News Release
Garber Theatre Board to receive Governor's Arts Award
Nov. 6, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
Oklahoma City, OK – The Garber Theatre Board, Garber, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 32nd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. The Board will receive a Community Service Award which recognizes individuals for significant contributions to the arts in specific Oklahoma communities in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. Board President Mike Letteer will accept the award.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 16 individuals and four 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., Wednesday, November 28th in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Jim Tolbert and Interim Executive Director Suzanne Tate.
The Garber Theatre Board consists of six members who are all seasoned actors, who oversee the plays, policies, procedures and upkeep of the Garber Community Dinner Theatre. Established in 1999 as a visionary idea of then Garber Mayor Linda Bebee, volunteers renovated the old downtown Community Center into a dinner theater by building a stage, installing floodlights and sound equipment, and purchasing tables and chairs. The old Center would only seat 60 people and a new building was donated that would seat roughly 100 patrons.
After being renovated, the new Garber Community Dinner Theatre has provided tremendous volunteer opportunities from retirees to high school students to airmen at nearby Vance Air Force Base in Enid. Besides being accessible to those with disabilities, the Dinner Theatre has increased the public access to arts activities with multi performances held for each production. When the renovation debt of $20,000 has been repaid, proceeds from the plays will be used for scholarships to Garber High School seniors, for improvements to the city and for theater maintenance.
A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony. 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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