Well, the time has come for my last blog post for the GBS as a co op student. Grab a snack and a glass of something cold, this is going to be a long one. The One With The Thank-You's I would like to start out by saying thank you, and there is a good list of people to name. Firstly, thank you to the Symphony’s Business Manager David Adair for his limitless patience as I first learned how to work with the programs that the GBS uses on a regular basis, I like to think that I have gotten the hang of it by this point. Furthermore, for helping me through projects like sorting out the music library, processing subscription renewals, building timelines, putting together program notes, helping out at

Before I talk about anything else, I feel the need to maintain the theme of this month – subscription renewals. We have just completed the second round of phone calls, with the deadline to renew coming up next Friday, June 30th. I won’t say too much more about them, because I’m sure that by now you know quite enough…but if you haven’t already please do let us know if you will be renewing for next season’s amazing lineup of concerts! One of my favourite parts of this co op placement has been working with different members of the GBS Board of Directors, and I have been lucky enough to attend some of their board meetings over the last few months, including one this week. When you think of the S

Continuing the theme of the month, we have been working on subscription renewals this week. About half of the GBS’ returning subscribers have already renewed their subscriptions, so we are getting ready to contact everyone else next week. If you have not already, please give us a call or come in for a visit and to renew yours before the end of June! I have also worked on updating the GBS database over the last week. It’s wonderful how many people are involved in the Symphony (subscribers, donors, musicians etc.), however it does make for a fairly large task when everyone’s phone numbers and addresses need to be checked. For the moment, as far as I know, we have finished updating the database

This week has been largely focused on contacting people who are involved with the GBS in one way or another, which hasn't always been a smooth ride. Suspiciously Confirming Your Contact Information In the process of confirming addresses and phone numbers, Canada 411 periodically locked my computer from accessing their site. Apparently we were engaging in "suspicious activity" by looking up several hundred people...understandable I suppose. With several breaks from the research and one computer restart, we were able to confirm almost everyone's contact information without getting shut down by government officials! ☺️ The Joys of Social Media As you probably know if you're reading this, the GB

Friends of the Symphony have pledged up to $5000 to match your donation two-for-one. With your gift, the Symphony hopes to raise $15,000 by the end of June. This will enable the Board to eliminate a small long-term debt and begin the next Season with strong working capital. Your Gift Friends' Pledge Symphony Total Your Possible Tax Refund $200 $100 $300 $65 $500 $250 $750 $160 $1000 $500 $1500 $320 or more That’s a 33% return on your investment in the orchestra! Ticket sales only cover 1/3 of the re

It’s finally June! As it is the last month that the office is open until August, we have not been starting any new big projects, but mostly working on the same as last week. The process of renewing subscriptions has now completed phase two – contacting everyone. At this point if you haven’t heard from us, we probably don’t have your number and would greatly appreciate a visit at our office or a quick phone call to let us know whether you will be renewing your subscription for next season. Quite a few people that I have spoken to have had a lot of positive feedback about this season. It sounds like there were a lot of younger people in the audience for our last concert who were able to make t