Arts League Celebrates Artistic Achievements

The Graceville Arts League held its annual awards dinner recently. The group presented three awards to community members and awarded one grant.

The John Lynn Bartlow Music Award recipient was Carolyn Watford. The award is

presented to community members who have made and are making significant contributions to the musical arts. Watford graduated from Graceville High School in 1969 and attended the Baptist Bible Institute. She has served as music leader for numerous churches in our area in addition to her full-time work for the State of Florida. She and her late husband, Danny, raised five children in Graceville, and all her family has made a significant contribution to our community.

The Graceville Arts League Art Award is presented to those who make a community impact through the visual and written arts. The recipient this year was Roberta Turner Newell. Born in Mobile, AL and educated in art at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS, Newell moved to Graceville in 2005 when her husband, James, came to teach at the Baptist University of Florida. She has taught in the public schools for 50 years including several years at the Graceville school. She received the 1976 Bicentennial Stationary Design Award and authored the Art Is Fun curriculum for grades K-12.

The Community Service Award was given to Rex Lumber Company. Established in 1923, Rex Lumber Company is an outgrowth of the McRae Lumber Company begun in 1904. It is known as a leading Southern Pine producer in the southeastern United States and has over 700 employees in Graceville, Bristol, FL, Brookhaven, MS, and Troy, AL. Rex Lumber Company is known as a community partner in numerous educational, civic, recreational, and cultural endeavors.

Each year, the GAL awards grants for artistic endeavors to individuals, school organizations, and other entities. Jay Erp, Assistant Professor of Guitar at the Baptist University of Florida, received a grant for the Guitar Ensemble at the school to purchase music for performance.

The Graceville Arts League exists to enhance the cultural environment of Graceville through the development, funding, and pursuit of the arts in various forms. It is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all donations and dues are tax deductible. The League welcomes for membership anyone who shares its mission. For more information, email the GAL at graceville.arts@gmail.com.

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