Center ARTES to Honor Contributors to the Arts

Center ARTES to Honor Contributors to the Arts “Art Without a Drought” is a benefit evening celebrating and advocating Arts Education to ensure San Diego County children have access to an education that includes the arts. The event will take place October 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Museum of Man in Balboa Park. The evening will include informal museum tours, delicious food and drink, a museum treasure hunt, performances by special guests and CSUSM students.In addition to raising funds for arts education, the evening will honor three individuals for their significant contributions to the arts: Elsie Weston for Arts Philanthropy, Ron Jessee for his work as County Arts Education Coordinator, and Greg Evans, artist and Luann comic strip creator.Elsie WestonMrs. Elsie Weston has raised millions of dollars for many San Diego charities since she retired here in 1975. She has chaired over 35 benefits and serves on the boards of Scripps Memorial hospitals, The Bishop’s School, San Diego Community Foundation, San Diego Opera, San Diego Symphony, The Salvation Army, San Diego Hospice, San Diego Center for Children, California Center for the Arts, La Jolla Chamber of Music Society, and Academy of Our Lady of Peace. She was named a Women of Dedication in 1980 and again recognized for her extraordinary community contributions with the Woman of Vision Award from the League of Women Voters and the Tradition of caring from The Salvation Army in 1992. She received the San Diego Legacy Award in 1995 from the Women’s International Center.Ron JesseeRon Jessee is the Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE). Arriving at the SDCOE in 2001, Mr. Jessee created the innovative VAPA Standards 110-103 Workshops, recognized throughout California as a model for standards based professional development. Through his position at SDCOE, Mr. Jessee facilitates the needs of 42 county school districts, comprising of 680 schools and 490,000 students. He serves on the board of the California Alliance for Arts Education and travels often to Sacramento to meet with the California CISC and CCSESA Regional Arts Leads. He is a member of the Kennedy Center Partners in Education and has been the Music Director and Organist at Pacific Beach United Methodist Church since 1985.Greg Evans  Readers of all ages love Luann, the fun comic strip Greg Evans created in 1985. Since creation Luann has developed a loyal fan base, now appearing in more than 350 newspapers. Teens everywhere relate to Evans’ characters and in every storyline, he presents Luann to be a positive example for all ages. Luann consistently ranks among the top five comic strips in newspaper reader surveys and in 2003 Evans won the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year after 6 previous nominations. Evans earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cal State University Northridge, teaching high school art after graduation. He taught for two years in Australia with his wife before moving back to the United States. He and his wife now reside in San Marcos, California.About Center ARTESCenter ARTES was founded at Cal State San Marcos by Dr. Merryl Goldberg in 2003. Her vision was to create an organization dedicated exclusively to arts education in K-12 schools. Center ARTES is dedicated to restoring arts education to the public schools through teacher training, placing artists in schools to work with children and teachers directly and working with school districts on strategic planning, research, and evaluation. Center ARTES has partnered with San Diego County Office of Education to become a hub for arts education as they unite schools, develop art partners, and bring teachers and parents together.For reservations or more information, please contact: Richard Hunt, (760) 750-4431 or rhunt@csusm.edu.