To the Editor:

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley would like to extend our sincerest thank you to the many businesses and individuals who helped make our first annual Dueling Pianos event such an immense success.

On Friday, June 2 we were thrilled to present this truly original entertainment experience to our community. As promised, the evening was filled with great music, big laughs and pure enjoyment. A dueling piano show is extremely interactive and the audience is thoroughly involved, participating in requests and comedy throughout the entire event.

More than 340 guests could be seen singing, clapping and dancing as they enjoyed covers of their favorite songs and the impromptu humor of the performers. The audience that night was a wonderful mix of individuals representing our North Country community including local businesses owners, young professionals and long-time Hospice supporters. It was truly remarkable to see such a diverse group of people come together to support Hospice.

Each day Hospice cares for an average of 75 patients and their families as well as community members in their greatest time of need. The care we provide is part of a highly-regulated insurance benefit and while Hospice is reimbursed for the services we are required to provide, the high standard of care we maintain leaves a substantial deficit between what is reimbursed and the actual cost of the care provided.

Thanks to special events like this, the gap in funding is not only bridged, but allows Hospice the ability to provide extra programs and services to the community that are otherwise unfunded.

Thanks to the generosity and support of numerous businesses, community members, volunteers and staff the 1st Annual Dueling Piano Show helped raise more than $8,000 to support the important services and programs offered by Hospice.

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley thanks our many Corporate Sponsors for their generous support of this new event: Donaldson-Seymour Funeral Home (Potsdam) and Donaldson Funeral Home (Massena), B.P.O. Elks Lodge #2074, Advanced Business Systems, Coakley’s Carpet One ACE Hardware, Casella Waste Systems, County Seat Realty, J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. and Clarkson University Campus Safety. Corporate sponsorships are an essential element to the success of our events and we are deeply grateful for their contributions.

An additional raffle was offered throughout the show as an extra way for guests to get involved. The added revenue raised from this raffle will be used to support our community programs and services. Hospice would like to thank the following businesses and individuals who contributed prizes to this year’s raffle: Brick & Mortar Music, Adirondack Fragrance Farm, Coakley’s Carpet One ACE Hardware, Potsdam Agway, Partridge Run Golf & Country Club, C.J.’s Kegs Cases and More, Scott’s Auto Center, BTB Pools, Lowe’s Home Improvement Store #2250, Sheila’s Nail Spa, Beast Fitness, the Hospice Management Team, the Hospice Family Support Services Department, the Hospice Nursing Department and several other Hospice staff members and friends.

Thank you to the performers from Cutting Edge Dueling Pianos for making the long drive from Baltimore, MD to bring their wonderful show to the North Country.

From start to finish, they were delightful to work with and advised our staff on every aspect of a dueling piano production. Their professionalism, talent and expertise were greatly appreciated.

We would also like to thank the staff at Clarkson University who were involved in the planning process of this event for all their hard work transforming Cheel Arena into a spectacular show venue. Setting up a room for 340 people is no easy feat and we appreciate their patience and professionalism throughout the entire process.

Thank you as well to the staff from Aramark Dining Services for providing a wonderful hor d’oeuvres spread and excellent service. In addition to the great music, we received numerous compliments from almost every audience member on how delicious all the food was!

The positive response to this new event from the community was truly astonishing. When Hospice began the planning process to bring a dueling piano show to the North Country, we did so with modest expectations. We never imagined that in its first year the event would far exceed those expectations!

We are already looking forward to bringing this event back to Cheel Arena next June!

Ruth Fishbeck

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley

Executive director