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THE VIRGINIA HAMMILL SIMMS AWARD

The Virginia Hammill Simms Award  is a community-driven award that recognizes the volunteer efforts of individuals contributing to the arts in the Huntsville/Madison County community. The award has been sponsored and administered annually by Community Ballet Association since its inception in 1967.

NEW: THE KATHERINE & RICHARD LESTER EMERGING ARTS CONTRIBUTION AWARD

In 2015, a new award was introduced to recognize the volunteer efforts of young people who have made significant contributions to the arts community: The Katherine & Richard Lester Emerging Arts Contribution Award. This new award was created to recognize an individual who is new to the arts community but whose volunteer contributions over the past year have had 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. Nominees must be forty years of age or younger and must have lived in the Huntsville/Madison County area for no less than two years.

THE NOMINATION PROCESS

The nomination process for both awards begins six months prior to the awards dinner. Nominees are put forward for consideration by local arts organizations, and an impartial panel of judges from outside of the state of Alabama selects the award recipient. Nominees must have lived in the Huntsville/Madison County area for no less than three years for the Virginia Hammill Sims Award, and two years for the Katherine & Richard Lester Award. The selection process utilizes criteria focused on selecting the individual who has made the most meaningful volunteer contribution to the Huntsville/Madison County arts community. The prestigious Virginia Hammill Simms Award is presented at an annual dinner held in the spring and features a program honoring the nominees and the announcement of the winners of both awards.

For more information or to make a nomination, please visit: