how does that take place? Sure, it's such a good question.

So typically the lifespan of producing is this. I'll start thinking about a title. I mean, that's really the first thing. What do we want to produce? So let's take Million Dollar Quartet, for example. Let me back up for a moment. When we opened in 2011, we had an agreement with the Arvada Center where they would bring their musicals down to us and present them here so that folks didn't have to drive to Arvada to be able to see that work. And that partnership was great.

But after a year or two, we thought, you know, we can do this ourselves and we could have a little bit more creative agency over the production, including picking a title. So we brought that in-house and started producing. And we were pretty successful at it, quite honestly. We had an incredible production of Avita back, I think, in 2017. Still, I think back to that production, it kind of blew my mind. And in 2019, we took a little bit of a break from producing because we're a 500-seat house. And these productions are incredibly expensive to mount. And we wanted to think about how we might be able to have a more lucrative financial return from those.

So we took a little bit of a break and we started back up again. And actually, it worked out really well because with COVID, if we had been producing then, it probably would have been really devastating for us. So we were very lucky, honestly. but we were able in 2021 or 20, sorry, 2020, three to go back to producing, because we, our city council was very supportive of us doing that. And we kind of worked out how we might be able to do it in a better way financially.

So in 2023, I had to start, well, really in 2022, I had to start thinking, what are we going to come back with? It'll have been four years. It's got to be a title that people know, people love.

And I decided dream girls. And the reason that I decided dream girls, too, was because as a young kid, I went to see it on Broadway, was really blown away. A lot of people know the music. It's the story, it's basically the story of the Supremes

and Diana Ross. And so people know a lot of the music. It's a great story. It's a story that's for everybody. And I just thought it would be a great thing to come back. with. So that's, that's my thought process when I'm trying to pick a title. We did a production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in this past spring. And that was, I chose that because I wanted a title that

people knew and I wanted something to be interesting and different than Dreamgirls. Obviously, I wanted it to be a play. And I wanted people to be guessing, you know, like to have fun when they come to see something here. So that's why I chose that million dollar quartet. Same thing as Dreamgirls. Everybody knows the music. Everybody knows blue suede shoes. Something that people can have a good time with. So that's the first thing I have to do is choose a title. Once I do that, I'm pretty connected to the community here. So I started thinking about, well, who do I think might be somebody locally who could direct this? I talk with my team to see. what ideas they have. And then I offer the position to somebody and they accept. And then we start

talking about the creative team, the rest of the creative team, which could include a choreographer, certainly includes a scenic designer, somebody who puts together the set, a sound designer, a lighting designer, a costume designer. And I put that team together in consultation with the director. We've been working with an incredible casting director named Sylvia Gregory, who's really well-known locally. So she knows everybody and anybody. We hold auditions, and then we hire the actors, and then we basically have the team set, and we start rehearsing, and we open the show. Wow. That's the lifespan of that. That is super exciting. That was not a piece I was familiar with. So thank you for sharing all of that. And it's nice. It's just come back so that now we can all

start to attend. So what's coming up then? You've got a title for something in 2025? I do. So we already have the creative team and the actors set for our next production, which is Ken Ludwig's Baskerville. It's a Sherlock Holmes mystery, but it's a farce. It's like a farcical take on the hounds of the Baskervilles. And there are six actors. Obviously, one will be Sherlock Fox Holmes, one will be Watson. The other four play about 30 or 40 characters. So it's very fast-paced and just very funny. It's a little silly, but like funny. And I'm so excited. I'm so excited to produce it. The director is Matt Zambrano. He is a local actor and director, and he's been in the show before, and he's also a mime and a clown. So he knows how to bring out, you

know, the humor in the show through the actors. And we just had our first production meeting on Monday. Yeah, Monday. And I'm so, I can't wait for this show. It's just going to be fantastic. That sounds exciting. Yeah, I just want people to come and have a good time, and that's what they're going to do. It is true.

There is something about sitting in a theater and being completely absorbed because it's dark and you're focused on one thing, whereas in front of the TV, there's always a lot of other stuff going on around you and you might pause it to make popcorn or, you know, get something to drink or answer the door or take the dog out. And it's just completely different when you're absorbed in the theater. I love that. Totally true. And there's also something about a shared experience with other people. You know, especially after COVID, quite frankly, the world has completely changed. And you don't necessarily have the opportunity to have that kind of a shared experience with 499 other people who are sitting there with you.

