On receiving notice of the award, Wayside’s Board of Trustees President June Woodman said: “We are most grateful to the Maine Cultural Affairs Council for this very welcome award. We are fortunate, indeed, to have the support of this institution, and we appreciate their interest and encouragement. The new furnace will eliminate our concern that our very old furnace might not make it through another severe winter, and it will save us the repeated repair bills that we had last season. We have been restricted in our selection of plays because of our lack of sufficient stage lighting, and we look forward to installing the two new lights we will purchase with some of the grant money. The remaining funds, which are allocated for production costs and directors’ fees, will make it possible for us to schedule a full season in advance. We consider this grant a vote of confidence and an added incentive to continue with the tremendous project of making Wayside Theatre a center for theatre arts and community programs. We will use the funds wisely and well.”