NEWS RELEASE: FEBRUARY 22, 2005 EMTC's Lee Schroeder to Receive NEPTA Lifetime Achievement Award! "I still don't believe it," is what Letitia [Lee] Schroeder of Jackson is saying about her selection for the 2005 Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award. Schroeder was nominated for this honor by her colleagues in the Endless Mountains Theatre Company, and was overjoyed when she was informed that representatives of the various participating NEPTA companies had chosen her. Though Schroeder herself is stunned, those who have worked with her are not the least bit surprised. "Being nominated by your peers is the highest form not only of flattery but of congratulations," says NEPTA President Paige Balitski. Balitski explains that Schroeder's award reflects both the "sheer number of years" of her involvement with theatre and her "total dedication." She adds that an important criterion for this award is a candidate's proven commitment to the support and elevation of community theatre - goals that extend beyond mere participation. Schroeder took part in high school Gilbert & Sullivan productions, and as a young woman continued to thrive in the amateur theatre world. As life took her from place to place, her credits included such ventures as church productions and a hospital-sponsored "Follies". In the 1960's and 1970's, Schroeder worked with New Jersey theatre groups, notably the Demarest Little Theater and the Woman's Club of Haworth. She was active both on and off the stage, and she particularly remembers productions of Guys and Dolls and South Pacific as high points. "That was a fun time for me," she says. She also proudly remembers her Best Supporting Actress Award from an annual drama festival. Her connection to Susquehanna County began in 1969 (she's been a permanent resident since 1980). Soon after EMTC was born in 1999, Schroeder was elected to the group's Board of Directors and continued serving in various behind-the-scenes ways for several years. And in 2002, she took to the stage once again when she was cast as Grandma Nunzio in the company's wildly popular version of Tony n' Tina's Wedding.