The Board of Directors of the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre along with Mayor Les Fillingame and his wife Barbara and Paula Fairconnetue traveled to Jackson, Mississippi recently to be presented with the 2013 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Arts in the category “Excellence in Community Arts.” The Little Theatre was recognized for its many contributions to the arts in Mississippi and beyond.
The Bay St. Louis Little Theatre is the first community theater in the state to be selected to receive this award. “We are proud to announce the five deserving recipients to be honored at the 25th celebration of the Governor’s Arts Awards. The nominations submitted this year were absolutely outstanding and I am constantly amazed by the abundant supply of deserving individuals, organizations, enterprises and communities grown right here in this rich Mississippi soil,” stated Malcolm White, Executive Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Awards are made to individuals and organizations for the excellence of their work in a wide variety of art forms. Nominations are made by the general public, and a group of industry peers serves as judges to review the submitted information and to determine the recipients.
The 2013 Award recipients are Kathryn Lewis for Arts in Education, Bay St. Louis Little Theatre for Arts in Community, Eddie “Chank” Willis for Excellence in Music, Beth Henley for Excellence in Literature, and Bobby Rush for Lifetime Achievement. Previous Award recipients include Eudora Welty, B.B King, Bo Diddley, John Grisham, Stephen E. Ambrose, and Malcolm White.
The Governor’s Art Awards ceremony was held in Jackson, Mississippi, on February 21, 2013. The ceremony was held at the Belhaven University Performing Arts Center. Attending the ceremony was Cheryl Grace, Board President, John Anderson, Board Vice-President and his wife Allison, Board members Richard O’Briant, Larry Clark, Charles Dessommes, Volunteer Clayton Pennylegion, Mayor Les Fillingame and his wife Barbara, and Paula Fairconnetue. Also attending the ceremony were family members of Cheryl Grace. Traveling from Pennsylvania were her father, John Grace, and her sister, Stacey Stadler. Her cousins Rev. Eugene Nicholson and his wife Martha traveled from Tennessee.
The attendees were treated to a private rehearsal of the guest performer and host of the ceremony, Marty Stuart and his band The Fabulous Superlatives. Marty Stuart is a four-time Grammy winner, platinum recording artist, Grand Ole Opry star, and a 1999 winner of the Governor’s Award for Excellence. Governor Bryant and his wife opened the ceremony and greeted the award winners backstage. Each Award winner was given two minutes at the podium for the acceptance speech. Cheryl Grace gave the acceptance speech for the Little Theatre. Her acceptance speech can be read here. A highlight of the show was a solo performance by one of the Award winners Bobby Rush. The ceremony was taped live for television and has been shown on the local PBS channel.
After the Award ceremony, a luncheon for all of the attendees was hosted by the Junior League of Jackson. A reception for the winners was held later that evening at the Governor’s Mansion. John and Allison Anderson attended the Governor’s reception.
The following Friday evening, the Little Theatre had a reception to celebrate the Award. Food and beverage was served and entertainment was provided by Ten North Fredrick. The Award trophy will be on display in the Theatre lobby during the performances of the upcoming show “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Riley Foundation, The Phil Hardin Foundation, and the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts. MAC is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi.
Little Theatre Board members display the 2013 Governors Award trophy at the Friday evening Award reception held at the Little Theatre. Standing L to R: Charles Dessommes, Cheryl Grace, John Anderson, and Larry Clark.
Photo by Stacey Stadler.