Click to enlarge the slideshow from our 2017 Annual Meeting and Presentation of the TD Bank Business and the Arts Partnership Awards.
SmartARTS 2017 Teaching Artist Award – Shane Bryant
Shane Bryant has been a ceramic artist since 1993. He founded of The William Felton School of Crafts in 2004 and has taught classes through Furman University’s continuing education department, as well as the Spartanburg Museum of Art, where he was the pottery studio manager. Shane served as a board member for Upstate Visual Arts and Greenville’s First Fridays. He has been listed on the South Carolina Arts Commission Artist Roster since 2000 and has been an artist-in-residence for many schools over the years. He has been a teaching artist for MAC’S SmartARTS program since 2004 and is a regular participant in MAC’s Greenville Open Studios program. Rene Barrow, a 7th grade English teacher at League Academy, commented, “For our Dave the Potter unit, Shane taught students the process of using clay art as a means to express personal feelings and emotions students have about their lives. The unit was challenging and engaging. Many of the students will remember this experience.”
2017 MAC Visionary Award – Holly Caprell
Holly Caprell is the 2017 recipient of the MAC Visionary Award. Holly has been the Executive Director of the Greenville County Youth Orchestras (GCYO) since 2007. GCYO have been educating young musicians for over 40 years. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people through music by providing a quality orchestral program that develops and educates young musicians, one in which they learn the art of performance, enhance personal musicianship, and prosper as individuals. GCYO is the orchestra-in-residence of the Greenville County School District’s Fine Arts Center. During her tenure, GCYO has significantly expanded its offerings as well as its awareness within the Greenville community.
Holly received a B.A. from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina with a major in Psychology and minors in Music Performance and Accounting. She is a private voice and piano teacher and the voice teacher at Southside Christian School. In addition, Holly does freelance work both on and off the area theater stages.
2017 MAC Lifelong Support of the Arts Award – Genevieve Sakas Manly
The word art is obviously linked to the name Genevieve Sakas Manly. Throughout her life, she has been both an artist and a generous arts supporter. From an early age, Genevieve developed a passion for dance and attended dance classes three times weekly as a child. Her parents were insistent that she attend college, so she did and then moved to New York to study at the School of American Ballet. There she met John Sakas, a soldier who had just returned to New York City. After their wedding, they formed a dance act and toured the globe and opened for many artists including Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.
The couple returned to Greenville in 1972, and became involved in the planning phase of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH). Genevieve and John contributed a significant amount of funding to build the 300-seat Sakas Black Box Theatre, inside the John and Genevieve Sakes Center for Drama. As a long-time board member of the (SCGSAH) Genevieve also created the Sakas Endowment to fund costume purchases and repair. For many years, Genevieve has also been a major donor to the Peace Center, where the restaurant/lounge in the Peace Concert Hall is named in her honor. As a member of the Peace family, she has firmly believed in Greenville’s arts community and has provided a significant amount of funding to many arts and cultural initiatives throughout her life.
Carl R. Blair Commitment to Arts Education Award – Traysie Amick
Throughout her life, Traysie Amick has been a teacher, imparting her talent and passion for theater to virtually thousands of youth throughout the Upstate. She is the recipient of the 2017 Carl R. Blair Commitment to Arts Education Award. For almost 20 years, Traysie has been the Principal Teaching Artist at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre (SCCT) where she has acted, taught and directed. There is not an aspect of theater that Traysie has not been involved in. She has developed theater curriculum for such outstanding SCCT programs as Know Way, Second Stage and Wee Play Theatre.
Having a B.A. in theatre from Winthrop University, Traysie designed a children’s program for Rock Hill Community Theatre. She has also delighted audiences in both comedic and dramatic roles at the Café & Then Some, The Warehouse Theatre, Winthrop University Theatre and The Distracted Globe. Traysie held an internship at Omaha Magic Theatre, and she is an alumna of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities.
Ann C. Sherard Young Supporter of the Arts Award – David Lominack
In 2016, we said goodbye to one of our most dedicated and loyal supporters – Ann C. Sherard. She had been a mainstay of support for MAC and its many programs and service. Ann was always concerned about ensuring that the younger generations were involved and engaged in the arts. Many times she would ask us, “That’s a great idea, but how are you going to involve the young people?” Ann was very excited about the MAConnect program for young professional that was established in 2014. We are pleased to name our Young Supporter of the Arts Award in her honor.
The 2017 recipient of the Ann C. Sherard Young Support of the Arts Award is David Lominack.
David Lominack is market president of South Carolina for TD Bank, where he is responsible for commercial banking throughout the state. David joined the former Carolina First Bank in May 1997 as a management associate. Upon completion of the Management Associate program, he served in a number of management roles. From 2006-2010, he served as market president for the Midlands region of South Carolina. When Carolina First was acquired by TD Bank in 2010, David returned home to become the market president for the Upstate-Midlands region. He was appointed market president of South Carolina in 2015.
Throughout his tenure at TD Bank, David has overseen and approved the distribution of well over several million dollars in funding for the arts throughout Greenville County. TD has been a loyal and generous supporter of the Peace Center, Centre Stage, the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Little Theatre, The Warehouse Theatre, the South Carolina Children’s Theatre, the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Artisphere, the Greenville County Museum of Art and MAC.
David earned a B.S. in business administration from Presbyterian College. He also is a graduate of the Stonier National Graduate School of Banking; he has been a participant in Leadership Greenville and the Diversity Leadership Initiative at Furman. David is also a Liberty Fellow. A dedicated community supporter, David has served on numerous community boards including the United Way of Greenville County, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Bankers Association, the Peace Center and Greenville Health System. David and his wife, Courtney, reside in Greenville with their three children: Henry, James and Lynne.