Volunteer Tribute
JUANITA MUNTZ
Regards from Broadway Rose
Winter 2023
Juanita on the job at Broadway Rose
Juanita Muntz has been donating her time as a volunteer with Broadway Rose since 1996. Her contributions as a volunteer have been many and varied, including offering medical support at the theater, ushering, house management, and coordinating the recycling efforts at the theater.
Juanita first heard about Broadway Rose when its 1992 opening was announced in the Tigard City newsletter.
“I’ve always enjoyed musicals, so that caught my interest,” Juanita said.
At the time, Juanita was already ushering for Portland’5 and volunteering at ART and other downtown theaters. As a longtime resident of Tigard, Juanita was excited to start experiencing theatre so close to home, and after she saw Sharon Maroney in Nunsense she was hooked. Juanita attended mainstage shows regularly and decided to start volunteering as an usher as well in 1996.
Juanita has also served time as both assistant and house manager for approximately 10 years, starting out in a volunteer capacity at the Deb Fennell Auditorium, until being hired on part-time as house manager at the New Stage. In addition to house management, Juanita, a registered nurse at the time, offered her expertise in areas of medical support, attending selected Saturday and Sunday matinees to provide back-up in case of potential mishaps. She also ensures first aid kits, AED units, and assistive listening devices are stocked and functioning.
Over the years with Broadway Rose, Juanita has also contributed in many unexpected capacities.
When renovations were underway for the New Stage building in 2008, Juanita spent more than one Saturday morning at work with other volunteers shoveling out construction dirt in order to save time for the hired construction crew. “So I have sweat equity in this building,” Juanita laughed.
The New Stage opened with a holiday show, and Tigard was hit by a winter storm. Juanita and another volunteer shoveled a foot of snow away from the lobby doors before the performance for the 36 people who managed to make it into the theater, and then 15 minutes before the show ended, shoveled the newly accumulated snow away from the doors so that everybody could get back out!
Juanita and her dog, Cooper
One of Juanita’s major contributions to the theater and the community has been her management of the Broadway Rose recycling program. From bottles and cans, to boxes, plastics and bubble wrap—Juanita found ways to reuse it all, dropping off items at various recycling centers around town and even taking extra plastics home to clean up before donating them. During the 20-year period Juanita managed the recycling program at Broadway Rose, she spent an average of one day a week on recycling efforts alone—that calculates out to a whopping 8,320 hours of service to Broadway Rose and to the community!
Even while at times working three different part-time jobs, Juanita still continued to contribute in various ways at the theater. With such dedication, it’s no surprise that Juanita was awarded Volunteer Of The Decade at the 2020 BroadwayWorld Portland Awards.
“This has been an important part of my life. I have enjoyed working with the people who are here,” Juanita said. “So it has just been a very positive experience.”
While Juanita recently moved away from Tigard and plans to “retire” from some of her volunteer projects, she remains committed to Broadway Rose. In addition to her generous contributions as a volunteer, Juanita also remains one of our most dedicated donors and longest season suscribers. We at Broadway Rose are so grateful to Juanita for the time, effort, and heart she has contributed to Broadway Rose, and we’re so glad Juanita has found it meaningful to contribute her valuable time to support musical theatre.
