The Charles County Arts Alliance (CCAA) is one of three recipients of the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented January 18, 2013, by CSM’s Board Chair Austin Joseph Slater Jr. during the college’s 14th Winter Commencement at its La Plata Campus.
The CCAA is one of three county arts councils in Southern Maryland selected for this high achievement. In addition, the Arts Council of Calvert County and the St. Mary’s County Arts Council were similarly recognized. The three arts councils have been acknowledged for their support of CSM arts programming which has allowed a variety of programming to be offered to a regional audience on their three campuses: in La Plata, Prince Frederick, and Leonardtown.
More than $35,000 in funding support from the three county arts councils has been provided for CSM arts programming over the past 10 years. This has included the college’s summer Twilight Performance Series on all three campuses, programming for the St. Charles Children’s Learning Center, and theater programming at the college’s Fine Arts Center.
CCAA President Diane Rausch and Arts Council of Calvert County Treasurer Robert Carpenter accepted the awards on behalf of their respective organizations. St. Mary’s County Arts Council President Michael Brown was unable to attend. The award consisted of a unique rosewood engraved plaque and clock in the shape of a book.
The CSM Winter Commencement ceremony celebrated 632 candidates for receiving associate’s degrees or certificates. In addition, the milestone of 20,000 graduates from CSM was recognized during the event.
“The CCAA wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the CSM Board of Trustees for this very high honor. We also wish to convey our gratitude to CSM President Dr. Bradley Gottfried. We extend our very best wishes to CSM for continued excellent arts programming in the future,” Rausch said.
For information about the Charles County Arts Alliance and its promotion of all the arts in Charles County, visit www.charlescountyarts.org or contact info@charlescountyarts.org.
