Cheers to Jennifer 15 YEARS

As we continue our year long 30th Anniversary celebration, we ask you to join us in acknowledging another very special milestone. Our Executive Director Jennifer Steele recently began her 15th year at the helm of the CAA and we couldn’t let the opportunity pass without honoring her contributions to the organization and the creative community.

15 years ago, when Jennifer came to the Cultural Arts Association as it was known then, there was one part-time employee and a part-time volunteer bookkeeper, so when she arrived, the staff doubled.

Under her leadership the CAA has flourished ... with the staff now at a team of nine, Art For All grant awards increasing to Walton County students, teachers, artists and art organizations; enlarging CAA membership to over 900 art lovers; expanding CAA cornerstone events and adding new ones including the popular 30A Songwriters Festival; creating income opportunities for artists of all disciplines; opening the county’s first professional artist collective, The Foster Gallery (named for the CAA’s founder), which showcases rotating regional artists, special exhibits and featured guest artists; and launching the nation’s first Underwater Museum of Art, a permanent underwater sculpture installation that becomes part of an artificial reef system to strengthen the Gulf’s ecosystem.

Jennifer is currently Chair of the Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) and is past Chair of the TDC’s Arts, Culture, Events and Activities Committee, which implements the Walton County Artist of the Year program. She has served on the Americans For The Arts Private Sector Network Council as well as on Visit Florida’s Culture, Heritage, Rural, Nature committee. In 2016, she was awarded the Van Ness Butler, Jr. Hospitality Award, which recognizes excellence in hospitality service, travel/tourism marketing, advertising, promotion and contributions to the local community.

Thank you for your leadership, your compassion, inspiration, and your unwavering commitment to fostering creativity!