Occupation: Jon is a retired mental health therapist at Families First, a poet, and an occasional teacher.
What are your hobbies? “I love the Tower District. We have friends who are musicians, so we try to go to concerts and dinners and things of that nature, a lot of things that relate to the arts.”
What type of film or movie genre would you like Filmworks to show more of? “Dramedy, because it gives us a more realistic picture of the world. A little bit of offbeat dramedy is what I would like, and a director or whoever is responsible who has a different vision than the Hollywood vision. That’s what life’s about—tragedy and comedy.”
How did you get involved with Filmworks? “My wife, Dixie Salazar, is on the board, and I have other friends on the board. I have also been fascinated with independent movies.”
Who got you to volunteer? “In 2002, Filmworks had fundraising parties asking for volunteers, and that’s how they got the original volunteers. I don’t know if all of them are even still around 11 years later.”
What is your usual volunteer job? “At the bar, mostly. But before it became mandated to have a professional security guard there, I was security. I don’t look anything like how a security guard should look. All I had was a T-shirt that said ‘Security.’ But those who go to the theater are not the kind to start a brawl.”
What do you like most about volunteering? “All the people I work with seem to have a fun-loving attitude. That makes it a joy to do something for nothing. Where else can you go to be a volunteer at a great, beautiful building like The Tower Theatre and serve drinks to people?”
Filmworks thanks all of our July 2013 volunteers: Kiara Actis, Anna K. Adaska, Nené Casares, Alyssa Garvin (discussant), Katie Giometti, Margaret M. Hord, Jenna Lange, Hope Megerdichian, Susan Messina, Sarah Nixon, Kristy Page, J. Wes Pierson, Gene Richards, Susan Rogers, Brijesh Sharma, Joan Sharma, Zoë Smurr, Richard Stone, Tracy Stuntz, Jordan T. Taylor, Andrew Veihmeyer (intern), Jon Veinberg.
Past volunteers of the month:
• June 2013 – Richard Stone
• May 2013 – Sarah Nixon
• April 2013 – Alyssa Rendon
• March 2013 – Nené Casares
Contact our volunteer coordinator, Gloria Burrola, to volunteer at a future screening.