May 23, 2007
The Tennessean covers upcoming BA3 performance
Proceeds from the upcoming Beegie Adair Trio Music and Memories concert at The Martin Center of Senior Citizens Inc. are expected to balance the nonprofit organization’s 2006-07 budget.
Martin Center staffers are hopeful for a $20,000 intake through sponsorships and ticket sales for its June 12 concert with jazz pianist Adair. That amount will shore up the center’s $254,000 budget for this fiscal year, activities director Sherry Coss said.
Adair, who has recorded 24 albums covering everything from Cole Porter standards to old movie themes to World War II-era ballads, heard about the center through her Franklin neighbor.
“She has so many good things to say about The Martin Center,” Coss said.
The center is challenged each year with providing its members and patrons with an array of services, while meeting its financial obligations within the confines of what Coss calls a “bare bones budget.” The facility’s needs and offerings are expected to increase this summer as the first residents at The Heritage of Brentwood retirement community begin to move into their new homes, situated right behind The Martin Center.
The facility’s biggest expenses are the salaries and benefits for its three full-time employees. Occupancy costs for the center’s 16,000-square-foot facility on Heritage Way account for another sizable chunk of the budget, director Joyce Keistler said.
More than 2,000 people visit The Martin Center each year, taking advantage of educational, artistic, volunteer and recreational opportunities. The center offers more than 60 different programs every month.
The United Way of Williamson County, the city of Brentwood and Williamson County contributed a total of $77,000 worth of grants to The Martin Center. The remainder of the organization’s budget is supplemented through membership fees, special event rental income, and corporate and individual contributions and fundraisers, including the Music and Memories concert and the Martin Masters art show, held for the first time last fall.
“What we really need and appreciate is to have the community put their arms around us and hold us up,” Coss said. “People have been so incredibly generous, but our needs seem to change and increase every year.”
That generosity, in large part, comes in the form of the center’s 162 volunteers, who completed some 4,108 hours of service over the past year.
“They do everything from changing light bulbs to taking out the trash and vacuuming,” Coss said. “With a staff of just three, we’d have a pretty hard time getting anything done without our volunteers. I mean, our front desk is completely manned by volunteers.”
But keeping the center open and offering the kinds of programs and services to keep its 400-plus members involved takes more than just elbow grease and a willingness to work.
The upcoming Beegie Adair Trio concert, with the Mick Foundation as its $5,000 signature sponsor, is the center’s final lunge at meeting its budget for the year. Individual and corporate sponsors are still needed.
“We’re really hopeful that people will come out and support The Martin Center,” Coss said. “I think just being here for the concert will give people a glimpse of how much the center does for this community.”
Tickets are $30 in advance and are available, along with sponsorship information, by calling 615-376-0102.