The Springfield Regional Arts Council this weekend will honor Don Wessel Honda founder Don Wessel posthumously with the Legacy Award, and recognize a business, a nonprofit and two other individuals for their roles in fostering arts in the area. The
2012 Ozzie Awards are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Springfield-Branson National Airport.
Wessel, who
died in February at age 86, was a known supporter of the arts, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars toward entities such as the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, where the Don and Betty Wessel Emerging Concert Artists series still runs. Don Wessel also helped to bring First Night Springfield to fruition and served on the Springfield Symphony Board of Directors, including a stint as president, according to the SRAC.
Springfield-based Positronic Industries Inc., which manufactures electronic connectors and cable assemblies, has been selected for the Corporate Award. According to the SRAC, Positronic and its founders, the Gentry family, have contributed to the arts since the company's 1966 inception, including support of First Night Springfield, Springfield Symphony and the Springfield Little Theatre.
The Springfield Pottery Claymobile - owned by Nathan and Jennifer Falter - has been chosen to receive the Organization Award. The nonprofit outreach program that was founded in 2006 as a partnership with the SRAC provides mobile ceramic education in Springfield and its neighboring communities. According to the SRAC, the organization has worked with more than 10,000 students to date.
Two other individual awards will be presented to Winifred Nixon and Cameron Rose.
Nixon, who will be presented with the Individual Award, has worked for 32 years to promote and develop SRO Lyric Theatre, aka Springfield Regional Opera. According to the SRAC, Nixon was a founding board member and along with her late husband established the George and Winifred Nixon Fund for the Springfield Regional Opera, which provides underwriting for shows each season.
Rose will be given the Volunteer Award for 16 years of volunteering for the arts in Springfield. Rose has volunteered for SRAC's largest fundraisers - Artsfest and First Night Springfield - and for Urban Districts Alliance events, as well as serving as an associate board member for Springfield Little Theatre, according to the SRAC.
Past Ozzie Award honorees can be viewed at the SRAC
website.[[In-content Ad]]
