Donors Honor Grandson with their Gift

“Our oldest grandson, Tim Boeshaar, recently graduated from the University of Kansas with a fine arts degree focused on theatrical lighting design,” Esther shared.  “We are very proud of him and impressed by how his involvement in the arts has provided such an excellent education and broad view of the world.”   The Giffins named lighting components in the Helzberg Hall in Tim’s honor.

As a retired partner at Spencer Fane Britt and Browne, L.L.P., Don is part of a firm that has enjoyed a downtown presence since 1952.  Don and Esther feel that an excellent performing arts center is a much-needed component of the reviving downtown, even though their personal philanthropy tends to focus more on social services.

“In our travels to France, particularly,” Esther shares, “I got a strong feeling about the importance of the arts to a community. We are molded and shaped as people, in a good way, by art galleries and fine performances.” 

The Giffins’ support for the Kauffman Center is also spurred by their admiration for Julia Irene Kauffman.  Esther shared, “What Julia Irene has done for our community is amazing to me.  I like to support people like her, who take initiative and get things done.” 

Spencer Fane has been incredibly supportive of the Kauffman Foundation.  In June 2006, the firm made a $100,000 contribution and challenged other law firms to do the same. In a Kansas City Star article about their gift, managing partner Mike Saunders explained why a law firm cares about the cultural life of the community. “In our recruiting efforts, whether we are trying to convince an out-of-towner to move to Kansas City or a local star to stay, one criterion is consistent among them. They demand a vibrant and creative cultural community. This is true for any business striving for high-quality employees.”

Building on the firm’s pledge, former partner Bob Lyons called together the 10 or 12 retired partners and encouraged them to make individual gifts, above and beyond that of the firm.  “He didn’t exactly twist arms,” Don deadpans, “but Bob was very convincing.” 

After learning about the Giffin’s interest and their grandson’s arts background, Jane Chu called and invited them to see the acoustical model.  “Tim could have stayed there all day asking questions and chatting with the model builders,” Esther shared.  Like most visitors to this precise one-tenth scale replica, Tim was floored by the attention to detail that has gone into the Kauffman Center.  “He can hardly wait to get inside the halls,” Esther shared, and added, “and neither can we.”  And when the lights come up Tim will have a very special connection with the Kauffman Center.

“When Mark and I married 12 years ago,” Susan shared recently, “I started engaging him in the arts activities I enjoyed. Soon, attending the theater, ballet and the symphony became activities we enjoyed regularly together.” Susan quickly added that Mark didn’t require much convincing; business interests earlier in his life just took most of his attention. Now that he’s sold his business and retired, the arts fit right in.

Mark and Susan Susz’s introduction to the Kauffman Center came through good friends Tom and Linda Beal. “We had heard bits and pieces about a new performing arts center, but no one had really filled us in,” Susan recalls.

That issue was remedied when the Beals invited them to lunch with Julia Irene Kauffman along with a small group of potential supporters. “We were immediately impressed,” Susan shared. Mark and Susan liked the idea of Kansas City getting high-quality performance spaces for the groups they enjoyed. “Plus, we were wowed by the emphasis on quality. There was so much attention being placed on acoustics and technical excellence,” Susan added. 

Later, Mark and Susan met with President & CEO Jane Chu and began to talk about a contribution to the center. After reviewing a range of naming opportunities available to donors, Mark and Susan decided to fund and name three items within the Kauffman Center, including a glass elevator that is set prominently in the grand gallery.

“I liked the centrality of this special elevator and its graceful design,” Mark said. “Funding the elevator also seemed to have a nice synergy with our personal interest in getting more people to arts performances.” Susan says that the location of the Kauffman Center is so prominent that people will easily find their way from the highway loop to the center. “Then the elevator will whisk them away to a delightful experience. I’m looking forward to everything about it,” she concludes.

Inside the Kauffman Center, a steady stream of activity is taking place. With both performance spaces now closed off from the elements, workers can be found in almost every nook and cranny, welding, plastering, fireproofing, installing plumbing, drywall and electrical systems — just to mention a few.

These workers come from dozens of local firms that are contributing their particular expertise and artistry to this stage of the building process. Here are just a few examples of the activities taking place, and the jobs being generated, at our community’s biggest construction project.

Patent Construction Systems has been working on local construction sites for more than 45 years. Ten of their staff spent nearly two months erecting scaffolding inside both halls at the Kauffman Center. While their Quick Erect System won’t be a permanent part of the performing arts center, it plays a vital role in the building process.

Internal finishing work requires access to the highest points of the two halls, for components such as fireproofing, electrical work, ceiling installation and finish to the walls and balconies. “This requires scaffolding to support work being done as high as 70 feet,” explains Kyle McQuiston, JE Dunn Construction project manager. In the photo above the scaffolding is being completed in the proscenium theatre.

As work is finished at the highest points, interior levels of scaffolding, no longer needed for the ceiling, will be removed, while the outer perimeter will remain in place to complete walls.

“Nothing makes us happier than to have the opportunity to allow our talented craftsmen to showcase their ability, attention to detail and outstanding quality,” says Shawn Burnum, PCI branch manager. Plasterers from PCI Dahmer are hard at work on interior finish work. Cement plastering is taking place in the ceilings, and thinner, “veneer plaster” is going into public spaces, such as lobby and hall areas.

In the photo at right, plasterer Abel Baldwin is “scratch-coating” acoustical “bumps” in the concert hall. This first step in the plastering process prepares these unusual half moon shapes to make an important contribution to the quality of sound. Plaster must be pumped up several stories from a cement mixer below and suctioned through a tube to reach the workers.

