Rick Lester, 61, a major figure in the Colorado Springs arts community, and a four-time Courage Classic rider, passed away on Saturday after suffering a thus-far-unspecified medical crisis. Lester was riding in honor of his grandchild. Learn more about him and see photos and video below.
Lester was the chief executive officer of TRG Arts, a consulting firm devoted to nonprofit arts organizations. Here's the memorial posted on the organization's website:Over the weekend, TRG lost a leader, mentor, colleague, and friend. Today, we are taking time to remember all that Rick has meant to us individually, to our company, and to our work in the arts and entertainment field. We will resume TRG business as usual, but not just yet.TRG also shares a lengthy profile of Lester, which we've included below in its entirety. But another side of Lester can be seen on the Courage Classic page dedicated to his team; it was published before his death.We ask your understanding as we mourn alongside Rick's family whose privacy we request that you join us in respecting. Memorial details still are forthcoming and will be posted on this site as they become available.
Under the heading "Why I Ride," Lester wrote:
I am riding the 2013 Courage Classic in memory of my late grandson, Noah Wilkerson, whose only fault in life was his unfortunate choice of grandfathers. Early testing is critical for kids like Noah. Thankfully, inherited metabolic diseases are treatable today because of the professionals at Children's Hospital.Also included on the page are several photos, including this shot of signs presumably worn by members of Lester's crew, known as The Gene Team.... ...plus a pic of the full team.... ...and a shot of Lester and a friend geared up and ready to ride: In response to Lester's death, Children's Hospital CEO Jim Shmerling released the following statement: "We are truly saddened beyond what words can express. Children's Hospital Colorado, Children's Colorado Foundation and the entire Courage Classic team extends our deepest condolences to the Lester family and everyone affected by this tragedy."The Courage Classic is a huge personal challenge each year. It is also a wonderful opportunity to provide healthy outcomes for the kids and families who need Children's Colorado.
Thank you for your support. It means a great deal to me and my entire family.
We second that emotion.
By the way, The Gene Team set out to raise $10,000 for Children's Hospital and surpassed that goal, collecting $11,175. This legacy does Lester proud.
Continue for more information about Rick Lester, plus a video about his passing. Here's Lester's profile and bio, courtesy of TRG Arts:
What I work on My work centers on finding applications for TRG's knowledge and skill sets for new or different industry segments. When TRG first began, all of our clients were symphony orchestras. Today we work with clients from most genres of the arts and entertainment industry, including commercial entertainment. I spend a considerable amount of time writing. This includes articles for TRG's blog and preparation for time in the classroom teaching and speaking at industry conferences. How my career has evolved In a sense, TRG started way back in 1982. While working at The Cleveland Orchestra, my phone started ringing with people asking me to come consult. For the next twelve years, I consulted extensively on a part-time basis around my full-time jobs. After my departure from the Charlotte Symphony (my last "real" job), I decided not to seek another full-time position. Instead, I wanted to see if my part-time consulting work could become a real business. Three months later, I had five clients. And I've never looked back.Look below to see 9News' coverage of Lester's death. Again, our condolences to his friends, family and loved ones.What sets TRG apart from its competition? TRG's ongoing study of arts patron transactions means that we know more about patron behavior than anyone. The scale of the company is a key difference as well. Because we work in so many communities, across so many artistic genres, with clients that have budgets ranging from very small to some of the largest in the industry -- we have the chance to see more of what works and what doesn't -- and why. There is nobody out there that can match the experiences TRG has as a team.
What do you enjoy most about your work? I get to interact on a daily basis with some of the smartest people on the planet. I'm surrounded every day by people who are renewed by the question "why." The continual quest to understand is a lifelong challenge that I look forward to each day. And because I get to travel so much, most evenings I can usually be found where a curtain is about to go up or a gallery is about to open. I get to see the best of the best every day.
Why I love the arts I sang in public for the first time when I was 3 years old. I saw my first Broadway show when I was 10. I won a young artist competition with St. Louis Symphony when I was 17. I paid my way through school as a singer and a dancer. A life without the arts is inconceivable to me. It is who I am.
Biography: Rick Lester
Rick Lester built TRG Arts on a 30-year career in entertainment marketing. Since founding the firm in 1995 as Lester & Associates, Rick and his partners have built TRG into America's largest consulting company dedicated to arts and culture.
Rick leads TRG's counsel on patron behavior trends and their impact on patronage and revenue generation for organizations and communities. His pioneering work in demand management, pricing and cost-of-sale focus in marketing have become industry best practices. Hundreds of organizations in North America have generated successful revenue and audience results by following the data-driven strategies and counsel that Rick and his TRG colleagues recommend.
In his frequent appearances as presenter, workshop leader, and panelist at arts and culture conferences nationwide, Rick has influenced the industry's ideas about ticket pricing, patron loyalty, and metrics for institutional health. Rick also invests in developing the next generation of arts and culture administrators. He is a distinguished visiting professor at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (Dallas). He also is a guest lecturer for arts management programs, including the Yale School of Drama at Yale University, the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, and the Breech School of Business Administration at Drury University (MO).
Early career success leading the marketing programs for the Cincinnati Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra led Rick to senior leadership positions in the orchestra field. He was president / executive director of the San Antonio Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina, and the Knoxville Symphony in Tennessee. In each of these organizations, Rick helped achieve records for both earned and contributed revenues. For more than a decade before he founded Lester & Associates, Rick had also been a freelance consultant to orchestras, as well as to numerous state and national nonprofit organizations.
Rick has assisted with projects for the American Symphony Orchestra League (now the League of Orchestras) where he was both vice chair and chair of Group 2 Orchestra Managers and a frequent presenter. For the National Endowment for the Arts, he was a member of the National Endowment for the Art's Challenge Panel for Policy Review, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Cleveland Foundation.
He holds a B.A. in political science from Drury University and today serves as an officer on his alma mater's board of directors. Rick earned his M.B.A from Queens University in Charlotte. He also serves on the board of SMU's National Center for Arts Research.
More from our Follow That Story archive circa October 2012: "Dan Peterson, R.I.P.: Remembering hit-and-run victim who elevated bike-safety concerns."
