Ever turned a 650-person fundraiser that takes 4,000 volunteer hours to produce into a totally virtual event?
Yeah, neither had we.
If you watched Gems & Java Home Edition, you know that it was a polished, professional, high-quality show that looked like a fundraiser produced by an organization with many more resources than ours!! We owe so much of that incredible result to a very generous pair of industry experts who helped to craft this virtual event from scratch.
Dave in his gorgeous home studio.
Dave Wettlaufer, who owns River Valley Studio, and Bob Breen, owner of Armor Pro Audio Visual, are the dynamic duo that gave of their time and talent at a VERY discounted rate to help us create Gems & Java Home Edition.
“I grew up with the idea of helping to support people in other parts of the world. It’s something you do,” Dave told us.
“It’s something I really enjoy doing. Because I’m retired, I don’t have to extract every last dollar to try to live on.”
Dave had worked with us before, producing videos from an in-person Gems & Java event. We connected Bob and Dave and the dream team was born! They tell a funny story about the way they met, just recently, during the coronavirus pandemic. Bob was outfitting a church for digital services, and found that the facility was perfectly set up with audio hook-ups within the walls. It was a job done, years earlier, by Dave!
Bob Breen working the board.
Bob was so tickled, he sent Dave an e-mail to say thanks.
“Fate and the good Lord put us together,” Bob said. “This is so fun.”
These two men spent hours and hours and hours filming, editing and producing our show to get it just right.
They don’t see it as a sacrifice. They were excited to contribute their services.
“It’s awesome to have the opportunity to use my talents - or whatever they are - to genuinely benefit somebody else,” Bob said. “It’s such a great organization because it is just people directly trying to make a difference in the most efficient way possible.”
““This is fun for us - in addition to all the things we believe are important about the work.””
He was particularly drawn in by the low overhead costs of our organization, since we run 100% on volunteer power.
Dave said that was an appealing factor for him, too.
“You’re all volunteers. Not to denigrate any others, but some have pretty fancy buildings,” he said of other non-profit organizations.
Both Bob and Dave have spent their careers working with music and video. Dave owned a small business, and has seen several waves of technology - from cassettes to CDs to digital files!
Bob spent several years working in “big rock n’roll” scene in Los Angeles before he bought Armor Pro Audio Visual.
He worked on a David Lee Roth record and “had Motley Crue laugh at me when looking for adaptor cables,” Bob said with a chuckle.
Bob Breen
Dave, who’s now retired, is a classic lifelong learner.
“It’s fun to learn new aspects of those things,” he said.
In addition to being talent professionals that donated their skills through greatly reduced rates, these two men are a joy to work with. They’re patient, flexible, and funny!
We could not have done Gems & Java Home Edition without Bob and Dave and we are beyond grateful for their support of our work.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Bob and Dave!!