In a move that surprised the Fire Mountain Arts Council (FMAC) volunteers who run and maintain Morton’s Roxy Theater, the BCJ Gallery and the Tiller Arts and Events Center, Hampton Lumber Mills Cowlitz Division has pledged to donate a total of $75,000 — $25,000 annually for the next three years — to the FMAC.
“Hampton Lumber’s local Cowlitz Division has for many years been a supporter of the summer show, donating $1,500 toward it,” said April Doolittle, one of FMAC’s directors. “So (FMAC Treasurer) Fred (Schwindt) already had a relationship with them.”
Out of the blue, Schwindt received an email from Hampton Lumber offering to provide additional support to the work FMAC does.
“He sent an email back saying, ‘That sounds cool,’” Doolittle added.
A phone call ensued where Doolittle and Schwindt explained they had wanted to be able to support a part-time house manager for Roxy Theater to help with play and musical production and manage general theater operations.
“I said something to the effect of, ‘We just really need $20,000 a year for that position,’” Doolittle said. “... We were blown away a few days later when we got an email saying, ‘Well, how does $25,000 a year sound for three years?’”
Funding the salary for Roxy Theater’s house manager isn’t all the money is for, though. What money isn’t going to pay the house manager will go toward scholarships for local students interested in participating in FMAC’s on-stage youth theater productions.
“We believe in the power of the arts to inspire and transform communities,” Hampton Lumber Director of Public Affairs Kristin Rasmussen said in a Hampton Lumber news release. “We appreciate the valuable opportunities the (FMAC) provides in the community and are pleased to be able to enhance our support for their programs.”
The FMAC is a nonprofit originally founded to renovate the Roxy Theater in Morton in 2003. It continues to operate the theater as a cornerstone for arts and culture in East Lewis County.
Along with live theater productions, movie screenings are also held at the Roxy.
To learn more, visit https://firemac.org/.
Hampton Lumber Mills is a Pacific Northwest lumber company originally founded in Oregon in 1942. It now has 10 sawmills in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia run by over 1,700 employees. To learn more, visit https://www.hamptonlumber.com/.
