28 Mar 2016 Cunninghams to be honored

Jan and Tim Cunningham, former band directors of the Conway middle and high school bands, will be recognized with the Faulkner County Library Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming Conway Arts Awards celebration and reception. This event is sponsored by the Conway Alliance for the Arts (CAFTA).

The Conway Arts Awards celebration and reception will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 5, in the Trieschmann Fine Arts Building at Hendrix College.  

Other awards to be given include Outstanding Arts Educator, Outstanding Student Achievement, Outstanding Individual Artist, Rollin R. Potter Outstanding Patron of the Arts and the Mayor’s Award for Community Advocate in the Arts.

Tim and Jan have been married for 35 years and were band instructors for 33 years. Thirty of those years were spent in the Conway School District. “Any success we’ve had in our careers is due to the many talented and dedicated young people that we’ve been privileged to have as students,” Jan said. “They made our jobs a pleasure. Their accomplishments, both in music and in life, make us proud to have been their teachers.”  

Jan and Tim both held prominent roles in statewide band organizations and have won awards from the Arkansas Bandmasters Association, Dixie Band Camp and the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association.

According to CAFTA board chair, Dr. Gayle Seymour, “We were very impressed with the impact that Tim and Jan made on the youth of this community. We encourage all of their former students to come out and support the couple as they receive this prestigious award.”

The public is invited to attend the artist awards ceremony free of charge, which will include performances by Hendrix Theatre Department, Blackbird Academy of Arts and the Conway High School String Quartet.

The ceremony will be followed by a reception at 8 p.m. Hendrix College’s Culinary Club will prepare and serve hors d’oeuvres and other refreshments at the reception.