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Awards Luncheon Highlights: 2006
Honoring Achievement & Impact
Arts & Business Council Awards 2006 was a celebration of the following award honorees – exceptional leaders and outstanding partnerships that have made last impact on the arts in the Greater Philadelphia Region.
Jonathan Demme, Academy Award ® -winning film director
2006 Avatar Award for Artistic Excellence
Presented by The Honorable Edward G. Rendell, Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Sponsored by Saul Ewing LLP
This maverick filmmaker and Oscar ® winner was honored with the prestigious Avatar Award for achieving artistic excellence, garnering worldwide acclaim, and serving as an inspiration to the creative community, business leaders, and the entire Greater Philadelphia Region.
Joanne Harmelin, president, Harmelin Media
G. Fred DiBona, Jr. Individual Leadership Award
Presented by Independence Blue Cross
Recognized for her unsurpassed efforts in board leadership, personal dedication, and financial generosity to benefit numerous arts and cultural institutions in the region, including the Philadelphia Zoo/The Philadelphia Zoological Society, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company, and Walnut Street Theatre.
The awards for Arts & Business Council Volunteers of the Year recognize outstanding contributions of active business volunteers in four Council programs:
Samuel A. Spurlock, manager, solutions consulting, CAI
BVA Volunteer of the Year – presented by Verizon Foundation
Recognized for his exceptional contributions to the Philadelphia Sketch Club as a business volunteer in the Council's Business Volunteers for the Arts (BVA) program.
Steven N. Haas, partner, Cozen O'Connor
Business On Board Member of the Year – presented by PECO, An Exelon Company
A graduate of the Council's Business On Board program recognized for his outstanding service and support as a board member with Settlement Music School.
Jay H. Brown, manager of support services, The Boeing Company
Business On Call Volunteer of the Year – presented by PNC Bank
Recognized for his outstanding contributions to more than 20 different arts and cultural organizations through the Council's Business On Call program, for which he also serves as the program's company co-captain and has been instrumental in recruiting new company volunteers.
Elise Miller , operations manager , DataTime Consulting
The Technology Connectors Volunteer of the Year – presented by Comcast
Recognized for her exceptional contributions to Creative Access and the Arts & Spirituality Center through The Technology Connectors program of the Council.
The Business/Arts Partnership Award recognizes a successful partnership between a business and an arts or cultural organization. Awards are presented in two categories:
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IBM Corporation with University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology
Category: Major business with an arts organization)
Presented by KPMG LLP
This partnership brought IBM's technology and expertise to benefit the Penn Museum's exhibition, Amarna, Ancient Egypt's Place in the Sun, which was an unprecedented world-class, multi-media experience featuring important locations, artifacts, people, and stories from Egypt's history.
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Exton Square Mall with Chester County Art Association
Category: (Small or mid-size business with an arts organization)
Presented by Harmelin Media
Chester County Art Association and the Exton Square Mall collaborated to transform a public space into a creative environment, bringing new access to the arts for area residents. In partnership, they created a studio in the mall where shoppers could take free art classes and constructed a gallery of original artwork by local artists.
Thank you to the Awards Sponsors, including Presenting Sponsor: Advanta, for making this celebration possible.