Nominations are being accepted for the fifth annual Arts Achievement Awards, sponsored by the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire. The awards are designed to recognize living individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts in the region.
The five annual award winners come from these categories: Artist — achievement in theater, music, dance, visual arts or literary arts; Arts Educator — achievement in arts education in a college or university, primary or secondary school; Arts Administrators — achievement in the management of arts institutions; and Arts Advocates — achievement in sustaining the arts through volunteering or financial support.
The nominees should reside in the cities of Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, Virginia, or Bristol, Tennessee; Washington and Sullivan counties in Tennessee; or Washington County, Virginia.
Nomination forms can be obtained on the website (aamearts.org) of the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire. The deadline for accepting nominations is Sunday, March 1.
Past winners have included Amanda Aldridge, Nancy Arnold, Kelly Bremner, Rose Marie and Bill Burress, Schéry Collins, Anita Coulthard, Nancy DeFriece, Marvin and Marcia Gilliam, Charles Goolsby, Samantha Gray, Cornelia Laemmli-Orth, Jane Morison, Val Lyle, Beth McCoy, Ted Olson, Michele Plescia, Mary Beth Rainero, Deanna Cole-Roberts, Leah Ross, Richard Rose, Bill and Diane Thomas, Charles Vess, Benjamin Walls, Laura Ann Warner, Betsy White and Eugene Wolf.
A gala celebration for the winners is held Saturday, May 16, at the Holiday Inn in Bristol, Virginia.
