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
WOMEN OF THE SOUTH 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.
Since the organization’s inception in 1995, Women of the South has been involved in educational, cultural and civic activities promoting the arts throughout south Oklahoma City and the metro area. With over 75 members, their motto, “Growing and Building a Better Tomorrow,” is exemplified in the various projects they support.
Their major initiatives include their sponsorship of Arts Festival Oklahoma, the Labor Day weekend arts festival that brings over 40,000 people to the campus of Oklahoma City Community College. Women of the South was a major contributor for south Oklahoma City’s first public art sculpture, “Broken Box III” by artist Kevin Robb at Earlywine Park. A second sculpture will be erected this fall at the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. The organization also partnered with Oklahoma City Community College to raise $250,000 for the 1,000 seat Performing Arts Theater on the campus.
Women of the South holds two fundraising events each year, a black tie gala and a golf tournament, and have raised enough money to award 209 scholarships to graduating high school girls to attend college from the South OKC Metro Area, Moore and Western Heights, totaling $209,000. They provide educational grants to numerous elementary schools supporting music and cultural programs for students.
They have made it possible for over 30 women to get an Associates Degree at OCCC, paying for tuition, fees, books and related required tools for their degree. This Primary Provider Scholarship is for a woman who is the primary provider for their household due to circumstances such as divorce, death of her husband, or disability of her spouse or is a single mom.
Women of the South have sponsored or co-sponsored more than 50 community events since its inception including the Women’s Health Forum at Integris, the Miss South Oklahoma City Pageant and the Public Library Share a Book Program. The membership of Women of the South is very active in volunteering thousands of hours for related art projects and events including the Canterbury Choral Society fundraiser, Chatenay Cabaret Music and Wine Festival and Oklahoma Community Orchestra fundraisers.
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.
---End---