News Release

Willis Granite Products 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 – Willis Granite Products, Granite, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 32nd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Willis Granite Products will receive the Earl Sneed Memorial Business Award which recognizes businesses and corporations that exhibit outstanding support of the arts in Oklahoma. Accepting the award will be President Brenda Willis Hickerson.

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.

Willis Granite Products was established in 1945 when J. R. Willis purchased his first granite quarry, manufacturing plant and sales office in Granite, Oklahoma. Now, the Willis family company is a leader in the memorial industry creating commemorative art in stone seen across the United States and other countries. For four generations, the Willis family has contributed to the quality of life in Southwest Oklahoma by supporting tourism, education and the arts.

The Willis plant has been the site for granite sculpting sessions, photography and film sessions for the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain. The Willis family has provided transportation for artists at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, lodging and food for musicians performing at the Quartz Mountain Music Festival, volunteered as the festival’s photographer and hosted an annual reception for students, artists and guests. Members of the Willis family have worked with Arts on the Square, the Granite Educational Enrichment Foundation and made numerous other civic contributions.

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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