Virginia Hammill Simms Awards

Jeff & Joanna White, Gay & Lynn Broad

Community Ballet Association Honors Volunteers

Photos by Stephanie E. Jennings

Community Ballet Association held its 54th annual awards ceremony and dinner on September 23 at The Ledges. The Virginia Hammill Simms Award is a communitydriven award, recognizing the volunteer efforts of individuals contributing to the arts in the Huntsville/Madison County community. The award is sponsored and administered by Community Ballet Association, and has been annually awarded since its inception in 1967.

In 2015 a new award category was included as part of the Virginia Hammill Simms Awards ceremony: the Katherine & Richard Lester Emerging Arts Contribution Award. The award was created to recognize an individual that is newer to the arts community, but whose volunteer contributions over the past year has made a dramatic impact in the Huntsville/Madison County arts community. The new award recognizes young volunteerism in the arts, and in turn encourages the same level of engagement in the arts community. n

Rana & John Burt John & Elaine Hubbard Michelle Epling, Marie Newberry, Kathi Tew

Lyda Smith, Lynn Kerkhof, Joan May Jodi Stephens, Susan Ozment, Susan Anderson

Elise Taylor, Sherry Polk, Phillip Otto, Latika McCrary