And it helps you see things differently, quite frankly, how other people are reacting to things. You just simply don't get that when you're not at a lot of performance with other people. So you have made an impact on so many people throughout your career and including at the Lone Tree Arts Center. Tell us about an experience where you realize you were really making a difference in someone's life. Well, you know, I'm lucky. I'm very lucky because through our programs at the Lowndry Arts Center,

we get feedback from our patrons all the time. It's not always positive, and that's fine. I'm very open to feedback that people have, and I want to know what people like and what they don't like. But one of our programs is for people who have autism or developmental disabilities, we provide sensory inclusive programming. Typically, it's once a month on a Sunday afternoon. And the program has really grown since I've been here. I think we started it maybe a year or two before I started working here.

But we've been able to grow it. And if you think about it, well, let me explain what a sensory inclusive performance is. before I talk about the impact. We work with the artist to maybe modify their performance if there's anything scary or if there's dark lights or anything, anything that might be a little off-putting to people. We keep the lights up a little bit. We turn the sound levels down a little bit. We do jazz hands instead of clapping because clapping can, you know, be tough for some people.

We let people get up and walk around if they need. to, they can make noise and talk if they want to. And honestly, when we started doing it, even, even I would say three years ago, it was really a different experience for artists. They weren't used to not hearing people clap after a musical number or something like that. And it's, people are getting used to this now, which is incredible, because if you're somebody who may have trouble sitting or may be afraid of the dark or, you know, may not be able to sit still for an hour, usually these performances are an hour, you were not welcome in the theater because it's dark, you know, it can be loud, there can be scary things

happening on stage. And this is a way, I mean, the theater should be for everybody. Everybody should be able to experience the arts, however, it makes sense for them. And this is a way to do that. So we've been doing this, like I said, since about 2013. and they've expanded. And the most recent example that I can give you where I feel like I've made an impact is through this program. We got a handwritten note from a woman who took her granddaughter to see one of our sensory inclusive shows basically saying to us, oh my gosh, you know, I never thought I'd be able

to bring my granddaughter to see a show. And you were incredibly welcoming from that. the time that we walked in, we have an agreement with an organization that has dogs that go to shows like this or go to places where people with autism might be, and it helps calm them down. You know, we saw the dogs. We have a program with the Wellspring community in Castle Rock, where we train their stars to be ushers at our sensory inclusive shows so that somebody who's coming in to see a show,

see somebody who looks like them or, you know, who they can relate to. And so, you know, they felt welcomed by our wellspring ushers that were here. And they felt like they could get up and walk around if they needed to. We always have a quiet space set up if people need to take a break. So we have lava lamps and weighted blankets and fidgets in there that they can play with. And she just felt so welcome and took the time out to write a note, which honestly, doesn't happen anymore. Not much, right. And it was just so incredible to me. We actually reached out to her and just thanked her for doing that because, like I said, it's just so unusual. And it helps us see the effect that we're having on people's lives where they felt like they

could not do something before and now they can because we're providing a welcoming space for them to be able to come. Yeah. Boy, to have more people know about that program would be really important. And we're doing everything we can to get the word out. Like I said, we've just grown it since we started it. And happily, other theaters in the Denver metro area are doing that too. In fact, we've helped train them back in, I want to say, 2018 and 2019, we had a couple of trainings for other theaters to help them provide sensory inclusive programming. And it makes a huge difference. And I'm so supportive of other theaters in the area. I want people to just go out and see the arts.

So whatever we can do to help make that happen, we're going to do. Really, the arts are for everybody. And this is, again, like I said, just a population of people that traditionally were not welcome. So whatever we can do to make them feel that way we're going to do. Yeah, it's so nice that you've taken a successful program and become a teaching theater. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we're, again, it's just so important.

and other theaters recognize how important it is too. So you're female and you've come up through the ranks and you're an executive director and has that been a positive experience for you being female or have you faced certain challenges? Tell us a little bit about that, Lee. Yeah, it's a great question. I want to go back to my parents for a second and just say that they instilled confidence in me and my sister in terms of, you know, you can do anything that you want to. If you want to be a brain surgeon, you could do that.

