To the Editor:

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley would like to extend our sincerest thank you to the many businesses and individuals who helped make our 2nd Annual Dueling Pianos Show a huge success. On Friday, June 1, we were thrilled to bring this original entertainment experience back to our community.

A dueling pianos show is extremely interactive and the audience is thoroughly involved, participating in requests and comedy throughout the entire event. As promised, the evening was filled with great music, big laughs and pure enjoyment. More than 400 guests could be seen singing, clapping, laughing and dancing as they enjoyed covers of their favorite songs and the impromptu humor of the performers. The audience was a wonderful mix of individuals representing our North Country community including local businesses owners, young professionals and long-time Hospice supporters. It was truly remarkable to see such a diverse group of people come together to support Hospice!

Each day Hospice cares for an average of 75 patients and their families in their greatest time of need. The care we provide is part of a highly-regulated insurance benefit and while Hospice is reimbursed for the services we are required to provide, the high standard of care we maintain leaves a substantial deficit between the actual cost of the care provided and what is reimbursed. Thanks to special events like this, the gap in funding is not only bridged, but allows Hospice the ability to provide extra programs and services to the community that are otherwise unfunded.

Thanks to the generosity and support of numerous businesses, community members, volunteers and staff the 2nd Annual Dueling Piano Show helped raise more than $10,400 to support the important services and programs offered by Hospice.

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley thanks our many Corporate Sponsors for their generous support of Hospice through our special events: Donaldson-Seymour Funeral Home (Potsdam) and Donaldson Funeral Home (Massena), NuMED For Children, Kinney Drugs Foundation, Frazer Computing, HB Properties, Phillips Memorial Home, SeaComm Federal Credit Union, St. Lawrence Health System, Casella Waste Systems, Go Green Storage, Massena Memorial Hospital, North Country Savings Bank, Advanced Business Systems, County Seat Realty, Frary Funeral Home, Gouverneur Savings & Loan, MacKay-Lawrence Ambulette, Sandstone Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Save A Lot, Town & Country Veterinary Clinic, Bear’s Den, ENI Mechanical, Enbridge St. Lawrence Gas, Hurlbut Tents, Johnston’s Water LLC, Massena Savings & Loan, and Scott’s Auto Center.

Corporate sponsorships are an essential element to the success of our events and we are deeply grateful for their contributions.

Thank you to the performers from Cutting Edge Dueling Pianos for making the long drive from Baltimore, MD to bring their wonderful show to the North Country. From start to finish, they were delightful to work with and advised our staff on every aspect of a dueling piano production. Their professionalism, talent and expertise were greatly appreciated!

We would also like to thank the staff at Clarkson University who were involved in the planning process of this event for all their hard work transforming Cheel Arena into a spectacular show venue. Setting up a room for 400+ people is no easy feat and we appreciate their patience and professionalism throughout the entire process. Thank you as well to the staff from Aramark Dining Services for providing a wonderful hor d’oeuvres spread and excellent service. In addition to the great music, we received numerous compliments from almost every audience member on how delicious all the food was!

We were more than thrilled to have another great response to this event from the community – events such as this have a tremendous impact in the lives of so many of our friends and neighbors throughout St. Lawrence County. Thank you to each and every person for coming to support Hospice!

Ruth Fishbeck

Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley executive director