Annual Supper 2024
Join us for an exquisite evening as Friends of the Old State House Museum proudly presents the Annual Supper on October 22, 2024.
“Filmmaking: A Calling and A Gift” is the program for the Oct. 22 Annual Supper by Friends of Old State House in support of the museum. The program is an interview/conversation with Craig Renaud and Courtney Pledger.
Craig Renaud is a Peabody and DuPont Award winning filmmaker and has spent the past two decades producing films and television programs, many with his brother, Brent, now deceased (killed while filming in Ukraine). Renaud is best known for telling humanistic stories from the World’s hot spots and projects that have covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, and storytellers in Arkansas as well as the Central High story.
Courtney Pledger is Executive Director and Chief Executive Office of Arkansas PBS, and a co-collaborator with Renaud on Arkansas Storytellers.
At the Old State House Museum Annual Supper
We will learn about the gift and impact of filmmaking. Throughout the event, indulge in cocktails, partake in a silent auction, and have a delicious dinner. Very limited seating is available for this event.
For the best experience when purchasing tickets, FOSH recommends using Google Chrome. Thank you for your understanding.
Award-winning Arkansas Filmmaker Craig Renaud is best known for his character driven, cinema verité documentaries like Dope Sick Love, Last Chance High, Off to War, and Meth Storm.
His most recent documentary series Southern Storytellers aired nationally on PBS in the summer of 2003. Renaud’s work has won the film industry’s most prestigious awards, including: a Peabody, Columbia DuPont (twice), Overseas Press Club (twice), an IDA, a Webby, and an Edward R Murrow. Craig is currently in production on a documentary for HBO about his late brother Brent.
While documenting the refugee crisis in 2022, Brent Renaud was the first American journalist killed in Ukraine. Craig and his brother Brent were also the founders of the Little Rock Film Festival, and the Renaud family founded the Brent Renaud Foundation in 2022.
Courtney Pledger has worked extensively as a film and television producer and senior executive in Los Angeles and London where she shepherded or produced multiple projects recognized by the Emmys and Golden Globes.
She is a recipient of the Women in Film Lillian Gish Producing Award. Pledger served as director and executive director of Oscar-qualifying Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and has been in the role of CEO at Arkansas PBS since 2017 where she has positioned the network as a national content producer. She executive produced the documentaries Rap Squad and 7 Days seen nationwide as well as documentaries State of the Art and three-part series Southern Storytellers in partnership with filmmaker Craig Renaud and Renaud Brothers Films for national PBS.
Pledger executive produced the award-winning animated film based on Michael Morpurgo’s book Kensuke’s Kingdom to be released worldwide beginning this fall. She serves as vice-chair of the PBS Board, is on the boards of American Public Television and Arkansas’ Dolly Parton Imagination Library and is a member of the Brent Renaud Foundation advisory board.
Every autumn, the Friends of Old State House present the Annual Supper, a greatly anticipated occasion held in the historic 1885 House of Representatives Chamber on the second floor of the Old State House, showcasing notable speakers of historical, political, and regional significance.
Past Suppers have been addressed by Winston Spencer Churchill; General (Retired) Wesley Clark, former commander of NATO forces; Governors Sidney McMath, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Frank White and Mike Beebe; William Ferris, Director of the Endowment for Humanities, and Dr. Jonathan Drummond-Webb, famed heart surgeon at Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Ed Wilson, President of Fox Television, and a number of famous authors.
Tickets for the 2024 Annual Supper on Tuesday, October 22nd, are available for purchase.
Pictured: Jennifer Sperry, Ruth Ann Rugg, David Beck, Cary Cox, Rae Ann Fields, Jimmy Fields, Kathy Roberts. During visit to United States Marshalls Museum in Fort Smith.
Elevate your status to Arkansas’s exclusive “A-list” as a valued FOSH member, enjoying invitations to private receptions before every exhibit launch. These curated preview events offer a refined experience within the Riverfront Room, featuring refreshments, members-only guided tours, and insightful exhibit tours led by the museum director and expert staff curator, allowing you to delve deeper into the artistic and historical significance of each showcase.
Friends Board and Museum Staff Visit U.S. Marshalls Museum in Fort Smith
