NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Oct. 6, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
KRIS GILL TO RECEIVE
GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 16 individuals and five organizations will be honored for their contributions to the arts in their communities or throughout the state. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 20th in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Kym Koch Thompson and Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Tate. A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony.
For more than 20 years, Kris Gill has been a dedicated leader donating thousands of hours advancing the appreciation of the arts and culture of Lawton and southwest Oklahoma. During this time, Gill has helped lead the Arts For All Festival where she organizes and assists members of the jury in selecting the participating artists for each festival and also chairs the Artists area. For the 12th consecutive year, she is again serving as chair of the Gala Committee, one of two major fundraising venues for Arts For All, Inc. This Gala raises funds that directly benefits Lawton Community Theatre, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, Southwest Oklahoma Opera Guild, Wichita Wildlight Photographic Society Lawton Fort Sill Art Council and Lawton Pro Musica.
Gill and her husband, David, own Gill’s Framing & Photography and donate framing materials to Cameron University art student, local fundraising community groups as well as to the Gala for the art auction. She continues to be generous with her time as well giving many free community workshops. She has mentored new artists, helping them learn and understand the business and legalities of art. Thanks to her business acumen, Gill was the first Arts for All, Inc. Board member to involve local businesses in support of the arts by creating the “Business Associate” membership.
Her other civic volunteer efforts include serving on the Board of the YMCA and Chairman, Membership Development. She has been active in the Junior League,
and the Lawton Chamber Of Commerce. She was also a member of the Mayor’s Commission On The Status Of Women during its inaugural year. She has served as Vice President of Business & Professional Women and as Chairman of the BPW Style Show.
The City of Lawton honored her with an arts award from the Arts & Humanities Council and she has also been the recipient of a Citizen of the Arts award, a Business of the Arts award and the Volunteer of the Decade from Arts for All, Inc. Born and raised in North Dakota, Gill is a graduate of Valley City State University with a BS in Business Administration.
A complete list of Governor’s Arts Awards recipients and their photos are available at www.arts.ok.gov. For more information about the Governor’s Arts Awards, please contact Ann Dee Lee at (405) 521-2931 or at anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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