1st Qtr 2014 Volume XVIi Number I

Ride-a-Thon agreat success!

          The  Carousel's   first-­‐ever  Ride-­‐a-­‐       Thon  was  successful  beyond  our         wildest  projections.  Twenty-­‐six  volunteers  mounted  their  ponies  or  worked  the  phones  during  an  evening  in  November  to  raise  a  grand  total  of  nearly  $10,000  to  help  maintain  and  sustain  the  Carousel  and  Dragon  Hollow.        We  are  grateful  to  Blackfoot  Telecommunications  Group  for   installing  phone  lines  for  the  event,   to  Zip  Beverage  and  Zimorinos's  Red  Pies  Over  Montana  for  delicious  refreshments  and  to  organizational  support  volunteers  Cindy  Archer,  Annie  Garde,  Pat  Mahoney  and  Dalene  Withycombe.  And,  of  course,  to  our  donors  (list  on  insert).      Our  enthusiastic,  energetic  and  successful  riders  were:  Shawna  Batt,  Crackle  Bingham,  Darlyne  Block,  David  Allan  Cates,   Joshua  Clark,  Sherry  Devlin,   John  Engen,   Julie  Foley,  Renda  Greene,  Candy  Johnson,  Dan  Kemmis,  Luke  Laslovich,  Amber  Moon,  Laice  O’Malley,  Megan  Richter,  Rick  &  Kim  from  the  Mountain  Morning  Show,  Mark  Roberts,   John  Thompson,  Aaron  Traylor  and  Kari  Fairy  Watkins.

Things went

bump in the Hollow      Ghosties,  ghoulies  and  other  things  that  went  bump  in  the  night  returned  to  Dragon  Hollow  for  a  second  year  to  create  Haunted  Hollow  ~  a  spooky  experience  designed  for  children  and  their  grownups.        MMG,  Missoula  Buddy  Walk,  Spirit  Halloween,  Townsquare  Media  and  Wheat  Montana  on  Third  partnered  with  Carousel  staff  to  set  the  stage,  and  a  variety  of  groups  provided  the  scare.        Thanks  to  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  First  United  Methodist  Youth  Group,  Hellgate  High  School  Honor  Society,  Hellgate  High  School  Key  Club,  Hellgate  High  School  student  government,  Sentinel  High  School  Key  Club  and  SpectrUMfor  some  truly  scary  volunteers  ~  and  we  mean  that   in  the  nicest  possible  way!

Santa's Breakfast

& Contests            Yet  another  Santa's  Breakfast   is  history,  thanks  to  First  Security  Bank  and  their  continuing  generous  sponsorship.      Santa  and  the  ponies  entertained  about  170  people  with  chats  with  The  Big  Guy,  a   light  breakfast  and  lots  and  lots  of  Carousel  rides.  Among  our  guests  were  the  Cooney  family,  winners  of  our  fourth  quarter  social  media  contest,  whose  sons  are  pictured  above  with  Santa.      Each  quarter   in  2013,  a  wonderful  sponsor  partnered  with  us  to  promote  the  Carousel  with  a  Facebook  contest.  The  Missoulian,  the  Good  Food  Store,  Mike  Nugent  of  Prudential  Realty,  and  Montana  Rail  Link  provided  support  to  help  us  collect  Facebook  likes.  Each  quarter's  winners  received  a  prize  package  and  the  Carousel  got   lots  of  new  fans.  We  all  won.

Who is brave enough to Ride All the Ponies?

