This is the first in a series on last night's 2011 Angels of the Arts award winners.
Last night, the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater was the site of the 8th Annual Angels of the Arts Awards Ceremony. The awards are presented by the Lee County Alliance for the Arts. "They are designed to honor the positive impact of artists, arts organizations, educators and patrons of the arts in Lee County,” said Lydia Black, Executive Director of the Alliance.
Over 80 individual nominees in 14 categories were received by the Alliance for the Arts this year. “The nomination is a reward in itself,” said Arts Teacher of the Year nominee Janie Hemenway, echoing the sentiment of all 80 nominees. “It’s the ultimate recognition of your efforts." And congratulations are offered to all the nominees on their contribution during the past year toward helping build a vital, vibrant arts scene here in southwest Florida.
Each nominee was asked to accept their nomination and submit samples of their work, images, a resume, letters of recommendation and other supporting materials. These materials were united with their nomination form, copied, collated and shipped to three independent jurors residing outside Lee County: Jack O’Brien (curator of The von Liebig Art Center in Naples), Linda Onorevole Annett (Director of Development at the South Orange (New Jersey) Performing Arts Center), and Kerry Vosler (a professional painter specializing in portraits, figures and landscapes).
The jurors reviewed each of the 80 submissions and sent each nominee’s scores to the office of Michael T. Briers, CPA for tabulation. The results remained confidential until last night's awards ceremony.
Back by popular demand, Bill Wood returned to host last night's festivities. Bill is the 11-time Emmy Winning co-host of FOX 4’s Morning Blend, and that’s where you’ll find him weekday mornings from 9-10 a.m. Bill won the Angels of the Arts Award in 2007 for Arts Journalist of the Year.
The evening started with the category of Literary Artist of the year, with Jessie Millner presenting the award. The nominees were Robert Feigenblatt, Mary Beth Lundgren, Robert Macomber and Professor Emeritus Sidney B. Simon. And the 2011 Angels Literary Artist of the Year was Professor Emeritus Sidney B. Simon, who is recognized internationally for his work in Values Clarification. Unfortunately, Professor Simon was unable to attend, so his award was accepted in his stead by Lorraine Vale.
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