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By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Julie Shambarger thought around 50 community members had gathered at The Times Theater of Rochester on Thursday, April 25, to honor artist Jim Scott, who’s working on a new mural there.

Instead, they and U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym were present to recognize her.

Yakym, who represents Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District of which Rochester is part, told Shambarger, who serves as the theater’s executive director, he was honoring her for her work to restore and utilize the 100-year-old building by mentioning her in the Congressional Record, which he did on March 19.

He read to those present what he’d entered on Shambarger’s behalf, found below:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Julie Shambarger for the incredible work she has done to revitalize downtown Rochester, Indiana, by spearheading the effort to refurbish and reopen The Times Theater in Rochester.

“As is the case with so many venues on Main streets across America, The Times Theater was an iconic symbol of Main Street Rochester before closing its doors in 2014.

“Rather than accept The Times Theater’s apparent fate as a project of the past, Julie Shambarger poured her heart and soul into the mission of ensuring this cherished community fixture would be open for business and welcome visitors once again.

“Guided by her belief that The Times Theater could be restored as the vibrant heart of the Rochester community, Julie marshalled the effort to acquire the grants and donations needed to renovate The Times Theater so its reopening could be not only a possibility, but a reality.

“Today, The Times Theater is host to not only movies but also live music and community events, and it has welcomed over 9,000 guests since reopening last February. It has elevated the cultural landscape of Rochester and been a beacon of artistic innovation and creative expression.

“At a time when many of America’s social and civic ties are fraying, places like The Times Theater — places the community can take pride in and congregate at — are all the more important.

“I and so many other Hoosiers are immensely grateful to Julie Shambarger for the dedicated and diligent work she has done to bring more energy and life back to downtown Rochester and all of Fulton County.

“I look forward to visiting The Times Theater again soon and seeing how Julie Shambarger’s efforts will continue to pay dividends in the years ahead.”

Yakym said before he read the Congressional Record that he was “really, really passionate about the revitalization of small town America, having places like this where people want to grow up, raise their family and stay here instead of doing what so many other people used to do, which is move away.”

Shambarger credited others for helping reopen the theater.

“This almost has nothing to do about me,” she said. “There are so many other people that started this and thank God because I wouldn’t have. It just was perfect timing. A lot of things came together and that switch got flipped and I could see it and the pandemic happened. We had time.”

“I personally know about everybody in this room, family and friends, and just leaned on everybody, surrounded myself with the best of the best and just pushed and pushed and promised they couldn’t outwork me,” Shambarger added. “We’ve been here every day for almost three years and thank you for showing up when we did is all I can say really because we tried to match every dollar with hard work and dedication.”

“It’s just incredible,” she said after the presentation of other people that helped restore the theater. “I got the privilege of taking (the restoration) over the finish line.”

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, left, poses with The Times Theater of Rochester Executive Director Julie Shambarger on Thursday, April 25, at the theater after he read from the entry he made in the Congressional Record on March 19 honoring her for her work in restoring and reopening the 100-year-old building.