Sammons Center Announces 2014 Award Winners

The Sammons Center for the Arts, announced the winners of its annual awards, which recognize individuals or groups who’ve made outstanding contributions to the 14 performing arts groups the Center houses, the additional 50 organizations that Sammons serves, and to Sammons Jazz and Sammons Cabaret, the series the Center presents.

Congratulations to the winners!

Sammons Center Hall of F

Gayle Halperin

ame: TACA (The Arts Community Alliance), has awarded more than $1.4 million to 46 diverse performing arts groups, including the Sammons Center, this year. The non-profit TACA was organized in 1966 to support dance, music, theater, opera, musical theater and choral programs through financial support, collaboration and shared resources.

Benefactor of the Year 2014: Jim and Gayle Halperin/The James and Gayle Halperin Foundation. The award recognizes their generous support of the Sammons Center’s Capital Campaign. The foundation makes charitable contributions to the arts, education, health and international relief.
Sammons Jazz Benefactor of the Year 2014: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. The Sammons Center honors Akin Gump for its long-time support of the Sammons Jazz series which is celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year.

Sammons Jazz Artist of the Year 2014: Julie Bonk. Bonk is a respected jazz musician, composer and piano teacher who has performed with notables such as Bob Hope, The Supremes, and The Drifters as well as on the Sammons Jazz stage beginning in the early 1990s. One of her better-known piano students is Norah Jones.
Julie Bonk

Sammons Cabaret Benefactor of the Year 2014: Ruth Eleanor Roylance. The award recognizes her significant contribution to the growth of the Sammons Center’s newest concert series, Sammons Cabaret.

Sammons Cabaret Artists of the Year 2014: Linda and Larry Petty. The couple, withLinda on vocals and Larry on piano, are highly sought-after entertainers who have received multiple Grammy nominations and performed around the world.
Dianne Kennedy is the recipient of Outstanding Volunteer of the Year 2014: Dianne Kennedy. The award recognizes her many years of enthusiastic and dedicated service as a volunteer at the Sammons Jazz and Sammons Cabaret concerts.