it Forward instrument donation drive;
and Arts Alive: Manatee’s Celebration
of the Arts, an event featuring student
performances and an art exhibit. At
this event, held April 29 at the Manatee
Performing Arts Center, organizers
recognized outstanding local ar ts
education leaders, and they awarded
MAEC’s first grants and scholarships.
Also, MAEC helped enhance two
existing programs: The Manatee County
Elementary Music Festival and the
Concert in the Courtyard middle school
orchestra festival. In the case of the
elementary music festival, for example,
MAEC provided funds to expand the
number of paid conductors, which
allowed the festival to add a new All-
County Orff Ensemble.
Future long-term goals for MAEC include
developing a district-wide dance and
theater festival and partnering with
community arts organizations to further
expand per forming and exhibiting
opportunities for students.
“During year one of MAEC operations,
we were building and fundraising,” said
Hebert, who is also the school district’s
Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum
Specialist.
“Through funds raised from our two large
fundraising initiatives (smARTen Up
Summer Camp and Arts Alive: Manatee’s
Celebration of the Arts), we’ll be able to
offer arts education grants to our teachers
this year,” Hebert said. “We anticipate
offering grants to about 15 schools in the
fall of 2019.”
88
Ardent Arts Advocates
MAEC is driven by members — local
arts advocates that include teachers,
community arts organizations, and large
corporations. Dues range from $25 for an
“Educator/Artist” individual membership
to $2,500 for a “Platinum” corporate
membership. Members benefit from
exposure, marketing, and opportunities
to network and collaborate at events like
the MAEC Mix and Mingle. Members also
receive free or reduced registration or
ticketing fees for events.
“Of course, the greatest benefit for any
member is knowing that your membership
payment is helping MAEC to enhance,
support, and celebrate arts education in
our schools and community,” Hebert said.
Aside from Hebert, the council’s other
co-founder is Mary Glass, the president
of the Manatee Education Foundation. “If
not for her buy-in and willingness to take
MAEC on as a branch organization of the
Manatee Education Foundation, MAEC
never would have been developed,”
Hebert said of Glass.
The council’s board of directors is
directly responsible for the planning
and facilitation of any new or improved
programs. It’s made up of 13 dues-paying,
voting representatives, including district
music, theater, dance, and art teachers,
as well as parents, local businesses, and
community leaders.
The board chairwoman is Dr. Denise
Davis-Cotton, a longtime champion
of arts-integrated instruction and the
program director for The Florida Center for
Partnerships in Arts-Integrated Teaching
(PAInT) at the University of South Florida
Sarasota-Manatee. Nonvoting board
advisors are Hebert, Glass, a high school
student, and a college student.
“The Board is 100 percent volunteer, and
they work hard,” Hebert stressed. “I am
so thankful to our board members and
committee chairs who’ve volunteered
thousands of hours to ensure that MAEC
is realizing our mission.”