Curtain Raisers Induct Three into Wall of Fame

The Curtain Raisers Society for the Performing Arts at The University of Findlay held its annual meeting on April 20, in which three individuals were inducted into the Curtain Raisers Society Wall of Fame. Honored for their contributions to the success of the performing arts at The University of Findlay were the late Deborah Lynn Jones Hollington, Margaret “Peggy” Gartner and Edward W. Erner, Ph.D.
Deborah Hollington volunteered for nearly 20 years with the Fort Findlay Playhouse, Findlay Youtheatre, Findlay Light Opera Company and The University of Findlay’s theatre department. She worked backstage as a set painter, props master, set dresser and as a member of the scene shift crews. Hollington joined the UF Curtain Raisers Advisory Board in the late 1990s. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1973 and earned a second bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Findlay in 1988. She retired from Marathon Oil Co. as an accountant in 2001. Hollington passed away in 2009. She has two grown daughters.
Beginning her employment at The University of Findlay in 1996 , Peggy Gartner served as the administrative assistant for the Department of Visual and Performing Arts from 2004 until retiring in 2011. In addition to her duties, she attended countless recitals, concerts and theatre productions. Gartner also participated in the 2010 Christmas performance of “Two from Galilee” by the UF Concert-Chorale.
Gartner earned a bachelor’s degree  in English from Montclair University, Upper Montclair, N.J.  She and her husband, Russ, have four grown children and two grandchildren.
Ed Erner began his career at Findlay College in the early 1970s as director of the Ohio College Three Consortium and chair of the Northwest Ohio Consortium, and advanced to dean of community education and extended studies. In 1987, he was named vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, a position he held until 2000. He retired in 2002 after serving as dean of the College of Education and was named dean emeritus. A graduate of Hanover College, Ind., he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He received his master’s degree in education from Indiana University in Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in human relations and psychology from Ohio University in Athens. Erner has participated in many UF concerts and musical theatre productions. Most recently, he and his wife, Virginia, both sang in the April 2013 production of “Carmina Burana.” They have three grown daughters and two grandchildren.