Turtle Creek Chorale Announces Annual Bridge Builder Award Winners
This year's honorees include The Dallas Morning News, local philanthropist and businessman, Rex Cumming, UTD/Callier Center for Communication Disorders and The Sammons Center for the Arts.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) April 9, 2004
The Turtle Creek Chorale will present its annual “Bridge Builder Awards” at a special dinner ceremony on Friday, April 23 at 7 p. m. at the Dallas/Park Cities Hilton. The Turtle Creek Chorale Bridge Builder Awards were established in 2000 to recognize individuals, corporations and organizations for their significant contribution as partners in the Turtle Creek Chorale’s continuing efforts to build bridges between diverse communities in our world. Past recipients include Steve Blow, Verizon Corporation and the Male Chorus from First Baptist Church, Hamilton Park.
This yearÂ’s honorees include The Dallas Morning News, local philanthropist and businessman, Rex Cumming, UTD/Callier Center for Communication Disorders and The Sammons Center for the Arts.
The 2004 Corporate Bridge Builder Award recipient is The Dallas Morning News. In 1906, commemorating the newspaper’s 21st birthday, George Dealey, General Manager spoke the words that guide the management and operation of The Dallas Morning News to this day. Referring to the founders of the newspaper, he said, “They built The News upon the rock of truth and righteousness, conducting it always upon the lines of fairness and integrity, and acknowledging the right of the people to get from the newspaper both sides of every important question.” In its editorial columns, The Dallas Morning News continues to champion such causes as city planning, a strong education system, fair housing practices and cultural diversity in the community. The paper was awarded its first Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and received five more in the next eight years.
Rex Cumming is receiving the Individual Bridge Builder Award. Rex has been a long-time friend and supporter of the Turtle Creek Chorale. Having grown up in Dallas, Rex has given generously over the years of his time and resources to advance many worthwhile causes. In October 2003, Rex served as co-chair of Two by Two for AIDS and Art. This event raised $1.5 million to help fund American Foundation for AIDS ResearchÂ’s essential AIDS research and support of the Dallas Museum of Art. A successful businessman, Rex has founded, built, and sold numerous companies, worked on various City of Dallas commissions and boards, and currently sits on the board of directors of several technology companies.
The University of Texas at Dallas / Callier Center for Communication Disorders is receiving the Organization Bridge Builder Award. The UTD/ Callier Center has emerged over the past forty years as a leading resource in local, state, national and international collaborative efforts addressing the needs of children and adults with communication disorders. In a special collaboration, the Turtle Creek Chorale featured the Callier Center Choir during the televised 2003 Holiday concert. Also, the first Cochlear Implant Choir in the nation is rehearsing for a debut in the near future as a result of the TCC – Callier collaborative efforts.
The 2004 Special Bridge Builder Community Award recipient is The Sammons Center for the Arts. The Sammons Center for the Arts opened on March 1, 1988, in the historic Turtle Creek Pump Station, a significant Dallas landmark, as a performing arts incubator dedicated to serving small, emerging, and mid-size arts organizations. Joanna St. Angelo, executive director, has made the building into a living breathing force in the Dallas art scene. It is currently home to fourteen non-profit arts organizations. In addition to the Turtle Creek Chorale, it houses the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, and New Arts Six. The Sammons Center is alive with the sound of music all day every day. It remains an outstanding example of a public/private partnership and community cooperation.
“Leading into our 25th Anniversary season, the mission of the Turtle Creek Chorale has never been clearer. A large part of what we do is to bring understanding and compassion through our music to people who otherwise might not listen to our story, said TCC artistic director, Dr. Timothy Seelig. “The Bridge Builder award is our way of thanking those who have helped make our mission easier by partnering with us and believing in what we do. These wonderful people have assisted us in immeasurable ways in bringing our message of inclusion and diversity to communities outside our normal circle. We could never thank them enough. This is just a small symbol of that gratitude.”
In honor of the beneficiaries, entertainment for the evening will feature the incredibly talented, Denise Lee and ENCORE!, from the Turtle Creek Chorale.
Tickets for the event are $125 and can be purchased by calling 214-526-3214 ext. 102 or online by visiting www. turtlecreek. org. Seating is limited.
The Turtle Creek Chorale, the most-recorded male chorus in history with 31 CDs in release, has been the subject of an Emmy Award-winning television documentary “After Goodbye: An AIDS Story” and recently performed for more than a half-million viewers on the WFAA-TV holiday special “Makin’ a list…checkin’ it twice!”
For more information about the Bridge Builder Awards Dinner or the Turtle Creek Chorale, please visit www. turtlecreek. org or call 214-526-3214 x 102.
