Amanda Mansfield, the Director of Philanthropy for the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation, was honored Wednesday with the 2018 Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Award. Co-sponsored by Hollins University and Roanoke College, the Kendig Awards program has recognized distinction in arts and culture in the Roanoke Valley for more than 30 years.
Mansfield, this year’s Individual Artist award recipient, has made a major impact on the Roanoke theater scene for more than 12 years. She has performed for numerous production companies in the area, and has led successful program development and fundraising efforts for Roanoke Children’s Theatre, Center in the Square and Mill Mountain Theatre. She was responsible for significant increases in the annual operating budgets for all three organizations.
Mansfield has been an integral part of the Virginia Western Educational Foundation since 2015, helping raise the organization’s total assets to more than $20 million. She recently helped launch a second fund-raising campaign for the Community College Access Program (CCAP), a nationally recognized effort that provides up to three years of tuition at Virginia Western to qualified Roanoke Valley high school graduates.
“I am truly honored to have received this award – especially in the company of the fellow nominees, colleagues and friends who I admire and respect so much,” Mansfield said. “As an artist and arts advocate, there is no better place than Roanoke to find the creative collaboration necessary for the arts to thrive: artistic talent and vision, organizational energy and direction, and philanthropic support and sustainability. The Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Award celebrates all three of these elements joining together to foster arts advancement, excellence and education.”
Also at the Kendig Awards ceremony, Maury Strauss was honored in the Individual or Business Arts Supporter Category. A generous friend to arts and culture in the Roanoke Valley, Strauss has also been a tremendous supporter of Virginia Western.
The Jefferson Center, a premier performance venue, educational hub, and center for community life, received the Kendig Award in the Arts and Cultural Organization category.
Named for the late Perry F. Kendig, who served as president of Roanoke College and was an avid supporter and patron of the arts, the Kendig Awards program was established in 1985 and presented annually by the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge through 2012. Hollins and Roanoke College first partnered the following year to bestow the honors.