“The ceilings in the two halls are works of art in themselves,” says Burnum. “They play an important role in deflecting sound, plus they must be safe and beautiful.” That’s a tall order for a plaster ceiling that weighs 25 pounds per square foot and is suspended high above the audience and performers.

PCI has up to 20 people at work on any particular day, doing metal stud framing, drywall insulation and fire stopping, in addition to the plaster work.

Making Powerful Connections

A 25-30 member Mark One crew is currently working at the Kauffman Center site, tackling a number of projects including:

• Five major substations
• Theatrical dimming systems
• Back-up emergency generator
• Architectural lighting
• Security system
• Telephone and data infrastructure

A year from now, this list of electrical projects will become even longer, as the exterior shell is put in place and things like sound and audio visual systems, installation of the Figaro seat-back title system, theatrical lighting and illuminating the exterior shell itself become possible. Mark One Electric is a family-owned WBE business with a long list of projects to their credit, including the JE Dunn World Headquarters, Kauffman and Chief’s stadiums, the Federal Reserve Bank and the new IRS Center.

Mark One crew members check phasing for motor wiring.

Few families in Kansas City can trace their theater and arts connections back as far as Dick Durwood. “Around 1915 or so, my father and his two brothers rewrote Shakespearean plays in ‘shirt-sleeve English,’ then they sold tickets to their performance of the plays they held in traveling tent shows around the Midwest,” Durwood says. The brothers hadn’t graduated from high school, but they found a way to make Shakespeare accessible and become theatrical entrepreneurs.

From there, Dicks’ father joined Paramount Theatres and eventually went on his own to found Durwood Theatres. It was the beginning of a storied family history in the movie business – one that included an office in Kansas City’s Film Row, the invention of the multiplex theater concept and beyond.

Wife Maureen says that getting involved in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts was inevitable against this backdrop – especially when combined with her own lifetime love of the arts. Maureen shares, “The moment we moved to Kansas City, I become involved with the Symphony and the Opera.” All of which has culminated in a generous gift to the Kauffman Center capital campaign. Dick and Maureen have selected the gift shop as their naming opportunity.

“We also had a close relationship with Ewing and Muriel,” Maureen says. “Muriel would call us at 10 p.m. and ask what we were doing.” Soon afterward she and the Durwoods would be down at Alameda Plaza, listening to piano music late into the night. “Helping Julia Irene build this center, in honor of her mother, is important to us.”

Maureen, who serves as vice president on the boards of both the Kansas City Symphony and the Lyric Opera, explains that she and Dick are both huge music fans — and their love isn’t limited to the classics. As they travel, they seek out the arts and incorporate them into their experiences. “It’s worth noting,” she explains, “that when we were in Australia and New Zealand, the first thing the locals showed us were their performing arts venues and productions. That’s going to happen here with the Kauffman Center, and Dick and I want to be a part of showing off Kansas City to the world.”

The Durwoods also enjoy shopping in the cities they visit. “I seek out museum gift shops when we travel,” Maureen admits. “They often have high quality, specialty items that become memories of the city we’ve enjoyed. We want to be the couple that helps visitors enjoy the arts and take home a piece of Kansas City,” says Maureen.

When asked what impresses them about the Kauffman Center, the Durwoods say “everything.” Both mentioned the incredible attention to detail and the talented team developing the project. But they also appreciate the intimacy that will occur because of the way seating is arranged. “I think that, when you sit in the concert hall, for example, it will feel like the orchestra is playing just for you,” Maureen says.

And Dick mentions the experience for the audience, “In my business the customer was king, and we did everything we could to treat them royally. I think audiences are going to have an excellent experience here. Even parking is going to be easy.”

Maureen adds, “Just the way the Kauffman Center will gather everyone together around the arts, and mingle them together comfortably, in that big lobby will be a new experience for Kansas City. We can’t wait.”

Honor Someone Special with a Space in the Kauffman Center

As you begin to think about holiday gifts, here are two unique ways to honor someone special. “Consider this an engraved invitation to anyone in the community to step forward and make a lasting imprint on this historic place,” says Jane Chu, President and CEO of the Kauffman Center.

Name a Seat

The 3,400 seats in the Kauffman Center’s two performance halls will be so special they ought to come with their own names inscribed. And, indeed, that’s exactly how you can become an integral part of this special moment in the cultural history of Kansas City. For a donation to the Kauffman Center of $2,500 to $10,000 (payable over multiple years), you can put a name on a seat. Simply print the attached form, fill it out and send it in along with your contribution.

The names donors choose will be permanently engraved on plaques embedded in the arms of the seats. They say that someone cared enough to make a lasting impression on the cultural landscape of a great city.

Attach a Special Greeting

And speaking of caring enough … now donors have a new way to acknowledge those they honor. Through a partnership with Hallmark Cards, a greeting card has been developed to accompany a gifted seat. “The card has a lovely watercolor rendering of the Kauffman Center and a message to the honoree,” says Chu. “When it’s opened, the recipient will be greeted with music from the Kansas City Symphony.”

A Gift for a Special Child in your Life

The Kauffman Center is providing parents, grandparents or anyone with a special child in their life the opportunity to give a personal gift that lasts a lifetime and also gives back to the community. The Children’s Wall is a unique donor recognition project that allows children to literally leave their handprint as a lasting impression on a landmark building. For a $1,000 donation per handprint, a child, grandchild or a youngster who deserves some special recognition can be honored. Simply fill out the attached form.

Colorful reproductions of the handprints will be artistically arranged near the escalators that rise to the majestic glass lobby of the Kauffman Center. Each handprint is personalized with a child’s name and the year the print was made.

To learn more, message contact@kauffmancenter.org.