Contact:
Catherine Brandt Vacovsky
202-712-2054
[email protected]

All Awardees to be Honored on October 4th at an Evening Gala in New York City

Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, today announced those companies selected by the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, as The BCA 10: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America for 2012. The annual awards recognize ten U.S. companies for their exceptional commitment to the arts through grants, local partnerships, volunteer programs, matching gifts, sponsorships and board membership. The 2012 BCA 10 honorees are:

• Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY
• Bank of America, Charlotte, NC
• Chaves Consulting, Inc., Baker City, OR
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Oklahoma City, OK
• Earl Swensson Associates, Inc., Nashville, TN
• First Community Bank, Corpus Christi, TX
• Golden Artist Colors, Inc., New Berlin, NY
• Jackson and Company, Houston, TX
• Masco Corporation, Taylor, MI
• Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, FL

The Boeing Company will be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame, which honors companies that demonstrate exceptional long-term support of the arts. The BCA 10 Awards and BCA Hall of Fame Award will be presented by Americans for the Arts on October 4 at a black-tie gala at the Central Park Boathouse in New York City.

“This year’s BCA 10 honorees are a remarkable inspiration to others as they work to ensure that the arts thrive in their communities,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “Because of their exceptional and enduring support for the arts, citizens across the country have access to the arts, further enriching and improving the quality of life for their workers and their communities.”

“These businesses lead by example and set a standard of arts support for other companies to follow,” said William T. Kerr, BCA Executive Board Chairman and President & CEO, Arbitron, Inc. “They have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the arts through financial and in-kind support, innovative partnerships and community involvement.”
 
The Boeing Company, BCA Hall of Fame Inductee
As a two-time BCA 10 award winner (2006 and 2007), Boeing invests in the arts because they fuel a community’s economic engine, help produce a creative workforce and nurture the imagination and self-reflection required to solve complex personal and community issues.

2012 BCA 10 Honorees

Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY
Since its founding in 1980, Alltech, Inc. has believed that the arts are essential to creating a good community. In conjunction with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Alltech developed the Alltech Fortnight Festival, which brought musical entertainment to 14 cities across Kentucky as a means of building excitement throughout the state for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 while investing in the development of the arts in local communities.  Additionally, Alltech has partnered with the University of Kentucky’s Opera Theatre department to create the annual Alltech Vocal Scholarship Competition, which awards more than $500,000 in prizes, and also created the Haitian Harmony Children’s Choir as a means to inspire children in the earthquake-ravaged country.

Bank of America, Charlotte, NC
Bank of America has a long tradition of supporting the arts and culture. Named Americans for the Arts’ Corporate Citizen in the Arts in 2010, Bank of America is devoted to supporting programs that engage individuals, organizations, communities and cultures in building mutual respect and understanding, as well as projects which strengthen institutions that contribute to the vitality of local economies. Bank of America extends support across the globe to all art forms through grants, sponsorships, matching gifts, volunteerism and programs such as Art in our Communities®, Museums on Us® and the Art Conservation Project. 

Chaves Consulting, Inc., Baker City, OR
For more than eight years, Chaves Consulting has been deeply involved in the Crossroads Carnegie Art Center Project. The creation of the art center parallels Chaves Consulting’s interest in improving the lives of children and adults in their small, rural community by creating artistic opportunities though classes, workshops, exhibitions, partnerships and mentorships. Fostering community support, Chaves Consulting helped raise more than $1.6 million over the span of five years for the center. Chaves Consulting has also donated supplies, offered its employees paid volunteer time, incorporated employee involvement in art events and provided in-kind grant-writing services, clerical services and marketing assistance for the center.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Oklahoma City, OK
Chesapeake Energy Corporation and its employees place a premium on serving the communities where it operates. The company provides both financial and in-kind support, time and expertise in a concerted desire to truly improve the quality of life. Chesapeake believes the arts enrich communities through increased creativity, vitality and vibrancy.  They also bridge gaps between cultures, advance intellectual growth and promote social benefit through discovery.  Since its beginning 23 years ago, Chesapeake has provided leadership, guidance and financial support to the tune of $15 million to arts and cultural programs, such as Allied Arts (Central Oklahoma’s United Arts Fund), Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the deadCENTER Film Festival.