            In  2013,  we  launched  our  Ride-­‐All-­‐the-­‐Ponies  Contest,  daring  riders  to  document  riding  any  40  of  our  animals  by  posting  (or  by  having  their  mom  post)  their  photos  on  a  Facebook  page  designed  for  the  contest.  Anyone  who  successfully  competed  the  challenge,  received  a  special  tshirt  and  free  rides  for  FIVE  YEARS!  Congratulations  to  our  winners,  pictured  here:

John Thompson working the phone

$1000+Baskin Robbins ~ Matt LoomisNancy Thompson & Dale WoolhiserRenda GreeneNancy & Rocky HealeyTwila Wolfe

$500+Randy & Theresa CoxMeri-Beth GravesCarla PawlewiczSteve & Kim PowellQuality Maintenance Enterprises ~ Lori CummingsR.A. & Helen VanderwiltDr. & Mrs. Gary Willstein

$100+Zip Beverage ~ Harry & Kari WatkinsDick & Dalene WithycombeChristine BrummerMerrill Lynch ~ Kimberly RothPayne West InsurancePyramid Printing ~ Jodi & Brad BowserRepublic Services of Montana ~ Max BauerMontana Security & CommunicationsRoyce & Mary EngstromDowntown Lions ClubGarrick & Sandra SimmonsSharene & John MensonRon & Melina LarsenThe Directory ~ Peggy & SandyBennett Law Offices ~ John BennettJeanne BrabeckWayne & Betsy ChamberlainRobert & Deborah ConnoleDon & Doosy Habbe

Pete & Gingy HeylerBill & Ramona HoltNorm & Maurine JacobsonGreg & Joan JensenWilliam Evan JonesSandy MitchellKay SalmonsonDon & Marguerite ShattuckChris & Jeannie SieglerHal & Sheila StearnsPeter StickneyJames & Pamela SundJohn & Susan TalbotSpanky TingleAlan & Karen WagnerStephanie WattsPat & Carol Williams

$50+Culligan Water Conditioning ~ Waunda BravardCharles & Nancy ZadraMary WelchAnthony BeltramoLinda BlakneyBoyce Lumber & DesignJerry & Ethel DiettertJim & Lois DunlapShirley GreenSteve HarmanHelga HosfordCJ & Malin JohnsonWinton & Cathy KemmisMcGowan WaterCarole & Steve MonluxMoon Cat Janice & Jim NugentPat & Marilyn RyanKay Salmonson ~ in memory of Pat GrattonPat SimmonsCharles & Alvera ValachKathi & Woody Wood

2013 GRANTSState of Montana ~ E-Marketing

$10,350William H. and Margaret M. Wallace Foundation

$5000Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation

~ free spaces for Sunday Market produce vendors in exchange for produce to be given to

Mountain Home Montana & Watson Children's Shelter$2500

Silver Foundation~ free rides for disadvantaged youth

$2500Gallagher Western Montana

Charitable Foundation$2000

Max & Betty Swanson Foundation$1500

Wal-Mart Foundation$1000

LEAW Family Foundation$500

Up to $50Sally MutchJulie FoleyGlenn & Noreen KozeluhGary & Judy MatsonJayne, Russ & Nic PiazzaDavid & Lillian StackC. Leroy & Joanne AndersonJennifer CavanaughMaurice Volkman ~ in memory of Marion VolkmanJohn & Jeri FisherStan & Marj LucierMartha Newell & Mike KadasChris RisanoGeorge SherryVicki WillmsHenry & Linda BarringerDeanna JennessIra & Carolyn RobisonBarbara Smith

We are most grateful to all our donors. We will not sell or otherwise share your contact information with other organizations.

$1000+Twila Wolfe

$500+Nancy Thompson & Dale Woolhiser

Up to $50JoAnn Pentland

      Just  because  the  Carousel  was  closed  for  12  days  in  January  doesn't  mean  nothing  was  happening  inside.  Painters  touched  up  all   the  animals,  mechanics  replaced  gears,  and  a  variety  of  other  volunteers  gave  generously  of  their  time  and  talents  to  clean,  organize  and  otherwise  prepare  the  building  and  the  ponies  for  another  year.      Our  thanks  to  Maggie  Caraway  and  her  awesome  painters,   the  Carousel's  volunteer  mechanics,   the  Boys  of  Wednesday  and  their  wives,  and  others  for  helping  us  get  ready  to  serve  you  and  your  guests   in  2014.      Due  to  the  efforts  of  these  people,  we  will  continue  to  provide  the  service  you  deserve  as  you  ride  brightly  colored  ponies,  on  a  smoothly  running  carousel   in  a  clean  building.   It's  a  perfect  way  to  start  the  year.

