Brad Erickson is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

In 1988, as then Vice-President H. W. Bush was preparing to run for the Presidency, he found himself fending off complaints from within his own party that while he had a firm grip on the complexity of the many issues facing the nation, he lacked an overarching narrative that would tie his policy positions together in a clear and compelling way. His advisors suggested that he borrow Camp David for some time away to collect and articulate his thoughts. "Oh," the Vice-President responded dismissively, "the vision thing."

Michael Spring is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Selina Roberts Ottum Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

This occasion instigates a rumination about some of the keys to longevity (almost 33 years!), if not to success, in the local arts agency field. Thank you for asking.

1. Try not to say “no.” There are just so many “no’s” allocated to each of us professionally and it is prudent not to use them indiscriminately. For example, you can say, “Instead of starting a new global festival in celebration of left shoes, how about partnering with the annual 5K run and distributing one multi-colored shoelace to each runner designed exclusively for left shoes?”
2. Realize that the person with the most energy prevails. In meetings, put on your performance face and emote your point of view as powerfully and persuasively as you can muster. If all else fails, make sure that you and your staff outnumber the “opposition.”

Flora Maria Garcia is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Michael Newton Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

Given the distinct disconnect between Central Florida cultural groups’ programs, audiences and boards regarding diversity,  United Arts of Central Florida for the past year has focused its efforts supported by  a generous grant from Duke Energy,  to engage the groups in an intensive education on demographics, spending power, education levels, and target marketing tactics to diverse populations.

Octavia Yearwood is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 American Express Emerging Leader Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

Yes, jelly sandwiches are great and so are peanut butter sandwiches, but put those babies together! [Not to mention with a cup of milk] *no words *. Chocolate is amazing but sprinkles some nuts and/or salt in there and voila! Magic!  Just the simple fact that your parents collaborated to create the art that is YOU should be proof enough, but we forget sometimes!

It is always daunting to me when organizations, non-profit or otherwise, have this mission to save or enhance the lives of young people via arts mediums and shy away from coming together to reach more youth. They jump at the ground pushing and shoving like children, after someone cracked the piñata open! I get it though—we all want enough to bring back. We forget that if we take what we have and combine it with another, you both automatically have more!  More importantly, your capacity to positively affect more people grow exponentially!

Laura Perille is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Arts Education Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

We all know the narrative: arts education has suffered from years of neglect and decline in our schools to make room for tested subjects and to balance squeezed school budgets. This trend has played out in many communities across the country. The data on arts access, especially for students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, makes the impact clear.http://www.edvestors.org/news-item/new-report-how-collective-action-revitalized-arts-education-in-boston/

Barbara Goldstein is an Americans for the Arts member and recipient of the 2016 Public Art Network Award. Find out more about the Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Arts Awards.

Usually when people ask me what I do and I say “public art planner” a lot of confusing questions follow. Many lay people identify murals and public sculpture as public art; others consider public art to be concerts in the park, painted utility boxes and Cows on Parade ™ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CowParade

I’m here to tell you that, yes, public art is all those things. But most of all, public art is a practice that creates a partnership between artists and stakeholders to create art in the public realm where people can discover it without having to pay admission.

As the March 13^th deadline approaches for the 2016 Annual Awards, we were curious about the careers and lives of some of our very first recipients. As you read about these past winners, remember you can nominate someone (or yourself!) to join their ranks.

Recently, I was in Orlando to re-present the Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors 2016 Public Leadership in the Arts Award to Mayor Buddy Dyer.  I was joined by over 50 local arts organizations to honor the mayor for making the arts a central part of his administration.  Under Mayor Dyer’s leadership, last year Orlando opened its new $500 million, 333,000 square-foot performing arts center.  Additionally, each year, Mayor Dyer commits more than $1.8 million of the city’s budget to local arts organizations and he has expanded the city’s public art program.   This award is part of a series that Americans for the Arts presents along with our various public sector partner organizations over the year to elected officials at every level of government.

Americans for the Arts Annual Convention (AFTACON) regularly draws thousands of members of the arts world to one location for a whirlwind four days of workshops, recognition, plenaries, and arts excursions in some of the most incredible and dynamic cities in the country. There is never enough time to attend all the sessions I’m interested in. They all offer an insight into how art influences our economy, education, and communities – and how we visualize and interpret our world.

Editor's Note: When asked to blog about his experience at and reaction to Annual Convention 2015 in Chicago, where he received the Selina Roberts Ottum Award, Richard Huff kept things short and sweet as usual: Thank you!