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  • Former Shelbyville resident Dr. Jeffrey Pfeiffer donated back his car raffle winnings to the Chautauqua Auditorium Preservation Committee Saturday. Pfeiffer accepted the $25,000 cash prize and said it was a family decision to donate it back for the project. Pictured are front row: Abby and Ally Pfeiffer; middle row: Chautauqua committee members Mary Ellen Boley and June McCain, Stacy Pfeiffer, Chautauqua committee member Liz Schafer; back row: Chautauqua committee member Mark Atteberry, Dr. Jeffrey Pfeiffer, Chautauqua committee chairman Wayne Gray. Photo by Valorie Eversole

    Pfeiffer donation.JPG
October 25, 2010

Raffle Winner Donates Back to Chautauqua

VALORIE EVERSOLE - Daily Union Staff Writer Daily Union

SHELBYVILLE, IL. — The Chautauqua Auditorium Preservation Committee got a boost in its fundraising efforts when the winner of the car raffle donated the cash prize back to the committee.

Dr. Jeffrey Pfeiffer and his family presented the $25,000 donation to the committee Saturday, pushing the fundraising effort over the $100,000 mark.

Pfeiffer, a Central Illinois OBGYN and women's health specialist, was raised in Shelbyville. He currently resides in Decatur with his wife Stacy and daughters Abby and Ally.

“Growing up in Shelbyville, the Chautauqua Auditorium was the mainstay of the park and the community,” Pfeiffer said. “When I was a kid, we would go to the haunted house at the Chautauqua every Halloween. In the summers we'd spend our days swimming at the pool in the park, playing baseball and hanging out down by the pond, feeding the ducks. Now I take my girls to Forest Park so they can get the same experience. It's hard to think of the park without the auditorium and we're happy to help restore it for future generations.”

“The Chautauqua is the focal point of the community. Shelbyville had a lot to do with my success in life. It is the right thing to do to give back to the community,” Pfeiffer said.

According to committee treasurer Mark Atteberry, the car raffle netted $6500 from ticket sales. The drawing was held on October 9 during Scarecrow Daze.

“We are extremely happy for this donation,” Atteberry said. He noted that with this donation, committed pledges, and a pledge from the city of Shelbyville, the committee has raised $198,000 in a two-year period.

“The donation by the Pfeiffer family is extremely generous and it speaks to not only the historic but the nostalgic value the Chautauqua has to members of this community,” said committee chairman Wayne Gray. “Our goal is to restore the building to its original condition while upgrading the theatrical system to be viable for the interests of today's community members and visitors. This would not be possible without the support of residents, past and present, who see the true value of the park and the auditorium.”

The committee has applied for an 80/20 grant with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the $1.7 million project.  The committee would have to raise more than $230,000 as its share of the grant.

The 107-year-old structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The restoration project has been outlined in four phases - the first of which will include more than $800,000 in structural repair including the roof, wood siding and window frames. Subsequent phases will address drainage around the building, electrical upgrades and restoration of the interior stage.

Gray noted that over 350 individuals have made donations in the past two years. Larger donations will be recognized by levels on a plaque to be placed at the auditorium. Bronze level includes donations of $1000 - $2499; silver level are donations of $2500 - $4999; gold level are donations of $5000 - $9999; and diamond level are donations of over $10,000. Pfeiffer will receive the diamond level recognition.

 

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