VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Jessica Holzer
W
HEN JESSICA HOLZER first became involved with Shakespeare Festival St. Louis in 2002, she admits it wasn’t because she knew a lot about the Bard—but she loved Forest Park. “I live in the Central West End and I use Forest Park all the time—it’s an incredible resource,” she says. “I love the Art Museum, the History Museum and the Science Museum; for the past 40 years, my family and I have used Forest Park. So I thought the idea of having Shakespeare in the Park was incredible.” When Holzer, managing director at Citi, got to experience a Shakespeare Festival performance for the first time, she saw how right that first impression was. “It’s wonderful to see 3,000 to 5,000 people sitting in Shakespeare Glen with their friends and family, having picnics and having a wonderful time, and they all share in this experience from a playwright who first started delivering his plays in that type of environment. These plays
were made for the common people; it wasn’t for the aristocracy, and the topics are about the entire spectrum of emotions that we all share.” Serving first as a board member, then as a vicechair and later as board chair, Holzer has attended virtually every Forest Park performance for the past several years. Now the immediate past chair, she enjoys walking through the crowd and seeing the same groups—with their picnic on a table topped by candles, or with a 30-person cocktail party—year after year. “There are all these traditions associated with the audience, which is great.” While serving as chair, Holzer says her top priority was to review the nonprofit’s strategic plan and ensure the organization would be able to continue its growth and success. “When I became vice-chair, it was Rick Dildine’s second year here, and he’s an extraordinary executive and artistic director for us. It’s been a magnificent fit,” she says. “It was critically important that we be able to support all of his wonderful ideas and the innovation that he brought to us and leverage all of that so we could keep moving the organization in a commensurate manner.”
Announcing the opening of
Ladue Internal Medicine Residential and Commercial Installations
314-966-3775
•
lifemediallc.net
• Whole House Audio/Video • Home Theater Systems • Home Automation • Security & Surveillance
St. Luke’s high-quality primary care now available right in Ladue! Jaya Goel, MD is now practicing at Ladue Internal Medicine. • Provides personalized care to all patients, ages 18 and up. • Offers services in both English and Hindi. • Located in the Ladue Crossing Shopping Center, right next to the St. Luke’s Urgent Care Center. Same and next day appointments available, including Saturday hours! Ladue Internal Medicine 8857 B Ladue Road Ladue, MO 63124 314-682-3626 At I-170 and Ladue Road
• Home & Office Networking
3-2767
{LadueNews.com} June 12, 2015
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