Earl Swensson Associates, Inc., Nashville, TN
Because architecture is an art form in itself, the architects and interior designers at Earl Swensson Associates (ESa) value the role that the arts play in society. During the past 50 years, ESa has supported the arts by making financial contributions, providing pro-bono architectural and interior design services serving as volunteers, coordinating employee giving campaigns, initiating and/or sponsoring arts events, and providing marketing support. In 2011, approximately 50 percent of ESa’s financial and in-kind donations were allocated to arts-related support. ESa partners with local and international organizations, such as ACE Mentor Program of Greater Nashville, Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Society for the Arts in Healthcare.

First Community Bank, Corpus Christi, TX
First Community Bank sees their support of the arts as an investment in their community that provides great returns. Celebrating the rich heritage of the culturally diverse region South Texas, First Community Bank provides financial support for several of the area’s cultural organizations, including the Art Museum of South Texas, the Corpus Christi Symphony, Kingsville Symphony Orchestra and Corpus Christi Arts Center. Dedicated to advancing the arts and capitalizing on the area’s wealth of artistic talent, First Community Bank has also sponsored the South Texas Photo Contest, supported public art displays and commissioned artwork for many of its branch locations.

Golden Artist Colors, Inc., New Berlin, NY
Golden Artist Colors supports the arts because they believe in a business model that is responsive to the entire community in which they work—the employees within the business, the local community that supports the business and the worldwide community of artists. During the last 10 years, GOLDEN has provided more than $720,000 to artists programs, organizations and institutions. Recognizing that its engagement and support of the arts is essential to the growth of each community locally and worldwide, in 2011 alone, GOLDEN gave more than $100,000 in monetary donations to the arts and provided more than 9,000 pounds of paint to the artist community. The company is not only committed to its customers and local community, but to its employee owners as well.  In April 2010, GOLDEN employees became the majority owners of the company.

Jackson and Company, Houston, TX
Believing that the arts add immense value to the quality of life, Jackson and Company has been a supporter of the arts since the firm’s founding in 1981. As a special event production and catering firm, Jackson and Company supports the arts through in-kind products and services, underwriting, volunteers and tie-ins with their company’s products and services for a variety of fund raising events for the arts and has also encouraged clients and provided support for nonprofits to incorporate performing and visual arts into their events. Last year, Jackson and Company provided approximately $375,000 in in-kind support for arts-related organizations.

Masco Corporation, Taylor, MI
For more than 80 years, Masco has been a passionate supporter of the arts.  Masco believes that the arts are imperative to creating and sustaining the vitality of urban and suburban communities, and attracting and retaining employees.  During the last five years, Masco’s Foundation awarded grants totaling more than $10 million to the arts and cultural sector.  It also made significant regional and state-wide grants to the Cultural Alliance of Southeast Michigan and the Michigan Cultural Data Project, respectively, to promote the arts and measure their impact in the community.   Recently, Masco’s Foundation donated works of art valued at more than $1 million to help complete an exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, FL
The Tampa Bay Times believes the arts are crucial to the creative and economic health of the community. In Tampa Bay, the Times continues to help the area's vibrant arts community flourish by providing financial and promotional support to increase awareness and attendance. Since 2005, the Times has given a total of more than $1.8 million of in-kind and cash support to dozens of arts organization throughout Tampa Bay. The Tampa Bay Times sponsors cultural organizations, entertainment venues and arts festivals throughout the Tampa Bay area, including the Florida Orchestra, Tampa Museum of Art, the Dali Museum, Tampa Bay Blues Festival and the Gasparilla Arts Festival.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.