Elijah was a sell out, and in no small measure, this is due to the work of one of our many volunteers. We are so fortunate to have the help of one of our singers, Rick Richter, who for many years has been our point man on ticket distribution and sales. Rick and his wife Janie spend part of their year in Lexington and part in Michigan, and Rick sings in the bass section of both the RCS and the Chamber Singers.

In brief, ticket management involves proofing the ticket design before it goes to the printers and then distributing the tickets and keeping track of sales. Ahead of the concert date, tickets are distributed to the chorus members who pre-sell tickets, and to the two retail locations in downtown Lexington which, for years, have graciously pre-sold tickets - McCorkle's Hallmark and Books & Company. And, yes, Rick has a system to make it easy for the retail store sellers. The week of a concert, Rick collects remaining unsold tickets and the sales proceeds and then makes ready to sell tickets at the door on concert night. He has recruited volunteer ticket sellers who arrive early to sell tickets, and he makes sure the student volunteers at our W&L venues can check for tickets as they hand out programs. Rick says that the most critical thing he does is tracking tickets out and tickets sold when we are performing in smaller venues like Wilson Hall at the Lenfest Center, where there are only 300 seats. These concerts often sell out and there is over-flow in one of the adjacent rooms with video and sound, so keeping track of ticket count is crucial to make sure everyone who wants to attend can do so.

After many years of faithful service in this most important role, Rick would like to turn the ticket system over to another volunteer(s) in the coming year, so if anyone is interested in apprenticing, please let Rick know.