Commemorative medallions will be presented to this esteemed group of performing and visual artists, writers, arts administrators, arts advocates, arts supporters, volunteers and visionaries. The 25 honorees are:

• David Aguirre – Visual artist and arts advocate
• Charles Alexander – Poet, book artist, director of Chax Press and arts warehouse district advocate
• Sam Behrend – Arts advocate and director of Access Tucson
• Betsy Bolding – Arts supporter involved with TPAC, the Loft and Arizona Theatre Company; Director of Consumer Affairs for Tucson Electric Power.
• Daniel Buckley – Writer, musician, composer, videographer, performance artist, audio engineer and arts advocate
• Susan Claassen – Founder and director of Invisible Theatre
• Dottie Davis – Arts volunteer, arts educator, founding member of Friends of Saguaro national park and former TPAC grants coordinator
• Elías Family – Arts advocates

o        Alberto M. Elías – Owner of Old Pueblo Printers and TPAC board member

o        Albert F. Elías – City of Tucson administrator

o        Richard D. Elías – Pima County Board of Supervisors, District 2

o        Ana Elías-Terry – Tucson Unified School District special education specialist and artist

• Terry Etherton – Gallery owner and arts advocate
• Steve Farley – Founder of Voices: Community Stories Past and Present, public artist, arts advocate and Arizona State Representative, District 28
• Susan Franano – Retiring Executive Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra
• Mary and Richard Fimbres – Founders of the Albert Soto Latino Arts Awards presented by the local League of United Latin American Citizens
• Susan Gamble – Public artist, arts educator and downtown arts advocate
• Jory Hancock and Melissa Lowe – Longtime leaders of the University of Arizona School of Dance. Hancock is the newly appointed dean of the UA College of Fine Arts
• Mia Hansen – Cultural events producer, choreographer, director of Tucson Meet Yourself and founder of FEATS: Event Association of Tucson and Southern Arizona
• Michael Kasser – Businessman, longtime arts patron and collector
• Nancy Lutz – Arts advocate, arts educator, chair of the Pima Cultural Planning Process, board member of the Tucson Downtown Partnership and former TPAC board president
• Richard and Shana Oseran – Arts supporters and owners of Hotel Congress and Maynard’s Market
• Patricia Preciado Martin – Awarding-winning author and cultural community leader
• Curtis McCrary and Doug Biggers – Rialto Theater leadership team
• Jim Rowley – Vice President of Circulation and Audience Development for Tucson Newspapers (TNI), President of the Tucson Advertising Federation and former board president of TPAC
• Ernesto Portillo Jr. – KXCI D.J. (Unda Sauve), journalist and arts advocate
• Anne Marie Russell – Director and curator of Tucson’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), artist, arts educator and arts advocate
• Beth Walkup – Co-founder of the Family Arts Festival and arts advocate who serves as the interim executive director of the Tucson Girls Chorus
• Barbea Williams – Dancer, choreographer, artistic director, teacher and community leader

Date &Time: Saturday, June 19, 7 -10 pm

Address: Mercado San Agustín

100 S. Avenida del Convento

The ceremony and anniversary celebration will be from 7 to 10 p.m. and will include live music, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $25 per person in advance and are on sale now at www.ShowUp.com. They also can be purchased at the door for $35. Five tables of 10 also are available for $500 each. To purchase a table, call TPAC at 624-0595 #10.

“This is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate the breadth and depth of the arts and culture in our community and to thank everyone who nurtures this important resource. We want to thank these individuals and the citizens of Tucson and Pima County for supporting the arts through TPAC for the past 25 years,” Bedoya said.