Continued from page 1 (which) has always been high.”

Continued from page 1

(which) has always been high.”

The “institution” she speaks of did not evolve overnight, or even in a few weeks. Although she says “times were lean” in the early going and that “there have been times when we said, ‘This is not an easy time for RAAC’,” Marshall says talk never surfaced of folding the association, of packing it in for having banged their heads against the wall once too many times.

Rather, Marshall says, talk was more to the tune of the show must go on.

"That’s a given for RAAC — it’s just that important to the people in RAAC,” she says.

The idea of starting a group to support the arts began when the Magic Mountain Cinema, then a commercial operation, looked to close its doors. The small community could not support it.

“Three of us sat in Peter Kramer’s living room one night,” says Reynolds, “and talked about how to keep the movie threatre open.”

That was nearly four years ago.

The effort to start a program expanded to about 15 people and Marshall “has been there ever since,” Reynolds says.

“She took over the programs of responsibility as a volunteer,” Gottlieb adds.

“There’s a lot of responsibility, many details” which help create “a certain level of anxiety,” says Marshall. But, she says, “It was wonderful to witness the cooperation and intelligence involved with RAAC.”

Her “volunteer” status lasted just a short while after that.

Marshall, “more than anyone else,” Gottlieb says, was responsible for securing R A AC’s first grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. That money was used to pay a parttime director.

“There was a lot of response” for that position, Reynolds says. But, Gottlieb says, “Laurie won that pretty much hands down.”

Marshall was awarded the “parttime job” of half-time for 10 months each year.

“She's certainly put more time into it than that,” Reynolds says.

“She puts in many more hours than what she gets paid for,” adds Got tlieb.