Nashville Business Committee for the Arts Names President and CEO

Nashville, Tenn. – Nashville Business Committee for the Arts (NBCA), a not-for-profit organization connecting area business with the arts community, has named Connie Linsler Valentine president and CEO. An established arts leader, Valentine brings passion for the arts and extensive experience to the organization.

“An incredible groundwork has been laid for Nashville’s arts community. Connie’s enthusiasm and expertise will help catapult the organization – and the arts community as a whole – into continued growth and success,” said Larry Papel, chairman of the NBCA Board of Directors. “We are fortunate to have Connie’s leadership in the formative years of NBCA as we build Business/Arts partnerships that benefit the greater Nashville community.”

Formed in 2006 as an affiliate to the national Business Committee for the Arts, NBCA invites area businesses to support Nashville’s arts in the workplace and in the community through a variety of membership, affiliation and volunteer programs. NBCA also presents the annual Nashville Bowties Awards, which honor local businesses that demonstrate exceptional involvement with the arts.

Prior to joining NBCA, Valentine served as the executive director of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. During her tenure, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra performed for over 200,000 people during the 2003 and 2004 Amy Grant/Vince Gill Christmas Tours, initiated a new Kid Pan Alley education program which received three national children’s media awards and a GRAMMY nomination, and performed for over 90,000 people at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tenn. Valentine also previously served as the executive director of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Valentine is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville and Nashville CABLE. She has served as chair of the Nashville Convention & Visitor’s Bureau’s Awesome April and president of her Leadership Middle Tennessee class. Valentine was also a member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Music Association Task Force. Valentine holds a BS in Business Administration with a minor in music from the State University of New York.

About Nashville Business Committee for the Arts Formed in 2006, Nashville Business Committee for the Arts is a not-for-profit organization that works to ensure a vibrant, flourishing Nashville by inspiring and stimulating businesses to support the arts in the workplace and in the community. NBCA is an affiliate of the national Business Committee for the Arts, formed in 1967 by David Rockefeller.

Gibson Guitar Corp. and McQuiddy Printing Company Recognized for Exceptional Support of the Arts

-Two Nashville companies, Gibson Guitar Corp and McQuiddy Printing Company, have been named to THE BCA TEN: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America, sponsored by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA) and FORBES Magazine.

The national list was initiated in 2005 to recognize ten companies each year for their exceptional support of the arts in the United States.

“Gibson Guitar and McQuiddy Printing have demonstrated their commitment to enriching the lives of so many people through the arts,” said Larry Papel, chairman of the Nashville BCA board of directors. “It’s both an honor and testament to the caring nature of the Nashville community that two local companies would receive this designation. These honors are especially significant as the Nashville affiliate of BCA celebrates a year of inspiring and stimulating the Nashville business community to support the arts.”

Gibson Guitar was recognized for co-founding Music Rising, a campaign created to replace instruments and to rebuild music initiatives in schools and churches lost during Hurricane Katrina; for creating GuitarTown, a public arts project that partners visual artists with music celebrities to design 10-foot tall guitar sculptures, which are auctioned to raise funds for various charitable causes and for its support of numerous not-for-profit music and arts organizations including the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, GRAMMY Foundation, Music Educators National Conference (MENC), International Society of Music Education (ISME), National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts (NFAA), Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, VH-1 Save The Music and many others; and for taking a leading role in bringing music into schools and to underserved children.

Since 2005 McQuiddy Printing Company, a family owned commercial printing company, has donated over $300,000 worth of printing services and cash donations to numerous local arts organizations including the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Tennessee Humanities Council, the Metro Nashville Chorus, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Nashville Children’s Theater, the Tennessee Repertory Theater, O’More College of Design, the Tennessee Art League, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC), the Belcourt Theater, Leadership Music, the Nashville Film Festival, the Nashville Symphony Guild, the Nashville Ballet and the Nashville Zoo. McQuiddy Printing also provides art supplies to Metro Nashville Public Schools and the Nashville Zoo and through a partnership with the NASI College of Art and Design provides arts students with first hand experience in graphic design and production.

The announcement of THE BCA TEN was made during a black-tie gala attended by business and arts leaders from across the United States held at the New-York Historical Society, New York, New York Tuesday, Oct. 16. The other companies recognized were: The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL; The Boldt Company, Appleton, WI; Deutsche Bank, New York, NY; Masco Corporation, Taylor, MI; QUALCOMM Incorporated, San Diego, CA; Shell Exploration & Production Company, Houston, TX; Shugoll Research, Bethesda, MD; and The Travelers Companies, Inc., St. Paul, MN.