ICCA Announces Advocacy Award Winners
The Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA), a group of 150 arts and culture organizations located in the 11-county area around the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor, will present its 4th Annual Meeting and Excellence in Innovation Awards (aka “The Icky’s!”) on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Sinclair Auditorium, on the Coe College campus, 1220 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.
Although the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance Excellence in Innovation Awards (aka The Icky's!) will not be revealed until the night of the event, the names of the recipients for two lifetime achievement awards in arts and culture advocacy were announced today. The Larry Eckholt Award will be given to Dan Brown from the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and the North Corridor Advocate Award will be given posthumously to Eliot Keller from KZIA-FM Z102.9 and KGYM-AM 1600ESPN.
The two awards are sponsored by the Iowa City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, respectively, in tribute and celebration of Larry Eckholt's lifelong dedication to arts and culture. These awards seek to honor a community member/leader who exemplifies the same passion, commitment and advocacy to the cultural vitality of the Corridor as Larry Eckholt.
Larry Eckholt Award-winner: Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an Iowa City native with degrees in English Education and Rhetorical Studies from the University of Iowa. He began his career as a teacher and, via a somewhat twisted path, arrived at the Iowa City Press-Citizen in 1991 where he has been employed since – most currently as General Manager.
Dan’s interest in arts and culture started when he began training as a string bass player at the age of 8. He continued classical training and performance through his early years of college – along the way picking up guitar, piano and songwriting. Over the years he has continued to perform and record with a number of area bands including Wheel Hoss, Cedar Creek, Dave Moore, Too Much Yang, Alan Murphy, Bell & Shore, Cam Waters and, for the past 20 years with Big Wooden Radio.
Dan has worked with many arts and culture organizations, serving on the boards of the Iowa Arts Festival, Iowa Children’s Museum, Summer of the Arts and the Iowa City Television Service. He was also involved with the origination of the Friday Night Concert Series and was its co-chair from 1995-2006. Through his position with the Press-Citizen he has worked with dozens more arts and cultural organizations including Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival, Arts Iowa City, City Circle Acting Company, the Coralville Cultural Center, Coralville Music in the Park Series, the “Stories” project, Coralville Winterfest, Englert Theatre, Irving Weber Days, Hooverfest and the ICCA.
He lives in Iowa City with his partner, Tricia DeWall and their daughters Bridget and Muriel.
North Corridor Advocate Award-winner: Eliot Keller
The Cedar Rapids / Iowa City Corridor could not have a better friend than the late Eliot Keller. He was a staunch advocate not only for the arts, but also for expanding cooperation among intergovernmental entities. Eliot and business partner Rob Norton recognize that their generosity to the arts, culture, humanities and education is an important partnership with and for the communities in our region.
You could always count on Eliot’s attendance, advocacy and support for all things art. His name frequently appeared in many the playbills and advertisements on the north and south ends of the Corridor. Eliot’s dedication and commitment to his communities began as he launched his nearly 40-year radio broadcast career on both ends of the Corridor. It became his personal mission to educate and mentor his business colleagues, work associates and friends and neighbors about things that important to the Corridor’s success, including our strong artistic community.
Eliot’s giving came in many forms, including his financial support, his time, his skills and his energy. Eliot’s advocacy for the arts community created a ripple effect, causing results and leading others to witness and emulate his gift of self that has become his everlasting legacy. Like the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance has united and promoted the arts community, Eliot worked to advance a united Corridor. He will be greatly missed by the entire region.
Who was Larry Eckholt?
Lawrence “Larry” Eckholt was the Development Director for the Iowa City Public Library at the time of his death at the age of 56 in January 2002. In 1969 he came to Iowa City as a reporter for the Des Moines Register acting as their Iowa City Bureau until 1977 when he became the University of Iowa Foundation’s Director of Development for the Iowa Center for the Arts, which includes Hancher Auditorium. He left Iowa City briefly in the late 1980s to work as a fund raiser for two other prominent Midwestern arts institutions, returning to Iowa City to be the Library’s Development Director in 1993.
While at the UI Foundation, Larry was responsible for fundraising for all the University of Iowa arts programs, including the Museum of Art, Hancher Auditorium, the School of Music and Art and Art History, the Writer’s Workshop, the Department of Theater Arts, Dance, Film and Broadcasting, the Iowa Press and the University’s radio stations. He initiated efforts, which raised funds for the Iowa Dance Residency program, and worked to establish a long-term relationship with the Joffrey Ballet.
The arts were central to Larry’s private as well as his professional life. He was Past President of the Iowa Arts Festival and an advocate and supporter of the Iowa City Jazz Festival. He was a member of the Iowa Citizens for the Arts, co-founder of Dance Focus, guest lecturer for the UI English Dept. and served on the Iowa City Design Review Commission and the Downtown Association. He was a passionate promoter, a tireless worker, a knowledgeable critic and a lover of the arts in their many dimensions.
At the time of his death an editorial in the Iowa City Press Citizen mourned his passing with these words: “Artists pass through our city. Performances come and go. Good ones give us joy or trigger some pain in us that makes us remember them for many years. But it is the work of those behind the artists, the ones who build the foundation, the stage upon which they stand, who leave behind a legacy of the arts.”
About ICCA
ICCA was formed in October of 2005 with the merging of the Johnson County Cultural Alliance (JCCA) and the Cedar Rapids Area Culture Alliance (CRACA). The group’s mission is to build, strengthen and lead the Corridor’s arts and culture organizations and the communities they serve. ICCA maintains www.culturalcorridor.org, the area’s one-stop shop for news and information about upcoming cultural events in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor.
