Volunteer Profiles
Jeff Brown
Tam Valley Players
The Tam Valley Players were formed in 2007 to present the “Murder Mystery Dinner Theater”. The idea for the play was created by Carol Buchholz, the Director of Parks and Recreation for the TCSD, Bernard Healey, a local artist and writer, his wife Beverly, and Bob DeWalt, an extremely active community volunteer. Bern wrote the first play, “Murder at Brandy’s Joint” set in a speakeasy, and several plays the following years. I was recruited to act in the first play, and was told it would only be a couple of rehearsals, then four performances. Well, that was an underestimation. We rehearsed for two months!
When Bern retired from writing and directing, I was asked to step in as director. I directed several plays over the next few years. For a while, we would purchase the play. Then several of our talented actors offered to write original scripts. Abby Young, John Byrne Berry, and this year Peter Fimrite and his long-time friend Troy Hanson stepped in as playwrights and directors.
The “Players” consist of a core group of about 20 locals who volunteer their time both onstage and behind the scenes. These “hams” act not only in the Murder Mystery, but also in the “Rhubarb Revue”, a Tam Valley tradition. The Rhubarb is a comedy/variety show that this year will celebrate its 57th edition. Performances take place the first two weekends in May. And you will see many of us in “Jolly Jingles”, a free holiday family show that takes place in early December.
My favorite part of being a member of the Tam Valley Players is the camaraderie amongst the cast. Everybody chips in to make the shows the best they can be. Before retiring, I spent my career in entertainment production for cruise ships, theme parks and performing arts centers, and this gives me the opportunity to use my background to give back to the community. And have fun doing it!
Suze Kenyon
Tam Valley Resident
What inspired you to start volunteering at TCSD?
I was working at Tam Valley School as a teacher's aid and my daughter was in the afterschool program with Tia. I started helping out in Tia's program, too. I loved roller blading at the time and she said I could do the job on roller blades! Tia encouraged me to help out with Breakfast with Santa and the Haunted House at the Community Center and I had so much fun I just kept diving in!
What is your favorite event to help with? Tell us why...
Breakfast with Santa is my favorite event. I love Christmas time and seeing the joy of the little kids makes my YEAR! When I worked at Tam Valley School my favorite grade to work with was Kindergarten. Little kids are so full of wonder and joy. I love greeting the families at Breakfast with Santa and handing out little candy canes. I always dress up and have as much sparkle as possible.
What would you like to share with new community members about why volunteering is so rewarding?
I'm a true believer that what we do locally matters. When we engage with our community we can actually have an effect. I volunteer at the food bank every week because I can see how positively that resource effects our community. The events we have in Tam Valley connect us and help us know our neighbors. I was away this holiday season and I heard later than the mail truck had knocked over my mailbox. It turns out my neighbors fixed it. What a lovely thing to come home to!
Please share what you love about Tam Valley.
The weather, the hills, the people, the school district, our choices in small businesses. Everyone is so helpful and friendly. I have lived her since 1979! The kindness of our community and our giving nature make me feel so happy here. The teachers at Tam Valley School have the biggest hearts and I truly believe that Tia's program had a huge, quiet impact on our community.
Caroline de Baere
Tam Valley Resident
What inspired you to start volunteering with TCSD?
It all started with Friday night Spaghetti Bingo when my kids were in 1st grade as well as Oktoberfest and Creekside Fridays. We absolutely loved attending those events with local families and friends. It all just felt like an extension of Tam Valley school and my kids had so much fun. Now, it seems like a perfect transition for my children as we all participate in giving back to our neighborhood community and seeing the younger kids having fun at these same events years later.
What is your favorite event to help with? Tell us why…
My children are sophomores in high school, and now you’ll see me volunteering at TCSD events along with them and a group of awesome teenage volunteers at the Crab Feed, Spaghetti Bingo, Breakfast with Santa and Oktoberfest. It is so hard to pick a favorite but if I had to, it would be Spaghetti Bingo. We did my twins 8th birthday there one year!
Please share what you love about Tam Valley:
I love that we all seem to know each other and even if we don’t…. we are all friends that feel like part of the same community. I have found that we are a combination of community members who have just arrived and are welcomed easily into the fold and made up of those who have been here 24 years like me or even better, those who have been here for more than 40 or 50 years.