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

GENE RAINBOLT TO RECEIVE
GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARD

Oklahoma City, OK -- H. E. “Gene” Rainbolt, Oklahoma City, will be honored by Governor Brad Henry at the 33rd Annual Governor’s Arts Awards. Rainbolt will receive the prestigious Governor’s Award which recognizes individuals for longtime leadership and significant contributions to the arts across Oklahoma.

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.

Rainbolt is well known as a civic leader, patron of the arts and philanthropist. Throughout his lifetime, He has given his time and invested substantial resources to ensure a vibrant arts landscape for Oklahoma communities statewide.

As a passionate supporter for quality arts education for Oklahoma’s youth, Rainbolt served as a chairman of the Oklahoma Arts Institute and as director of The Jasmine Moran Children's Museum. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Allied Arts. Under his leadership, the 2008 Allied Arts Annual Campaign raised more than $2.8 million that benefits arts organizations in a six county region in central Oklahoma. He was active in Lyric Theatre’s renovation of the historic Plaza Theatre in Oklahoma City.

As an alumnus, Rainbolt is actively involved in many segments of the University of Oklahoma community by serving as trustee of the OU Foundation, and being a major supporter of the OU School of Dance. Among his extensive honors, Rainbolt was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2001 was presented the Living Treasure Award from the Oklahoma Health Center. In 2002, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Leadership Oklahoma.

Rainbolt currently serves as the Chairman of BancFirst Corporation in Oklahoma City and has been in the banking business since 1967. In addition to serving as director of Sonic Corporation, he is a limited partner for Chisholm Private Capital Partners and Intersouth Partners.

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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