|
The Florida Orchestra has been awarded a
$1 million gift from The Bailey Family Foundation of Tampa.
The gift will be used to name the orchestra’s assistant
conductor chair, now held by Susan Haig, as “The R. K. Bailey
Chair.”
Endowment funds for the orchestra’s
benefit stand at approximately $9 million. Interest from the
endowment funds offsets a portion of the annual operating budget
which is currently $10 million. Funds support the orchestra’s
130 performances per year, including the free Pops in the Park
programs and Youth Concerts, which serve nearly 50,000 elementary
school children in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
“A gift of this magnitude will help
us continue to deliver a great product to our community,”
said Bill F. Faucett, the orchestra’s director of
development. “The Bailey’s have a firm belief in the
importance of our artistic and educational mission, and a clear
understanding that endowment income is the key to a prosperous
future for the orchestra.”
The Bailey Family Foundation was
established as a non-profit organization in 1997 by Ron K. Bailey
to improve the availability and quality of post-secondary education
and to enhance the quality of local cultural life. The Bailey
family wanted to make the dream of a quality education available to
more people. The Founding members of Board of Trustees are Ron and
Beverly Bailey and their sons, Kyle and Kent Bailey. Annually, the
Foundation distributes more than two million dollars to fund more
than 400 scholarships.
In the past three years endowment gifts to
The Florida Orchestra endowment have included The Dick and Helen
Minck Chair to endow the Principal Percussionist, The Iris
Bernstein Chair to endow Principal French Horn, The Jay B. and
Marsha Starkey Music Director Chair and The Bertelstein Family
Chair to endow Principal Clarinet.
For information, contact Bill Faucett,
director of development, at 813-286-1170, ext. 309.
|
Front Page 
Arts & LifeStyles 
