Four special individuals were honored last Thursday evening at an elegant 20th Anniversary Laurel Awards Dinner at the Riomar Country Club, presented by the Cultural Council of Indian River County. The annual event recognizes leaders, educators, artists and volunteers for their support of the cultural arts in the community.
Maestro Aaron Collins, founder and artistic director of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, received the Richard A. Stark Award for Cultural Leadership; Carole Strauss received the Alma Lee Loy Award for Volunteer Leadership for her work with the Vero Beach chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Vero Beach Theatre Guild; Lis Bech, art teacher at Sebastian River Middle School, was awarded the Willie C. Reagan Award for Educational Leadership; and Jim Davis, Treasure & Space Coast Radio general manager, was honored with the John J. Schumann Jr. Award for Business Leadership.
“It is a way for us to honor the people who produce the music, create the art, teach our students and the professional staff who volunteer and promote the cultural arts in numerous ways,” said Barbara Hoffman, CCIRC executive director.
Collins, who began bringing his then-fledgling symphony to Vero Beach five years ago, said he felt quite honored. “I have received a lot of awards and am surprised every time,” said Collins. “We have so many great people who run the organization and I kind of get all the credit because I am the face that they see. But it takes a lot of people to do what we do and we are all very proud of receiving this award.”
Strauss, who served as AAUW president for three years, helped the organization receive its very important nonprofit status, and has also volunteered for many years with the Vero Beach Theatre Guild.
“I probably jumped up and down when I heard,” said Strauss. “I am most proud of the effort the AAUW did with Indian River Medical Center, putting on a play about Alzheimer’s disease, working jointly with them and using Guild actors. It turned out to be a great success and wonderful for the community.”
Lis Bech said she loved being an artist and a teacher, adding, “I think most of the art teachers in our district work extremely hard; it is not a position that is glamorous. It is really nice that they are recognized by the Cultural Council because we don’t really get a lot of recognition for what we do.”
“I am so fortunate to call John Schumann Jr. a friend, so it was very special to have been honored with the Schumann award,” said Davis. “One of the commitments we all make is that these radio stations don’t belong to us; they belong to the public. I have always viewed radio as being a soap box for the public and to that end we try to never forget to try to use it to make this community a better place to live.”
“Applications to nominate anyone are available to all Cultural Council members,” said Hoffman. “The nominations come in accompanied by up to three letters of support and then they are sent to the judges.”
To ensure impartiality, judges come from outside the area. This year’s judges were John Whitney Payson, president, Jensen’s Florida Citizens for the Arts; Joy Satterlee, executive director, Art & Cultural Center of Hollywood, Florida; and Nancy Turrell, executive director, Arts & Cultural Alliance of Martin County.
