Stacy Smith - Wagoner Children's Theatre

So talking about your program, why was it important to you to make Wagner Children's Theater completely free to the participants?

So I've worked, uh, I've, I've been in childcare for 40 years, more than 40 years.

Actually, I started, you know, babysitting the neighborhood kids at 14.

Um, I've drove the school bus.

I've been a teacher's aide.

I've been a paraprofessional, been a school photographer, bus driver.

Um, and yeah.

working in the public school system.

Um, and also was a educator for early headstart, um, which is an income based program.

Um, I saw the kids, I saw the kids that didn't get to participate because their family couldn't afford it.

Hmm.

Not once.

Many, many times.

The kids that didn't get new shoes had to be in the school.

The kids that got left out because their parents couldn't afford a $60 pair of cleats.

I witnessed that for years.

I worked in the public school system for 10 years.

And so I just witnessed that over and over and over again.

And I wanted to eliminate that problem.

I personally wanted this to be a gift to these kids to get to participate.

And when we had our very first meeting and all of this was just in my head, this is what I want this to become.

My board was like, absolutely.

There was no.

And that's why I realized they were the right people on my board is that they weren't.

Oh, but, you know, we need to do this or we need to do that or we need to make them pay for scripts or, you know, whatever.