     Even  after  four  years  as  a  volunteer  while  the  Carousel  was  being  built,  and  nearly  19  years  as  Executive  Director,   I  continue  to  experience  the  Carousel   in  new  ways.  This  past  year,   I  have  been  fortunate  to  ride  with  my  grandson  on  many  occasions.  Last  summer,  when  the  doors  were  up  and  Pierce  was  just  seven  or  eight  months  old,  he  began  wiggling  excitedly  and  pointing  at  the  Carousel  as  soon   as  he  got  out  of  his  car  seat.  At   fourteen  months,  he  enjoys  peering  around  at  other  riders,  particularly  children,  and  looking  up  to  watch  the  gears  turn.   I   love  the  feel  of  his   little  body  in  front  of  me  and  the   joy  I  see  on  his   face  as  our  pony  goes  up  and  down.  I   look  forward  to  experiencing  Dragon  Hollow  with  him  this  summer.      The  many  ways  I  experience  the  Carousel  and  Dragon  Hollow  give  me  a  small   idea  of  the  many  ways  you  experience  them.  We  all  approach  the  ponies  and  the  dragons  on  our  own  terms.  The  board,  staff  and  volunteers  work  hard  to  ensure  the  experiences  you  have  with  us  bring  you  happiness.  We  appreciate  all  you  do  to  help  us   in  our  mission  and  thank  you  for  helping  us  make  positive  memories  for  all  our  visitors.      Below,  you  will   find  a  partial   list  of  what  we  do  for   our  visitors  and  the  community  each  year.  Please  help  us  continue  to  serve  Missoula  and  our  guests   in  the  manner  you  have  come  to  expect.

Theresa  Cox,  Executive  Director

k Give  free  rides  on  Kids’  Day,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas  and  as  part  of  First  Night  Missoulak Give  tours  recounting  the  history  of  the  Carousel  and  Dragon  Hollow  and  encouraging  children  to  become  volunteersk Haunt  Dragon  Hollow  as  a  Halloween  treat   for  younger  childrenk Help  keep  Caras  Park  safe  and  active  by  drawing  visitors  to  the  Parkk Host  Santa’s  Breakfast   in  December,  and  invite  many  local  not-­‐for-­‐profits  serving  children  as  our  guests  to  the  eventk Host  the  Fairy  Tale  and  Super  Hero  Festival   in  July;  this   free  event  drew  over  500  children  in  2013k Invite  anyone  with  a  physical  or  mental  disability  to  ride  free  at  any  time  k Coordinate  with   local  community  organizations  to  provide  over  8,000  free  rides  each  year  to  disadvantaged  children  and  youth

k Maintain  Dragon  Hollow  Playarea  at  our  expensek Paint  ponies,  perform  heavy  maintenance  on  the  Carousel   frame  and  motor,  and  thoroughly  clean  the  building  each  January  to  help  us  put  our  best   foot  forward

k Employ  many  high  school  and  college  students,  helping  them  develop  skills  that  will  make  them  valuable  employees  throughout  their  careers

k Operate  a  concessions  stand  during  the  summer  for  the  convenience  of  our  guestsk Operate  the  Carousel,  gift  shop  and  parties  year-­‐roundk Provide  free  coupons  to  hotels  and  conventions  to  showcase  the  spirit  of  our  community  as  demonstrated  in  these  treasures  Missoula  created

k Serve  as  a  venue  for  birthday  parties  and  other   life  celebrations

To  donate,  complete  the  form  below  or  go  to  www.carouselformissoula.com  and  choose  DONATE  from  the  menu

2014

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PO Box 3345Missoula, MT 59806

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We are so grateful to the Sponsors of the Month who support the Carousel. Their contributions provide a steady stream of income to support our operations. When you need services these sponsors provide, please support those who support us.

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