Belated Thoughts on Visionary Awards

Sadly, I've been away for a few days since the event, but last Wednesday I got to experience my first Grand Center, Inc. event on the organization's side: The 2010 Visionary Awards.

I was particularly looking forward to this event because it exclusively honors women in the arts in St. Louis. In preparation for the event, I got to read the bios of the women being honored. I was blown away by their accomplishments and achievements. I'll go into detail about the six fabulous women a little later.

I arrived the day of the event at 9 AM ready to help prepare for the event. The office was buzzing and I was soon sent over to the Sheldon. With help, I boxed off seats with ribbon to help control the seating process and keep everyone centralized in the venue. Using Rachel's seating chart, we attached name or corporation sheets to each VIP seat. Once the auditorium was set up it looked beautiful, especially with Brown Shoe's decorations on the stage and in the reception area.

After a full day of preparations, Rachel, Travis, and I worked at reception with the guests tickets and name tags. With very few speed bumps, everyone received their ticket and was sent along to the cocktail and appetizer reception upstairs. It was very exciting to see everyone whose names I had heard of so many times in preparation for the event. It was the generosity of these individual and corporate sponsors that made the event possible.

After reception, Travis and I were in charge of seating the attendees. When everyone was seated, the event began.

Everyone's hard work and planning paid off and the event went off without a hitch.

Want to hear more about the honorees? Promise it won't disappoint. *Note-For brevity's sake, I am limiting myself to achievements and observations.

Alison Ferring-Major Contributor to the Arts
A practicing artist, who has served as a curator and non-profit gallery director, but is best known for her unyielding passion and support of the arts and the greater St. Louis community. A founding member of the Shakespeare Festival and Spirit of St. Louis Women's Fund. She serves on the board of COCA, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Places for People and Voices for Children. Alison is also a member of the St. Louis Public Library Foundation Board....And insane as it is....there is more. Alison's involvement in the St. Louis community and her contributions are immeasureable. Seen by everyone whose lives she has impacted, she has made substantial improvements in the St. Louis community.

Renee Franklin- Outstanding Arts Professional
As the community Partnersihps Director at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Renee leads efforts to provide visitor-friendly engagement opportunities for diverse audiences and beyond the museum walls. She has instituted programs such as Friends of African American Art Membership Program, Youth smART, and Art With Us youth programs. Previously, she was head of community and school programs. She was responsible for increasing the diversity of teacher and student partnerships through implementing Master Teacher Summer Fellowship Program and Exploring with the Artist high school program. Her present roles include instructor at Webster University, faculty member for the Regional Arts Committee, and again...there is more.

Lee Nolting-Outstanding Arts Educator
She is a founding faculty member for COCA, and over her 23 years there, has played an instrumental role in establishing pre-professional dance scholarship TIP (Talent Identified Program), student performance companies and award-winning outreach programs. The impact of her work was demonstrated through the anecdotes she shared about East St. Louis youth and the manners in which dance "saves lives." COCA is now nationally recognized by dance companies and her students have better access to a dance career in New York than Nolting could muster for herself. Personally, her story was the most touching to me.

Celia Shacklett- Emerging Artist
Oh, Celia. Upon accepting her award, she brought her guitar on stage and sang along with the crowd a song a young student had written with her entitled "I Love Myself." It was definitely a highlight of the event. Her contagious energy caught onto the entire group.
Celia's accomplishments include her multitude of performances with several bands and well as solo. She collaborates with Celia's Big Rock Band, Fire Dog, Sweet & Low, and performs in her own Celia's Yuletide Express. She dedicates her sumers to SCOSAG (St. Louis City Open Studio and Gallery) as a camp counselor, and truly lives out her mission to "Spread the love."

Susan Slaughter- Successful Working Artist
What an incredible woman. Susan joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1969 and became the first woman EVER to be named Principal Trumpet of a major symphony orchestra. Susan founded the International Women's Brass Conference, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities and recognition for women brass musicians. In 1996, she founded Monarch Brass, an all-women's brass ensemble, which has toured the US and Europe to critical acclaim. She is a truly groundbreaking woman and I was blown away by her achievements.

Sally Bliss- Lifetime Achievement Award
She has had an extensive dance career performing with The National Ballet of Canada, The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and New York City Opera. In St. Louis, she is best known for her work with Dance St. Louis, which she revived into a growing and thriving arts organization, cultivating the award-winning outreach program. She also served a six-year term on the National Council on the Arts (appointed by Ronald Reagan) to make final recommendations on all the National Endowment for the Arts grants recipients.
These are but a brief summary of one woman's incredible life.

Kind of gives you a lot to live up to, huh? The Visionary Awards left me inspired and motivated. Probably will attend next year as a ticket-buying patron.