NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Sept. 25, 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ann Dee Lee
Public Information Director
Oklahoma Arts Council
(405) 521-2931
anndee@arts.ok.gov
DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION TO RECEIVE
GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD
Oklahoma City, OK -- Devon Energy Corporation, Oklahoma City, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 33rd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Devon will receive the Earl Sneed Memorial Business Award which recognizes businesses and corporations that exhibit outstanding support of the arts in Oklahoma. Accepting the award will be Devon President John Richels.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council, 15 individuals and three organizations will be honored for their contributions to the arts in their communities or throughout the state. The ceremony is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., Thursday, October 23rd in the 4th Floor Rotunda of the State Capitol and is open to the public. Presiding at the ceremony will be Council Chair Jim Tolbert and Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Suzanne Tate. A reception on the first floor of the Capitol will follow the 4 p.m. ceremony.
Devon Energy Corporation is the nation’s largest independent oil and gas producer and the largest company in the state and is a long-standing supporter of the arts. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Devon is committed to being a strong corporate citizen in all of the communities where the company has operations. One of the cornerstones of the company’s corporate values is the encouragement of community involvement. Nearly 130 Devon employees in Oklahoma City joined the company’s production team to help set up and tear down the city’s annual Festival of the Arts celebration. Each year, Devon and its employees participate in a workplace giving campaign to benefit Allied Arts.
While much of the company’s community involvement relies on employee volunteer efforts, Devon commits millions of dollars each year to arts and cultural organizations in the Oklahoma City area. Devon provided a lead gift last year to the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to support a collaborative effort between the Philharmonic, Ballet Oklahoma and the Canterbury Choral Society. Last year, Devon’s major donation to the Myriad Gardens Foundation launched the capital campaign for the renovation of the Myriad Gardens’ Water Stage. Devon is actively involved with a number of other arts and cultural organizations including Allied Arts, Arts Council of Oklahoma City, Lyric Theatre, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma Creativity Project, Oklahoma History Museum, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park and Science Museum Oklahoma.
A complete list of Governor’s Arts Awards recipients and their photos are available at www.arts.ok.gov.
For more information, contact Ann Dee Lee, Public Relations Director, Oklahoma Arts Council, (405) 521-2931 or anndee@arts.ok.gov.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA ARTS COUNCIL
The Oklahoma Arts Council is a state agency whose mission is to improve lives through the arts by promoting and sustaining the development of a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education and economic vitality for all Oklahomans.
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