P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525
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P.O. Box 691 Sebring Florida USA 33871 Tel: 863-382-2525 |
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Lee Winberry - This Guy Is Cooking By: Roy Riedy |
Lee Winberry joined HLT in 1985, 18 years ago, and since that time he has probably cooked over 16,000 meals of prime beef for the dinner guests of the Lakeside Playhouse. That's a lot of beef, a lot of work, and also a lot of satisfied customers.
Ironically, the first time this famous chef's name appeared in an HLT playbill it was listed with the Production Staff as part of the Set Construction crew for Marian Dunham's presentation of Lerner and Loewe's musical Brigadoon in June of 1985. The second time it appeared, in the program for Peter Pollard's August production of Once Upon a Mattress, his name had gravitated to the Gourmet Staff where it appeared with those working with Beverages.
The Twelfth HLT Season opened with Frank Oberhausen's musical Annie on November first, 1985, complete with a Commemorative Program which recorded the names of over 150 Firstnighters that had come to the gala. Lee's name appeared again in the play program with the Gourmet Staff as one of four volunteers working in the beverage section. Incidently, the Zenon Awards competition started on this opening night for the first Zenon Awards Ceremony took place at the end of the Twelfth Season. Annie was followed by Barbara Smith's production of No, No, Nanette in January, 1986, with Lee's name again appearing with the Gourmet Staff, and still working in the beverage section. In April, Peter Pollard brought Arsenic and Old Lace to the stage of the Lakeside Playhouse and Lee's name was again listed with the beverage personnel of the Gourmet Staff. Janelou Buck directed I Do, I Do! in June and again, Lee's name was listed with the beverage personnel. The last play of the season was Sue McCollum's production of the comedy Vanities. At this time the beverage section of the Gourmet Staff had acquired a chairman, Frank Oberhausen, and Lee was listed as a member of his staff. The First Zenon Awards Ceremony took place on October 4, 1986, at the Sebring Elks Club. Annie was awarded the first Zenon for the Best Play of the Season and Lee was one of the first HLT members to win a Board Service Zenon for his dependable work with Gourmet during the Twelfth Season.
HLT's Thirteenth Season opened with another Firstnighter Gala on the last day of October with Marian Dunham's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Lee's name could be found in the Beverage section of the Gourmet Staff and again Lee worked with Gourmet for the entire five play season in the beverage section.
Mr. Winberry worked in Gourmet during three of the five plays presented in the Fourteenth Season. During this season he became co-chairman of beverages with Frank Oberhausen and by the end of the season he was holding down two positions, a worker in beverages and a chef in the kitchen division.
The Fifteenth Season saw Lee back on the Gourmet Staff for all five presentations and now devoting his entire time in the kitchen as a chef. As impossible as it is to believe, Mr. Winberry has worked for the last 14 seasons, from the Sixteenth through Peter Pollard's reprise of Steel Magnolias in this, the Twenty-ninth Season, without missing any of the plays presented during that time, an unbroken series of 67 shows!
His astounding commitment has not gone unrewarded. He was honored at the Fifth Zenon Awards with a second Board Service Zenon that thanked him "for outstanding contributions to the theater for planning and development of building improvements relating to the cultural facilities grant application." At the Sixth Zenon Ceremony he was nominated "for outstanding contributions to the theatre in Gourmet and Building Improvements."
And there is more - five more nominations and awards: At the Seventh Zenons Lee received his third Board Service Zenon "for his outstanding contributions to the theatre in gourmet and in the construction of the new dressing rooms." At the Eighth Annual Ceremony Lee was nominated "for outstanding contributions to the theater in Gourmet and building improvements to include the kitchen expansion." In October, 1997, at the Twelfth Annual Zenon Awards Ceremony Lee received his fourth Zenon for his work with the Gourmet Staff. At the Thirteenth Zenons Lee was once again nominated for his work with the Gourmet Staff. And most recently, at the Seventeenth Annual Zenon Awards in October, 2002, Mr. Winberry was nominated for the fourth time "for Outstanding Achievement in Gourmet and construction Planning."
Finally, on December 1, 2002, HLT had a Groundbreaking Ceremony to mark the beginning of a new building to be used as a rehearsal hall and to be named The Doctors Thakkar Pavilion after its generous benefactors. Mr. Winberry's construction company, Lee Winberry Homes, will be the builder. During the planning of the new structure, Mr. Winberry charitably donated much of the cost that was incurred during its planning, another insight into this generous man.
For the record Lee has been associated with 87 plays at HLT - two-thirds of all shows given by the organization. He has received four Zenons and been nominated for four others. His name has appeared in 18 HLT Newsletters and 10 local news articles, and currently he is the contractor for the new addition to Highlands Little Theatre, this is a record almost impossible to top. Lee, you really know how to serve up good things.
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