Howard Parr, executive director of the Akron Civic Theatre, will receive an Ohio Governor’s Awards for the Arts. The award will be given in May during the 2018 Arts Day luncheon in Columbus.

Parr, who has been with the Civic Theatre for 20 years, is one of nine selected for this statewide distinction. His award is in the Arts Administration category. Parr has more than 30 years of experience in the arts, during which time he helped lead the historic theatre in downtown Akron through a $22.5 million expansion and restoration project.

The Governor’s Awards Selection Committee, comprised of six Ohio Arts Council (OAC) board members and three members selected by the Ohio Citizens for the Arts (OCA) Foundation, recommended winners after reviewing nominations submitted by individuals and organizations across Ohio. Winners will receive an original work of art by Ohio artist Carol Stewart.

“The 2018 Governor’s Awards winners are true innovators and leaders in their communities,” said Donna S. Collins, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council. “They exemplify Ohio’s creative and forward-thinking spirit.”

Other winners will include:

ARTS EDUCATION

Center for Arts-Inspired Learning , Cleveland (Cuyahoga)

ARTS PATRON

Stuart and Mimi Rose , Springboro (Warren)

BUSINESS SUPPORT OF THE ARTS (SMALL)

Heartland Bank, Gahanna (Franklin)

BUSINESS SUPPORT OF THE ARTS (LARGE)

The J.M. Smucker Company , Orrville (Wayne)

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & PARTICIPATION

(co-winners) Sierra Leone, president and artistic director of OFP Theatre Company, Dayton (Montgomery)

David Poe Mitzel, Ph.D., founder of Appalachian Hills of Ohio Territory (AHOOT) , Zanesville (Muskingum)

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST

Ricardo Averbach, DMA,

director of orchestral studies at Miami University , Oxford (Butler)

IRMA LAZARUS AWARD

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton (Montgomery)

The awards will take place Wednesday, May 16, noon, at the Columbus Athenaeum in downtown Columbus. The luncheon is held in conjunction with Arts Day, an annual arts advocacy event sponsored by the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation.

The Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio has recognized individuals and organizations who have been vital to the growth and development of Ohio’s cultural resources. Each year, the public is invited to nominate individuals and organizations in eight award categories. The program is presented by the Ohio Arts Council and the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation, a nonprofit arts organization.

For info, visit www.oac.ohio.gov.