By Tom McClimon and Jay Dick, Americans for the Arts
July 16, 2007

For the tenth consecutive year, Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors presented the National Awards for Public Leadership in the Arts to local, state, and entertainment leaders. The 2007 awards were presented on June 24, at the 75th Annual Meeting of the Conference of Mayors.

The 2007 winners were: 1) National Award for Local Arts Leadership — Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz, 2) National Award for State Arts Leadership — Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, 3) National Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts — The Actors Fund, 4) National Artist Advocate Award — Randy Jackson and 5) National Arts Leadership Award — Jimmy Smits.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Chair of the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee, moderated the awards presentations. Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts thanked the mayors for their continued support of the arts. He released to the mayors the results of the third “Arts and Prosperity” report which shows that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates over $166 billion in economic activity every year, supports over 5 million jobs and generates over $29 billion in government revenue. Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran recognized the mayors and Americans for the Arts for their leadership in supporting the arts.

Stating that the “arts are the soul of each generation that is passed on to future generations”, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz accepted the award for Local Arts Leadership. In the early part of his administration, Diaz established the Mayor’s Office of Film & Cultural Affairs. Diaz proposed that the mission of this office be to serve as the primary steward of a comprehensive, inclusive and pro-active cultural agenda for the City of Miami, as well as to establish Miami as a leading “film friendly” city. Diaz has budgeted more than $300,000 annually for the support of signature events and has additionally budgeted a half million dollars for distribution each year to cultural organizations and events through a grant process. Diaz played a central role in the creation and development of Museum Park, a previously neglected 29-acre city waterfront area. It will now be home to two major museums and public gardens. Diaz is a past Chairman of the Conference of Mayors Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Standing Committee where he led the Conference’s efforts to establish a national cabinet level position for arts and culture.

“The arts help people to understand the important issues of today”, stated Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano in accepting the State Arts Leadership Award. Wasting no time during her inaugural year as Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano established herself as a strong supporter of the arts. During her first budget cycle, facing a legislature controlled by the opposition party, she issued three politically risky line item vetoes that literally saved public funding for the arts at the state level. Governor Napolitano, herself a high school musician and a lifelong opera fan, supports the arts not only in words and policy, but also as an avid arts goer. She hosts the Governor’s Arts Awards Dinner, which celebrates individuals, organizations, and corporations for their outstanding contributions to the arts in the state.

Thanking the Conference of Mayors and Americans for the Arts for their support of the arts and artists, Keith McNutt, the Actors Fund Western Regional Director and Dale Olson, Actors Fund Board Member, accepted the National Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts on behalf of the Actors Fund. For 125 years, The Actors Fund has supported the rich culture of arts in America by providing a wide range of essential human services to entertainment and performing arts professionals across the country. Directly serving more than 8,000 arts professionals, The Fund offers social services programs, health services, employment and training, emergency financial assistance, health insurance counseling, skilled nursing and assisted living care. The Fund also owns assisted living and skilled nursing care facilities, as well as residences for low-income professionals, retirees, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Through its Young Performers Programs, The Actors Fund is working to support families as they face those issues and challenges related to ensuring their children in the industry are having healthy and having positive experiences.

Giving one of his traditional “shout-outs” to the Conference of Mayors ( “The Conference of Mayors-this is cool!), Randy Jackson accepted the National Artist Advocate Award. Twenty-year music industry veteran and Grammy Award-winning producer Randy Jackson started out at the age of 13 playing bass guitar and got his big break when he joined the critically acclaimed band Journey Mr. Jackson recently completed his sixth season as America’s favorite judge on Fox’s record-breaking show, American Idol. Mr. Jackson has also been a longtime supporter of music education programs across America. Most recently, he served as one of the music industry’s ambassadors, helping to secure $500 million in new funding for arts education in California’s public schools.

Mr. Jackson has also assisted in worldwide relief efforts through the multimillion dollar fundraiser Idol Gives Back. Randy traveled back to his home state of Louisiana, which was devastated by the hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. Some of these funds will help rebuild arts programs in New Orleans schools.

Stating that artists have a “responsibility” to speak out on important issues, Jimmy Smits accepted the National Arts Leadership Award. Whether he is playing a congressman and president-elect on the West Wing, a senator in Star Wars, a detective in NYPD Blue, or a lawyer on LA Law, Jimmy Smits continuously demonstrates that he is an outstanding and accomplished actor and producer. He has won numerous awards, including an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series and a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a TV-series drama. Mr. Smits is a co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts which has raised more than $850,000 in scholarship money for Latino students and is dedicated to advancing the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunication and entertainment industries.

Mr. Smits is an inaugural member of the United States Artist’s Creative Council which is comprised of leading American artists in all disciplines who are committed to United States Artists mission to “nurture, support and strengthen the work of America’s finest living artists.”