Media Contact:
David Davin, WVC Foundation executive director, (509) 682-6415
Robert Sandidge, RLS Productions, (509) 669-6872

The Wenatchee Valley College Foundation received $11,500  in contributions raised during the 2018 season of the RLS Productions’ Concerts in the Gardens. The RLS Productions series is a five-week summer concert series held annually through July and early August at Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee, Wash. This is the fifth year that Robert and Catherine (Rio) Sandidge, founders and owners of the concert series, have presented the WVC Foundation with a contribution for WVC students.

Support comes from direct donations, ticket sales and sponsors of the concert series. RLS Productions set a goal in 2014 of raising $35,000 to endow a scholarship for the Wenatchee Valley College Foundation.  

The RLS Productions endowment account, which supports local students, now totals $27,000.

“Rio and I are happy to announce that after the 2018 RLS Productions’ Concerts in the Gardens summer series, a total of $41,000 has been raised for the Wenatchee Valley College Foundation since the series began,” Robert Sandidge said. “This would not have been possible without the help of our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, the RLS stage crew, the Ohme Gardens events team headed up by Nena Howell,  and the summer series bands and guests visiting our Wenatchee Valley and Ohme Gardens every year.

A portion of this year’s annual contribution was made possible by support from Dennis and Beth Dobbs, owners of Horan Estates Winery in Cashmere and another anonymous local couple.

“An education is an amazing gift,” the Dobbs’ said. “The WVC Foundation is an asset in our community. We want those opportunities to continue to be available. Our love of music, continued support of our community and the annual scholarships that arise from RLS Productions’ Concerts in the Gardens series made this contribution a natural fit.”

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Three goals drive RLS Productions’ Concerts in the Gardens series: First, increase mid-week tourism outside a 50-mile radius of Wenatchee Valley and its bedroom communities. Second, develop the series into a regional concert series held at Ohme Gardens, resulting in increased mid-week tourism for the Wenatchee Valley and Ohme Gardens. Third, build a $35,000 scholarship endowment for the Wenatchee Valley College Foundation through an annual contribution of 25 percent of the net ticket sales, while at the same time generating immediate annual financial assistance for students in need. Information on the 2019 RLS Productions’ Concert in the Gardens summer series are available at www.RLSproductions.net.

 The WVC Foundation was incorporated in 1971. It exists to build relationships between the community and the college and raise financial support for Wenatchee Valley College students, programs, faculty and staff, as well as special projects such as building campaigns like the Music and Art Center. For information on how to make a gift to the foundation, establish a scholarship or include the WVC Foundation in your estate plans, contact (509) 682-6410. Visit the WVC Foundation website at www.wvc.edu/foundation.