Thanks for making show at Art Museum a special occasion

The Friends of Margaret Harwell Art Museum and the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library just celebrated the opening of Watercolor Now! 2018 exhibit with a special reception. Thank you, Sue Szostack and staff for immediately agreeing to co-host this event at the library. Our library is the best there is!

Watercolor Now! 2018 is a biennial traveling exhibit of the Watercolor USA Honor Society. We received 60 paintings from 60 artists from 25 different states; all quality, award winning artists with different styles and vision.

This was a special occasion so we threw a big fundraiser party to celebrate. I want to thank the following who made it a big success.

Thank you, Peoples Community Bank, our event sponsor. Their generous donation paid for the food. Mike Botkin was very cooperative in securing the funding for us.

Thank you, Kohlfeld Distributing, our beverage sponsor. Many thanks to Steve Faulkner and Matt Davis for donating the beverages and manning the bar!

Thank you, Matt Griffin and Cypress Creek Motorsports. They loaned us a super cool, Can Am, 5 passenger ATV that was fun to ride in and saved some hot guests a lot of steps between the museum and the library.

Thank you, Rev. Annette Joseph and the Holy Cross Episcopal Church. They loaned us 60 chairs and opened their doors for extra restrooms for our guests. They also let guests see their recently restored triptych depicting the Crucifixion.

Thank you, Municipal Utilities for the security light. That illuminated the Friends Sculpture Garden for the party, and made the museum more secure for the future.

Thank you, Poplar Bluff Street Dept. They loaned us a dozen sawhorses so we could close off Main Street to make going back and forth between the library and the museum safer.

Thank you, Poplar Bluff Police Department. Deputy Chief Don Trout sent us Detective Danny Hicks to help us with the road block. Det. Hicks chauffeured guests back and forth between the buildings, to their cars, and provided great security at the same time. Many thanks to Chief Danny Whitely and Deputy Chief Don Trout. They are dedicated to the community and eagerly support events like ours. They're the best!

Thanks to our raffle sponsors: Bronze Owl Brewing, McNeely Shoe Service, Myrtles Place, and Whitworth's Gift Chest Jewelers. These terrific downtown businesses support our community. We were able to raise even more money with the help of their prizes.

I want to especially thank the Friends of Margaret Harwell Art Museum. These dedicated folks meet every month to find ways to help the museum. This was the second big event they put on this year, the other being "An Evening with Paul Jackson". These two events have really put our museum on the map. Thank you, Friends for all your hard work and dedication!

The artists from The Honor Society who came to the opening as our guests were very impressed with everything. The food from Castellos was delicious and the music by the Garners was fantastic.

This was a great evening of top-quality art, beautiful music, fine food, drink, and convivial fellowship. Poplar Bluff showed itself in a very positive light to an important portal in the art world. Thanks again to all of those who made it happen.

And finally, thank you DAR and Donna Farley for giving us such great coverage!

-- Steve Whitworth

Director, Margaret

Harwell Art Museum