Raising the Roof for the Ghost Army in Beverly
jun82012
More than 50 people turned out for a terrific Ghost Army fundraiser in Beverly, MA on the night of Friday, June 8. Guests had the chance to sip champagne in one of Beverly’s most historic homes, watch a sneak preview of the nearly-finished film, and meet two Ghost Army veterans—John Jarvie and Ned Harris. Afterwards we auctioned off a select few reproductions of paintings by Ghost Army artists (including John and Ned) to raise money for the film. 
We are delighted that so many people came and offered such generous support. This was very much a multi-generational affair: It was organized by John' Jarvie's niece, Martha Gavin, and the first-class audio visual set-up was put together by her son, John Gavin. Of course the Gavins have been there from the very beginning. Without their energetic support, their would be no Ghost Army film.
Many thanks to to Gary and Jen Palardy for inviting us to hold the event in the Great Hall of their historic home, and a special shout out to Gary for "volunteering" as the auctioneer--he did a wonderful job! Above you can see him auctioning a painting by Ghost Army artist Tony Young, one of five limited reproductions created specifically for this event.
One of the winning bidders was Joanne Patton, seen with Martha Gavin and Rick Beyer above. She was a double winner because we also presented her with as reproduction of a George VanderSluis painting of Luxembourg donated by the family of Harold Dahl. The city has special meaning for the Patton family. It is where General George Patton located the headquarters for his Third Army. After his death in 1945, he was buried there.
We also want to thank Ed Brown (above with Ghost Army veteran Ned Harris) and Diane Howard for serving on the host committee and helping to bring together such a great group of people.
Ghost Army veteran John Jarvie, age 90, with Jeff and Leslie Filmore. They were the winning biddgers on his December 1944 watercolor of Habay-la-Vieille, Belgium.
The money raised from the fundraiser brings us that much closer to being able to finish the film. Work is underway now on music, sound effectrs, and photo animations, with the goal of finishing the theatrical version of the film by the end of July, so that we can enter it into the Sundance Film Festival.
Ghost Army veteran John Jarvie, age 90, with Jeff and Leslie Filmore. They were the winning biddgers on his December 1944 watercolor of Habay-la-Vieille, Belgium.
The money raised from the fundraiser brings us that much closer to being able to finish the film. Work is underway now on music, sound effectrs, and photo animations, with the goal of finishing the theatrical version of the film by the end of July, so that we can enter it into the Sundance Film Festival.
