Hospital joins long list of sponsorsBy Matt Felice The Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center is sponsoring the Brass Band Festival for the first time this year with in-kind donations and volunteer work. The hospital's assistance exceeds the dollar amount needed to qualify it as an official sponsor. Stuart Arnold, director of community relations for the hospital, said the medical center will help with accommodations for band members. Also, Arnold himself designed the pins and T-shirts for the event and ordered other materials that will be used to raise funds for the festival. "Our tag line that we use is `Working together for a healthy community,'" said Arnold. "Part of being healthy is carving out time to have fun. It reduces stress and blood pressure. The Brass Band Festival is a positive stress-free event for the community. People don't take enough leisure time these days. We support it because it's a healthy thing for the community." It beats a lot of other leisure time activities. "It's better than sitting at home in front of the TV eating potato chips," he added. The total cost of the band festival is $127,000. The largest expense is transportation and housing accommodations for the bands, which is $52,000. Production costs are the second largest expense, at $21,000. Festival coordinator George Foreman said sponsors are essential to the event's success. Major contributors:Centre College Band Sponsors:Bank One/Danville Sponsors:ATR Wire and Cable Company, Inc. Poster Design:Trapp Communications, Inc.Lexington Separations:Patron Graphics-Fort Thomas Printing:Advertiser Printers, Inc.-Lexington The Great American Brass Band Festival is produced by the Norton Center for the Arts of Centre College. |