That was never something I was interested in. But they really inspired confidence in us. And I think that's only helped me in my career. Obviously, I've been really lucky to mostly work with women throughout my career. I think if you go into the nonprofit world, oftentimes there are a lot of women there. of course that's changing. There are a lot of men there too. But when you're working towards a common goal or the common good, I think a lot of people put maybe some of some stuff aside that might exist in the for-profit world. So I feel very lucky. I do. I think being female,

they're always going to be challenging, no matter what. I, you know, people, I think because you work with other women. Sometimes people really jockey to get to be, you know, in the top position, which can be challenging. But my philosophy has always been that I want the best for whatever organization I'm working, whether that's me or not me. It's okay. I want the best and I feel really committed no matter what I'm doing. And I think people appreciate that. And I think a lot of people that I'm surrounded with, certainly the people who work with me now all want the best and we're all going to do whatever it takes to get there. So, yeah, maybe some challenges.

I feel like, you know, you hit a setback and you move on because that's what you have to do. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And building that team around you is obviously making a huge difference in the theater there. It's critical. It's critical. And I will say, you know, we have, we are.

mostly female staff. We do have some men who work here, mostly behind the scenes on doing stage tech work. But we do have some men in our office. And everybody just works together really cohesively. And I'm sure that that has something to do with me, but it also has something to do with everybody who comes here. Again, the same kind of mindset.

And we've talked already about the impact that we're having. And that really motivates people. It truly motivates people. and we work in a fun place. I mean, we work in a place that provides entertainment. So you have to have a great team because people want to work in a place that's like that. Sure, there's stress, absolutely their stress. We have budgets that we need to meet, you know, and we always want to do, you know, well or do better than we have the year before.

And, you know, particularly working for a municipality. This is one place where it's a little bit different where we're a report. reporting to city council versus reporting to a nonprofit board. And city council has a lot of competing priorities, you know, snow plowing, trash services, you know, economic development. There's so many other things than an arts center. We want to do as best we can to help contribute to, you know, what's happening in the city. But for the most part, you know, I've been very lucky in terms of my career and being female and being taken seriously, obviously. I've been very, very lovely. You mentioned earlier that you'd need to do some fundraising. What types of things

do you do for that? Great question. So we have a fundraising staff, and they're incredible. So primarily, the way that our season works is that we run from September through May and then we have a small outdoor summer concert series, like three or four, small in terms of number of shows. We have like three or four performances. But we operate on a subscription model, which most theaters do. And our subscription model is like if you buy three or four shows for the year, you get a discount. If you buy five more shows, you get a greater discount. And we announce our season in May.

And that's when we really start our fundraising season in May. So a lot of people will donate when they renew their subscription. And truly, the reason that we, our budget is about $5 million. We get, I want to say around $1.3 million from the city. And the rest is made up with ticket sales and contributed income. So considerable. And that contributed income includes things like the Scientific and Cultural Facilities district.

And we get a Colorado Creative Industries brand and we apply for other brands. So it's not just individuals or corporations giving us money, but that certainly is a big part of our budget. So we start there. We have a gala every year that's usually connected to a performance. It's like a pre-show party or perhaps an apper show party as well. And that is huge for us. But we also have a nonprofit arm called the Loentry Arts Center Fund. And we became a nonprofit.

We had this nonprofit arm, I think back in. in 2017 or 2018, it started off mostly as a way for us to apply for grants, because as a municipality, you may not be eligible for grants that you would be if you were a nonprofit. So we put together a board that's made up primarily of business leaders in the loan tree community, and we've actually expanded the responsibilities of that board so that people who are on that board obviously are contributors to us, but they also help us fundraise outside of these walls by connecting us with other business owners or other companies in the area. And it's been really successful. So that's how we go about fundraising. We also do a tremendous year-end campaign.

But one of the things, I've already talked about our sensory inclusive programming, but we have other programs that we consider to be community impact programs. And they're kind of, they're similar from our main stage shows, but they're not, but they're not. So I'll tell you a little bit about those. I told you already that we do student matinees and we would consider those to be community impact. But we also have programs for kids. One is called seedlings. It's for toddlers, pre-K, and it's basically a once a month, like half hour to 45 minute show where kids and their caregivers, whether it's a parent or a grandparent can come in and just get moving. Like we do a dance show, we might do a music show where kids can sing.

