Women's Foundation gives $120K in grants
The Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona held its annual luncheon April 17 to honor volunteer and former board Chairwoman Mary Ann Dobras and award more than $120,000 in grants to organizations that benefit women and girls in Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.
More than 900 people attended the event, held at the Tucson Convention Center, which raised more than $160,000 for the foundation.
Dobras was honored for her dedication to the community through more than 30 years of volunteer service. In addition to her service to the foundation, Dobras has served as a board member for the Girl Scouts, Planned Parenthood, UA Foundation, Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and the Stocker Foundation.
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Speakers included Judy Clinco of Direct Caregivers and Ruth Tapia from the Community Food Bank, both representing organizations the foundation helped fund in the past year. Claudia Torres also spoke. Torres, a Cholla High School student, was in the foundation's girls philanthropy program last year and is now a youth member of the foundation's board of trustees.
The grants presented to this year's 15 selected organizations mark more than $1 million awarded by the foundation since its inception.
Attendees included Richard and Susan Imwalle, Helaine Levy, Dorothy Finley, Slivy Edmonds Cotton, Rick Myers, Gen. Ron Shoopman and Joan Kaye Cauthorn.
Sponsors included the Arizona Daily Star, 94.9 MIX-FM, Smith Barney and American Family Insurance.
Local filmmakers win video awards
The Post Movie Trailer Contest winners were announced during an awards ceremony March 30 at the Fox Theatre and included local filmmakers Daniel Hyde, Bill Mayback, Dave Olsen, Will Turner and Mike Clark.
Contestants submitted two- to three-minute videos promoting an upbeat, urban lifestyle in Downtown Tucson. Sponsored by Bourn Properties and The Post lofts, each video entry was required to include images of Downtown, including the Fox Theatre and Hotel Congress. Entries were judged by a committee at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Hyde and Mayback of Guerilla Digital Productions had the winning trailer, "Heart of the City." They were awarded $1,000 and the opportunity to have their movie shown before each feature film at the Fox Theatre that is sponsored by The Post.
Olsen, publisher of Downtown Tucsonan, won $500 and the second-place spot with his movie, "Meet Me Downtown."
Turner and Clark of T&C Pictures submitted the third-place movie, "Searching Congress," which brought them $250.
TSO fundraiser brings in $72,000
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra League raised more than $72,000 during the 2007 Art of Music dinner and auction March 3 at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, making it the most successful event yet.
The event featured a reception, silent and live auctions, concert by the TSO and dinner for more than 300 attendees, including Rob Paulus, Francine Merriman, James and Jameson Gray and Mary Okoye. Chairpeople Cookie and David Pashkow, Barbara Zutovsky, Beth Roth, Brenda Lazar, Candace Johnson, Marilyn Steele and Jo (Jocelyn) Clark all attended and worked to make the event a success.
Auction items included violins, clarinets, cellos and other instruments donated by local music shops, including Beaver's Band Box, Dave's Music, Sticks and Strings, Southwest Strings, Chicago Music Store and TSO musicians Carlie Rigg and Jacquelyn Sellers. The instruments were then turned into works of art by more than 30 artists and prominent Tucsonans and exhibited at galleries and businesses around Tucson before the event. Artists included Barbara Gurwitz, Diana Madaras, Brenda Semanick, Michael Ives, Moira Geoffrion, Tom Philabaum and local author Bonnie Marson.
The item that commanded the highest bid was a catered dinner for 10 people by Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and hosted by TSO music director and conductor George Hanson and his wife, Petra Boehm. Boehm was also the honorary chair of the event.
