Friends of the Fox is a nonprofit organization which was formed in December 1996 to acquire, restore and reopen the Fox as a performing arts venue. That goal was met November 20, 1999 when the beautifully restored theater was reopened at a gala evening featuring Marvin Hamlisch.
The current goals are to:
•Complete behind-the scenes restoration (light, sound and rigging systems, electrical and other upgrades)
•Make the Fox a state-of-the-art performing arts venue
•Book the theater at least eight times a month to help make the theater self-sustaining
•Make the Fox available for a variety of rentals: movies, concerts, art shows, receptions, business meetings, pageants, reunions, graduations, recitals, etc.
Friends of the Fox Board
Board of Directors
Gary Walterscheid, President
John Rozier, Vice President
Dena Cochran, Secretary
Lou Seeberger, Treasurer
Marla Alberstein, Mark Avedian, Wendy Bishop, Bob Brown, Carol Cairns. Michael Hopkins, Carlyn Lambert, Pauline Leedom , Dennis Lehman, Dick Sutton, Sean Trujillo, Steve Williams, Harry Wood
General Manager: Paul Fry
House Managers/Office Staff: Lance Martin, Ryan Stillwater, Alicia Vernon-Hurt
Technicians: Alfredo Peralta, Matthew Denis, Luther Nye, David Avila, Giovanni Cervantes, Kourtnie Boeve
Box Office: Stephanie Vanzant
Website: Stillwater Design Co.
Concessions: Judy Ananian, Sharon Gregory, Sue Webb
Past Presidents
Denise Hardcastle
1997-1998
Lloyd Warren
1998-1999
Rami Cherami
1999-2000
Steve Peck
2000-2001
Denise Hardcastle
2001-2002
Randy Zeeb
2002-2003
Steve Williams
2003-2005
Gary Walterscheid
2005-Current
Working Committees
Facilities Committee: Chairman- Dennis Lehman
Members- Thom Black, Andy Chamberlain, Jeff Dearborn, Monique Miron, Anthony Morfin
Finance Committee: Chairman- Richard Sutton
Members: Paul Fry, Michael Hopkins, Jack Mann, Lou Seeberger, Randy Zeeb
Historical Research Committee: Chairman- Terry Ommon
Members: Committee disbanded following publication of the book "Visalia's Fabulous FOX" in the year 2000.
Salute to our volunteers!
The Fox restoration would not have been possible without the hundreds of people, companies and organizations that volunteered their time and services. Listed below are just a few of the volunteers who have put in countless hours to "Save the Fox."
Greg & Debbie Mancini
Served as volunteer MCs and provided their sound system for many, many outdoor summer movies, Fox birthday events and the gala reopening
Richard Wilcox
Refinished all the mahogany doors, restored many of the seat armrests and has volunteered at every event
Willadene Reitz
Was a key volunteer and organizer for every major Fox event from birthday parties to the grand reopening gala
Bob Eurich
Donated thousands of dollars worth of air time on his radio station, SILK FM, and produced numerous radio spots for the Fox.
Newell Bringhurst
Author of "Visalia’s Fabulous Fox: A Theater Story," taking on the major task of pulling together 70 years of history of the Fox
Bill Allen and the Historical Research Committee
Together this group put in thousands of hours to thoroughly research the history of the Fox to create the Fox history book. Bill was one of the biggest contributors—researching, interviewing, writing and editing—and also writing a number of articles for the Valley Voice.
Randy Zeeb
Without Randy’s fundraising heroics, the theater wouldn’t be open today. He has literally kept Friends of the Fox going financially. And he has also put in much physical labor to the restoration.
Rick Williams
Volunteered to design and create the first Fox web site: www.foxvisalia.org and put in many, many hours to get it up and running.
Lee Miner
Took the lead in the important and time-consuming process of thanking all the donors. She also has spent many hours purging and updating the Fox mailing list and volunteering in the office.
Danny Lipco
Brought the theater to life by bringing world class acts such as Marvin Hamlisch, Doc Severinson and Gordon Lightfoot to the Fox. Without his promotional connections, such acts would never have been booked in the theater.
