RFB&D Chicago Loop Studio Facebook Group

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RFB&D Raffle is HERE!

Well, the raffle was delayed a bit but it has finally arrived!

We're having our annual "Back to School" fundraiser raffle. Tickets are $10 each. Up for grabs...Two Round-Trip tickets provided by Southwest Airlines! Only 300 will be sold, so your odds of winning are mighty decent...especially if you buy more than one! Pick up tickets in the Loop Studio next time you drop in and you could be flying anywhere Southwest flies for only $10, while helping to support your studio at the same time!

RFB&D RAFFLE IS COMING!

Now that spring is here, the annual RFB&D raffle is just weeks away. Don’t miss your chance to purchase raffle tickets and qualify for a chance to win two round-trip airline tickets provided by Southwest Airlines.

As you may know, Southwest Airlines flies to more than 75 destinations throughout the United States, and recently began offering service to Minneapolis and New York City. The airline is well-known for its low fares and lack of hidden fees.

This year, each raffle ticket will cost $10; you can also purchase three tickets for just $25. Since no more than 300 tickets will be sold, you have excellent odds of winning. The raffle will be held at our Orland Park studio; please watch this space for more information about the date and time.

Good luck to all.

Goodbye volunteers!

From Nat to the Chicago Studio volunteers:


Friday, April 24th, the last day of Record-A-Thon, will be my last day with the RFB&D Chicago studio. My wife and I will be moving back to the Boston area, which is where we grew up and lived before moving out here in 2004. Although we love Chicago, we’re Northeasterners at heart and the call of the ocean and the hills became too strong.

I have been with RFB&D since 2005- first as a volunteer, then a Production Assistant, and finally Production Director. This organization is truly a wonderful place, and has treated me incredibly well during my time here. I have nothing but fond feelings for RFB&D, and I have already notified our headquarters that, should a production position become available in the Boston studio, I’d jump at the chance to re-join the organization!

Mostly, though, I will be very sad to leave all of you. The greatest joy I receive from my job is working with all of the volunteers that contribute such amazing work to the organization. I know that the volunteer role here is difficult, and it requires tremendous patience (with staff forgetfulness, hot booths, and constantly-changing rules!) and equally tremendous dedication. It’s been absolutely wonderful to work with all of you, and being able to do so is the hardest part of my job to walk away from.

I am proud to announce that Andrew, who has been performing well beyond the call of duty as a Production Assistant since 2007, will be taking over as Production Director, and we will be hiring another Production Assistant to help out Andrew and Norma during the evening.
You can all be sure that whenever I visit Chicago in the future (and with some close friends here and cheap Southwest Airlines flights, you know I will!), I will be sure to visit the studio and I hope to see as many of you as I can!

Exciting news- Win a trip to the Illinois Capitol!

Design and Essay Contest
RFB&D is inviting all students using RFB&D in Illinois to participate in our 2nd Design and Essay Contest. We want to know what RFB&D means to you! You can tell us through artwork, whether you paint, sculpt or draw, or through writing in essay form.
The first prize winner in each category will receive a free trip, including transportation and lodging to join us at our Rotunda Rally in Springfield on April 21, 2009. The winning students will also be featured in our Illinois Unit newsletter.
Please submit your artwork and/or essay to the Illinois Unit office with a completed entry form (http://www.rfbd.org/essay_design_contest/entry_form.pdf) by March 27, 2009. Artwork should be easy to transport, but we do not have any limitations for how you express yourself! All submitted works will become property of RFB&D and will not be returned. Please contact Ellen Gallagher at 312-236-8715 x208 or egallagher@rfbd.org if you have any questions!

Volunteer Appreciation Party date set!

In past years, we've had a "Volunteer Appreciation Event". This year it's a party!

We're going a little more casual and comfortable this year, with the Volunteer Appreciation Party being hosted right here in the offices. (Don't worry, it'll look and feel much more festive than usual.) We'll have some great music, great food, great drinks, and no big speeches to cut into your socializing-time.

So come on down and bring a friend, spouse, date, acquaintance, guy-or-gal-you-just-met-on-the-street. It's a great way to celebrate all the work you've done, and to meet other volunteers who share the same passion, commitment, and enjoyment in volunteering for RFB&D!

Details:
Wednesday, December 10th
5:30ish-7:30ish
Right here in the studio at 180 N. Michigan

Hope to see you all there!

SO close!

I owe a huge THANK YOU to every volunteer that has helped out over the past fiscal year (which ended on June 30th). With all of your help- in reading, checking, editing, and book preparation- we were able to record 4,061 hours of audio, which was JUST shy of our goal of 4,250 hours.

Excellent work!

We've got a slightly higher goal for FY09 of 4,275 hours, so we'll need all the help we can get to reach that goal! Please tell your family, friends, coworkers, even strangers on the street, that we need more volunteers! Every hour you can give us will help us reach our goal, so let's make this next fiscal year as successful as the last! (Actually, how about we make it slightly more successful?)
: )

-Nat

Record-A-Thon photos!

As promised, I'm including a few photos from Record-A-Thon in this post.

First, here's some delicious food. Piles of meat, cookies, and popcorn = Yum!

RFB&D's own stellar volunteer, Michael Burgan, contributed a collection of books he's written, which are available for a donation.

This may not look like much, but starting AND completing 12 books in one week is an impressive feat! Great job guys and gals!

Here I am, with my lovely assistant (and RFB&D Office Manager) Sara Almassian, announcing the winning name in the Record-A-Thon lottery. The winner of two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines was Meg White. Congratulations Meg!