Lara Manzione of the National Labor College reports on last night’s “Time to Build” fundraising gala at the college.

Following the first day of the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting held at the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., the college hosted a “A Time to Build”  gala last night. The gala honored Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), and the presidents of five entertainment  unions:  Ray Hair, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM); Ken Howard, Screen Actors (SAG); Matthew  Loeb, Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); Roberta Reardon, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); and Nick Wyman, Actors’ Equity (AEA).

This is a cross-post from the Actors’ Equity website.

Stages St. Louis opened its 25th season with the smash hit “A Chorus Line” and a check for $25,000 to the Red Cross benefiting the Missouri Tornado and Flood Relief Fund. The cast presented the check to Red Cross Executive Director Cindy Erickson at its June 29 performance.

Happy anniversary to Actors’ Equity, which celebrates its 98th anniversary today, May 26. The oldest performing arts union in America, Equity represents more than 49,000 professional stage actors and stage managers nationwide.