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ArtsBuild Honors Mai Bell Hurley on 3/10

Dan Bowers and Mary Kilbride join us to talk about the 2015 Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award honoring Mai Bell Hurley.  Dan Bowers is the President of ArtsBuild, and Mary Kilbride is one of the people chairing the event on March 10th from 6 to 8 pm at the Hunter Museum.

From the ArtsBuild Web site:

Mai Bell Hurley will be honored during the 2015 Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award presentation on Tuesday, March 10. ArtsBuild will host the event at the Hunter Museum of American Art from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. 

This new annual award was established to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to the arts in Chattanooga and is actively engaged in the cultural life of our community. The award honors an individual who, through his or her exemplary efforts, has significantly contributed to building a stronger community through the arts.

Mrs. Hurley began volunteering in the arts in the 1960s, serving as one of the founding members of the Chattanooga Arts Council which eventually became Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga (now ArtsBuild). Through the Arts Council, she helped produce one of Chattanooga’s first arts festivals. Mrs. Hurley served on the Allied Arts (ArtsBuild) board of directors for 40 years and was the first woman to chair the organization’s annual campaign.

Mrs. Hurley chaired the Chattanooga Symphony Guild before joining the Chattanooga Symphony board of directors in 1968. She has served on the CSO board three times and is currently a member of its executive committee.

When the Tennessee Arts Commission was formed in 1967, Mrs. Hurley was one of the first gubernatorial appointees as a Commissioner. Mrs. Hurley was active in the early days of the Adult Education Council (now the Southern Lit Alliance). She is an honorary life board member of the Creative Discovery Museum and has served on the board of the Regional History Center (Chattanooga History Center), where she is currently active in raising funds for its new facility.

Mrs. Hurley’s work in the arts led to other civic involvement which greatly impacted the quality of life in Chattanooga. As the chair of Chattanooga Venture, she was instrumental in the creation of the Tennessee Aquarium (chairing its capital campaign), Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, and in the renovation of the Tivoli Theatre.

More information is here.

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