Senator Robert O’Leary Receives Award for Community Leadership in Support of the Arts

The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod has announced the winners of the Third Annual Creative Community Awards. The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod Community Leadership in Support of the Arts recipient is Senator Robert O’Leary.
 
Senator O’Leary served as a Barnstable County Commissioner from 1987 through 2001.He has represented Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket in the Massachusetts State Senate since 2000. He currently chairs the Joint Committee on Education. Senator O’Leary is also a tenured professor of history and politics at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and an adjunct professor at Cape Cod Community College.
 
Senator O’Leary has been instrumental in the fight against budget cuts for arts, culture and tourism in Massachusetts. He is a vocal supporter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Big Yellow Bus program, which helps schools fund organized field trips to museums, historic sites, and music and theatre performances. Senator O’Leary also supports numerous Cape Cod cultural organizations and initiatives.
 
“Senator Robert O’Leary was one of the three commissioners who drafted and signed the original ordinance which recognized the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod as Barnstable County’s designated arts agency,” said Margaret Van Sciver, President of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.”  He has been a constant and strong supporter of ours ever since; and a champion of the many cultural organizations who call Cape Cod their home.”
 
“Senator Robert O'Leary has been one of the most vocal, passionate, and reliable supporters for public funding for arts and culture in the Legislature,” said Anita Walker, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. “Most recently, he stepped up and sponsored an amendment to the fiscal 2010 state budget restoring hundreds of thousands of dollars in arts and cultural funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council--funds that went directly to dozens of nonprofit arts organizations, schools, and local cultural councils on Cape Cod. As the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, Senator O'Leary has championed the importance of fostering creativity in our schools.”
 
The other 2010 Creative Community Awards honorees are: Royston Nash, Lifetime Achievement; Daniel Springer, Dennis-Yarmouth High School, Arts Educator of the Year; and the Falmouth Artists Guild, Collaborative Arts Project of the Year.
 
The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod supports, promotes, and celebrates the arts and culture of Cape Cod by creating a strong, stable, and diverse arts environment, and contributing to the quality of life and economic vitality of the region. For more information about the Third Annual Creative Collaborative Conference and awards ceremony, to be held at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa on Thursday, March 25 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Visit www.artsfoundation.org or call 508-362-0066.