And it's just to get them involved in the arts. If you're two or three years old, you're probably not going to remember doing that. But it is a way to get them kind of engaged and involved. And then we have a show, a series rather called Passport to Culture, which is once a month on Sunday afternoons. And that is for elementary and middle school age kids where it might be their first introduction to the theater. It happens on our main stage. We try to bring in a mix of Colorado-based artists and touring artists. And we try to have some sort of like perhaps an international flavor, but maybe not.

It could be an opera or it could be a musical performance. But just something to get them engaged. And that is something that hopefully. they'll remember and it could be their introduction to the arts. We also, if we call a passport to culture, we give kids actual little passport booklets and they get a stamp every time they come, it's really a sticker. And then once they come eight times, they can come to a show for free, but they're really low cost. Passport, I think, costs $7 a ticket. Seedlings might cost $5 a ticket. So they're really inexpensive programs that just get kids and their parents here to have them have an

experience that they probably, you know, are not having in their daily lives otherwise. And then we have programs for seniors. Our first one is called Arts in the Afternoon. It's once a month on Wednesdays. Mostly Colorado-based artists. It might be classical music. It might be flamenco music. It might be a dance performance with Cleo Parker Robinson dance.

And it's a way for seniors who, frankly, don't want to drive anymore at night or who live in, who live in facilities like Morningstar. are can come have a professional performance, see a professional performance. And then we have cookies and lemonade in the lobby with the artists afterwards so that they can have some social time, which they may not get, you know, when they're at home. So that's great. And then the last one is called Spark. And it's a program for people who are experiencing, like in the early stages of memory

loss and their caregivers. That's a completely free program that we're able to provide. and it's looking at some of the art on the wall that we have here because we have a gallery and a facilitated conversation around that art where people can talk and they literally are having conversations that they probably don't have in if they're living in a memory care unit or if they're living at home still but are in the throes of Alzheimer's or another memory loss disease. And we'll do, we've actually done musical performances before.

And it's incredible because people remember the words to songs that they knew 50 years ago, but they might not remember, you know, the person that they're there with. It's, it's truly incredible to see how people's brains work. It's truly, and again, impactful. So that's why we consider it to be community impact programs. So those programs are the ones that we really need to fundraise because they're so for, because they're so low cost. and they have an impact, and they really resonate with our donors, quite frankly.

I mean, obviously, there are people who want to give to some of our main stage programming, and that's fantastic, and we love that, and we need that. But we really want people to know about our community impact programs because they're making a difference in people's lives. From birth to death and everything in between. Holy cowley, really covered the whole gamut. congratulations. This is amazing to learn about. So how would you direct people, obviously, to your website, I'm sure, to learn about. So what would be your thoughts on that?

Yeah, that's right. Our website is loentreeartscenter.org. And you can find out about all of our programs there. I would also just encourage people if you live nearby. Stop in. Our box office is open from 10 to 4. We always have an art exhibit in our gallery, so you can definitely walk around and see what's happening on the walls. And we have, again, I've already mentioned this. We have an incredible staff, and that includes our box office agents. And they are so happy to tell you everything that's going on here. So definitely, yeah, stop in or, you know, you can certainly give us a call. But our website is really the best place to find out about what's happening. Wow. Well, thank you. Yeah, I love that.

the idea to just stop in and get familiar with it, you know, and find out what's going on and perhaps, you know, buy a ticket to a performance while you're there. That's an awesome idea. So, well, this has been absolutely delightful. Thank you for your time and all of the inspiring things you shared with us and your impact you're making in the community at all different ages. Wow, it's a wealth of information. And I think there's a lot of people who are not familiar with everything that goes on there. So thank you for filling us all in, Lee. Thank you so much for having me. It's so much fun. Obviously, you can tell that I'm incredibly passionate about this. So whenever I can talk about it, I'm so happy to. And, you know,

I'd love to, you know, talk more. I love it. All right. Well, thank you so much. And we'll see you at the Lone Tree Arts Center. See you at the theater. Thanks so much for joining us for the Inspired Impact Podcast. To listen to past episodes, please visit the Inspired Impact Podcast.com.