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Maggie Divelbiss Receives Prestigious 2008 Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award for Contributions in the Field of Arts
Annual Awards Program Honors Outstanding Coloradans with Lifetime Achievement Awards; Divelbiss Joins Elite Group of State’s Top Leaders and Professionals
Denver, April 15, 2008 – The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation created to enhance the quality of life for residents of Colorado, has announced that Maggie Divelbiss, executive director of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, is a 2008 recipient of a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award. The annual awards are presented to one outstanding Coloradan in each of three fields, and this year Divelbiss was chosen as the recipient in the “Arts and Humanities” category for her years of service to the Pueblo community.
“It is gratifying to be honored by an organization the caliber of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation,” said Divelbiss. “For more than three decades I’ve had the opportunity to work with the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, and it has been incredibly rewarding to watch the Arts Center grow to where it’s at today. I’m fortunate to have such a talented and supportive team here, as they’ve been instrumental in helping our organization reach its goals.”
Once a public school English teacher, Divelbiss has helped the Arts & Conference Center grow to be an 85,000 square-foot facility that includes a theatre, conference center, dance program, art galleries, a children’s museum and year-round educational programs for children and adults. Divelbiss first joined the Arts Center in 1973, just one year after its opening, and throughout the course of her career has overseen the construction of the Children’s Museum and a 16,000 square foot addition to the facility’s main building. In addition to the physical expansion, Divelbiss has helped lead the Art Center’s financial expansion by consistently securing substantial donor contributions.
“Colorado is home to some of the country’s most accomplished and talented individuals, and the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Awards recognize the Centennial State’s very best,” said Dorothy Horrell, president of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. “We’re honored to recognize Maggie Divelbiss this year for her leadership of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center. She is a pioneer in Southern Colorado, and the greater Pueblo community is fortunate to benefit from her years of hard work.”
In addition to her work with the Arts Center, Divelbiss has been a fixture of Pueblo’s community service sector, donating her time to causes such as the Broadway Theater League and a local homeless shelter. As part of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award recognition, Divelbiss will be honored at an awards luncheon in early May and receive a cash award of $35,000.
“The entire Pueblo community deeply appreciates Maggie’s leadership of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center,” said Bob Rawlings, publisher of the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper. “Under her administration the center has blossomed to be a Southern Colorado arts and humanities treasure.”
To receive a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award, honorees are nominated by colleagues and other community leaders. The pool of potential award recipients is reviewed by panels of past honorees, and the panels advance candidates to the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Board of Trustees who make the final decision on each year’s honorees. The selection process is rigorous and highly competitive, and it can take several years of nominations before candidates are presented an award.
“The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation presents only three awards each year,” added Horrell. “Maggie Divelbiss now joins an elite group of Coloradans, and we hope the award will help showcase her work to inspire the next generation of leaders in Southern Colorado and across our state.”
Established in 1984, the awards fulfill Charles Stanton’s desire to honor individuals who are making significant and unique contributions. Each year since then, the foundation has recognized outstanding Coloradans with the dual goals of bringing acclaim to their efforts, and motivating others to greater accomplishments on behalf of Colorado and its citizens.
About the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation created to enhance the quality of life for residents of Colorado. Charles Edwin Stanton established the Foundation in 1962 following the death of his wife, Mary Madeline (May) Bonfils Stanton. Mrs. Stanton was the daughter of Belle and Frederick Bonfils, a co-founder of The Denver Post newspaper.
The Foundation continues the legacy of its benefactor through grants to Colorado nonprofit organizations. The mission of the Foundation is to advance excellence in the areas of: Arts and Culture, Community Service, and Science and Medicine, through strategic investments resulting in significant and unique progress in these fields and across the nonprofit sector. Since its founding, the Foundation has awarded more than $44 million to nonprofit organizations throughout Colorado.