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True StoriesConnie Bass:
Costume Designer
“I started I started working for the firm at age 15 as
a presser and baster. At age 17, I began a career as a 'gofer' for famous designers
of the day including Lucinda Ballard and Theoni Aldridge.” As television became an important part of the New
York entertainment scene, Connie began to work on shows such as Ed Sullivan, Jackie
Gleason, Paul Whitman and Arthur Godfrey. The company costumed many Broadway shows, ice
follies, circus, regional theatre and amateur productions. There was a manufacturing
department for new costumes as well as an inventory of over 100,000 costumes for rental
purposes. After moving to
Stuart, Florida, in the late 80’s, Connie found plenty of ways to direct her energy
into her new community. She began as a
volunteer clerk for the Martin County administrative offices while pursuing opportunities
with the Martin Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, where she logged in 8500 hours of volunteer
time. As chair of the Auxiliary Thrift Shop from 1998 to 2000, she redesigned the shop,
added a boutique and custom fitting service and initiated the use of charge cards. “It became very upscale and produced high
revenues for the hospital,” she said. She
went on to serve as vice president, and most recently was assistant to the president,
responsible for compiling the Martin Memorial Hospital Auxiliary history. Connie was one of the
thirteen original founding members and later vice president of the Port Salerno
Revitalization Committee, helping to raise money for the Committee and for the restoration
of the Old Salerno School. She also
initiated, developed and ran About F.A.C.E. (Families, Art, Children’s Education)
Program, a focus arts and dance program to develop self-esteem in neighborhood children. After three years, she turned over the successful
program to the Martin County Department of Parks and Recreation where it is still in
operation. She has been a member
of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee since its inception and helped to develop the
Master Plan for the Community Redevelopment Area in Port Salerno. Dream Come True
Recently, Connie has
seen her dream to bring a library to Port Salerno come true. Without funding and an all-volunteer staff, she
began with a small outreach children’s library in the Old Salerno School. Two years ago, Connie Bass and Martin County
Library director, Donna Tunsoy, attended a “Family Place” workshop in New York. Convinced the nationally recognized early
childhood program would benefit Martin County, Connie began to raise money for the
project. Today, nine years after she began
her first efforts, the Robert Morgade Library is the first Family Place Library in
Florida. The Blake Library has recently
incorporated the program in its schedule and other Martin County branches will soon
follow. The success of the
Family Place initiative spurred Connie to initiate two new programs: Saturday Mornings @ The Robert Morgade Library is
a weekly event offering diverse programming for families and children of all ages. “Redirecting Children’s Behavior”
is a parenting program that focuses on teaching individuals, parents, and professionals
skills that create confident, loving, secure and drug-free children. Today, these programs are supported by a
partnership Connie forged including the Children’s Service Council, Department of
Parks and Recreation, Friends of the Robert Morgade Library, and the Martin County
Library. Connie Bass was named Volunteer Soroptomist Woman of Distinction Award for 2002. These days, you are likely to find her doing programming and public relations for all of Martin County’s six branch libraries. That is, if you can keep up with her at all.
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Community activist and consummate volunteer,
Connie Bass, began her working life in a family business, the Eaves Costume Company on 46th
Street in New York City, acquired by her paternal grandfather in the early 1900’s.