April 2, 2012

Economy’s Strain Puts New Demands on Leaders

Economy’s Strain Puts New Demands on Leaders 1

Sunrise Symphonic Pops orchestra

Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra overhauled its board and made other changes to improve the group’s finances.

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close Economy’s Strain Puts New Demands on Leaders 1

Sunrise Symphonic Pops orchestra

Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra overhauled its board and made other changes to improve the group’s finances.

By Ben Gose

When Donna Horkey joined the board of the Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra a year ago, the charity had spent two-thirds of its cash reserves in just two years. The board’s 100-year-old chairman and its other elderly members were reluctant to raise ticket prices, fearing that their friends on fixed incomes in Sunrise, Fla., would be unable to afford it. But Ms. Horkey, who now heads the board, says its members were overlooking a bigger concern.

“I told this little group of