November 14, 2008

Top arts supporters honored at recent awards luncheon

Arts Council Silicon Valley presented ABBY Awards at the 2008 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. The top arts supporters were selected by a distinguished panel of judges from a total of 28 nominees who have made significant financial and volunteer contributions to the arts in Silicon Valley during the past two years.

Irene Dalis received the Abby award for lifetime achievement and is congratulated by David Packard who was the primary force behind the renovation of the California Theater.

2008 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Awards Recipients:

Large Business Support
Comcast, San Jose nominated by San Jose Jazz for funding more than $1 million in cash and $600,000 in goods and services for 10 years to the San Jose Jazz Festival, which now draws more than 100,000 people each year and showcases San Jose and its thriving arts scene.

Small Business Support
Star One Credit Union, Sunnyvale, nominated by American Musical Theatre, San Jose (AMTSJ) for sustained general operating funds and for fully funding AMTSJ’s High School HONORS, the Company’s program for training and mentoring young musical theatre performers and technicians.

Individual Contributor
The Gilliland Family, Menlo Park, nominated by San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles for sustaining financial gifts over the past eight years totaling nearly $700,000 and taking the lead in a capital campaign that enabled the Museum to occupy a critically needed new facility, resulting in the Museum’s ownership in the facility with no base facility expense and the facility-related expenses of its annual budget will be predictable over time.

Outstanding Volunteer
Robert Corpus, San Jose, nominated by History San Jose for serving as the volunteer Youth Leader for HSJ’s Digital Clubhouse Network, an award-winning youth leadership program mobilizing teens to use digital technology to serve their communities. In the past five years Robert’s position evolved from volunteer student to the key leadership role of project manager, travel agent, professional mentor, technical instructor, and community liaison.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Irene Dalis, Founder and General Director, Opera San Jose for her artistic and leadership contributions to arts in Silicon Valley over the past 25 years.

“I have a problem accepting this award because I haven’t accomplished anything on my own,” said Dalis who not only thanked her board and staff but recognized the tremendous opera performers, many of whom have used Opera San Jose to go on to even greater things. “We don’t import stars, we export them,” she added.

Sponsors for the event included Adobe, Applied Materials, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, Classical 102.1 KDFC, and NBC Bay Area, among others. The proceeds from this event benefit Arts Council Silicon Valley, which annually supports more than 600 local arts and cultural organizations throughout Santa Clara County.

About Arts Council Silicon Valley
Arts Council Silicon Valley is an independent, nonprofit arts agency dedicated to providing funding and advocacy support, and fundraising and marketing services to the region’s arts organizations and artists. As the official state/local partner with the California Arts Council and the County of Santa Clara, Arts Council Silicon Valley is the largest nonprofit arts council in the state. Since the organization’s inception 26 years ago, the Arts Council has provided roughly $23 million in grants and services to local arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, schools, and community groups.