Here’s the rest of the story about the Marquee Awards

Here’s the rest of the story about the Marquee Awards

I feel that some information needs to be set straight on the media’s take on the Marquee Awards that were recently shelved for the benefit of the few.

According to what you read in the newspaper, this one included, the Marquee Awards were nothing but agony, misery and nothing short of inhuman torture. Well, I can assure you that this view is entirely untrue. There is only a small group of misinformed people who feel this way. To a vast majority of people, the Marquee Awards were a fun, joyous occasion as an evening that was marked as a real event in Youngstown to honor all areas of local theater. Again, that was not the feeling of the minority mentioned earlier. That minority consisted of a narrow-minded clique that has been intent on destroying the awards since day one. It is unfortunate that this country has turned itself to catering to the minority rather than honoring the majority opinion.

As far as I am concerned, the Marquee Awards began a slow death in 2009 under very bad management and the abandonment of policies and procedures under which the organization had been founded. I admit that the most current evaluation system was severely flawed by the inappropriate involvement of organization members, which I highly protested at the time but was promptly ignored.

I was very happy and pleased to hear of the new Youngstown Music Awards. I wish them well but caution them to beware of the shadowy fringe, which wishes destruction on anything and everything that wasn’t their own personal idea.

J.E. Ballantyne Jr., Youngstown

Ballantyne is the founder and former president of the Youngstown Area Community Theater Alliance