October 1, 2014 marked the first day of National Arts and Humanities Month, and Americans for the Arts celebrated in formal fashion with the 2014 BCA10 Gala honoring this year's top 10 businesses partnering with the arts. Our list of 2014 BCA10 honorees can be found here - stay tuned for photos from the event!

Frederic C. Hamilton, chairman of The Hamilton Companies (Denver, CO) and chairman emeritus of the Denver Art Museum, recieved the 2014 BCA Leadership Award and Deere & Company (Moline, IL) was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame. Frederic C. Hamilton and Lanny and Sharon Martin were the presenting sponsors for the evening.

Laura Benanti wowed the crowd of 170 leaders from the arts and business worlds in attendance - including Donald Hall, Jr., President and CEO of Hallmark Cards, Inc., Jim Weddle, Managing Partner of Edward Jones, and others - by singing classics from the American songbook. Young artist Kate Davis also won over the crowd with her jazzy renditions, self-accompanied on her string bass.There were also a notable number of past BCA10 honorees in the room to congratulate this year's winners:

• Jean Canfield, PNC Financial Services Group and Mary Liz Biddle, The PNC Foundation
• Alessandra DiGiusto, Deutsche Bank***
• Timarie Harrigan, The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers at Scholastic, Inc.
• Ted Hynes, Raymond James Financial
• Mariner Kemper, UMB Bank
• Alton Murray, Con Edison
• Mark Shugoll, Shugoll Research**
• Andrea Taylor, Microsoft*
• Representatives from Vinson & Elkins

*2014 BCA10 judge

**BCA10 Executive Board Member 

***2014 BCA10 judge and Americans for the Arts Board Member

As always, Americans for the Arts would like to thank Executive Board Member Mark Shugoll for chairing the event and providing the entertainment for the evening!

Photo credit: Glen Davis