POWERGRAMS

13 Tom said in those early days, there was no staff, so he and Loretta, along with other volunteers, handled ever ything from taking tickets to sweeping the floors to cleaning the bathrooms. The Croniers even brought their then-teenage daughters, Karen and Susan, to help make popcorn and sell drinks and candy. Today, Tom, who has been treasurer of the ATOS chapter for 15 years, still devotes hours to the organ and the theatre. Ever y Saturday, he works alongside other members to repair and rebuild the organ. Tom helps out around the theatre with ever ything from hanging pictures to reattaching loose parts of the bannisters. Tom has his own key to the theatre and is often called on to provide tours. Although he never learned to play the organ, he is proud to say that he can demonstrate how it works, thanks to today's technology. Because the organ's control system has been updated, Tom can get the experience of playing it simply by retrieving songs from its computer memor y bank. Loretta, a retired media specialist at Shades Cahaba Elementar y School, spends more time at the theatre nowadays. "We've gotten to be good friends with the staff," said Loretta. "We're there so much that we know all the staff, and so it's just like family." After 35 years at Alabama Power, Tom retired from the Finance department in 2007. Since then, he has been an active member of the Corporate Chapter of Energizers, the company's retiree organization. Tom has volunteered his time and expertise during United Way of Central Alabama's fall fundraising campaigns the past 11 years. His job at UWCA is recording and keeping track of the submitted pledges. "I've really enjoyed working with the people at United Way," Tom said. "For a retired person like me, it's good to get back into the workaday world, sit down at a computer and get my brain around the software they use. It keeps me sharp." But his first volunteer love will always be the Alabama Theatre and, of course, the Wurlitzer. Brant Beene said he is grateful to the Croniers for all they have given to the theatre. "It's like having two of the most dedicated employees you could have, but you don't have to pay them. And that, for a nonprofit, is a huge advantage," said Beene, executive director of the Alabama and L yric theatres. "They have given us one of the nicest gifts they can give us and that's their time." Tom said he's proud that the Alabama, more than ever, lives up to the name "Showplace of the South." "I believe the public sees the theatre the way we used to back in 1985 when nobody else seemed to care," he said. "They see it as a treasure and they're glad it's here."

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