ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Baker Arts Center does much in the community when it comes to showcasing the arts and recently, the center received some money to help continue doing just that.
Tuesday, the Baker Arts Center received a total of $5,000 through the Southern Pioneer Electric Company’s H.U.G.S. program, and the money will be going toward a new digital drawing station.
“The funding for H.U.G.S., which stands for Helping Us Give to Society, is actually a recycling program we do within the company, and anything we can recycle from the lines, such as copper or any of those other metals/materials, we do, and those funds go back into that H.U.G.S. Fund, which we use in the communities we serve,” H.U.G.S. Coordinator Rae Gorman said. “As the funds grow, people apply for them for grants, which can be up to $10,000, and we have a committee of Southern Pioneer employees who get the applications together, and then after we look at all the logistics and everything, the funds are divvied up. I've come to some of the events and programs the Baker Arts Center has hosted in the past, and I came back and later said to myself 'They have so much going on!' and I felt like we needed to help out so they could do more for Liberal and other nearby communities.”
“We had been researching grants, and we were looking for more local grants along with statewide and national grants. I came across the H.U.G.S. grant, which we'd previously applied for, one thing led to another, and I sent it to our grant writer, who was able to put together our computer program, which we're going to be utilizing these grant funds for since we're moving to digital art,” Baker Arts Center Director Brittyn Heronemus said. “The idea is for people to be able to come in, sit down with a laptop or iPad setup with a digital pen and work on a project, whether it's an art piece or a graphic design piece or whatever the project happens to be, and we're really excited. Luckily, we have a lot of community roots with the Baker Arts Center – we've been in town for 40 years and our board members have been here in the community for multiple years of combined experience. We have wonderful community outreach, and several people who connected on this project, including Julie Parsons, who's the main person leading this grant and was the one who got the ball rolling. She got the right people in the right places and one thing led to another for us to be chosen.”
The presentation included a small surprise, with CoBank matching the initial $2,500 grant, which Gorman said is always great to see.
“CoBank is our lender, and every year, they set aside funds to do the very same thing we do in terms of giving back to the community,” Gorman said. “With their help, we're able to do matching grant funds, and we try to go for the larger projects that really help out. We take applications for up to $10,000, but, fortunately and unfortunately, there are sometimes just not funds measuring in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in the fund to help everyone who puts in an application. With the CoBank funds do is help us stretch those dollars further, and that's what we were able to do with this Baker Arts Center project, and we knew we'd be crazy to leave that extra money on the table.”
Heronemus said conversations have been ongoing for quite some time regarding the installation of a digital drawing station, and she is very excited to be moving forward with the project.
“In the past few years, I've hosted several student art shows at Baker Arts Center, including 150 entries for the Scholastic Art Show the first year I was here, and we'll be hosting that again,” Heronemus said. “What I've noticed is a lot of the art coming from the middle school and high school entries is digital – we're seeing digital programs being more used and pushed in those art classes and programs, and I know Liberal High School has a CTE pathway specifically for digital learning. Those skills can also translate to different types of jobs including digital marketing and work of that nature, so I'm very much in favor of letting students know there is a life and career in the arts in that way, and digital art is the best way to mingle all of that. I'm very excited, and I'm beyond grateful for this happening. We're so excited to get this digital drawing station up and going, we've been talking about having it for a long time now, so finally being able to put some tangible action toward that is amazing for Baker Arts Center. We have a lot of students under the age of 12, so I think with this digital drawing station, that number will increase not just with them, but also with older students and adults. I'm really looking forward to seeing everything we can do and seeing what kind of art gets created with this, I think it'll be amazing.”
Gorman and Heronemus agreed the presentation was a very happy occasion.
“Like I said earlier, the H.U.G.S. team is made up of employees, and oftentimes, I say I'm not sure who gets more joy out of these presentations, us or the recipient(s), because we love being able to give back to the community,” Gorman said. “It's great to be able to help bring projects like this digital drawing station to life, and there's already a lot of excitement about it. There are so many people who go through Baker Arts Center, so when you think about having an effect on the lives of especially the younger patrons, words alone can't convey the pride and happiness that comes along with us being able to make presentations like this. It's truly a win-win for everyone involved, and that's how we always look at projects like this. I want to encourage people – whether they've never been through Baker Arts Center before, or maybe it's been a while – to come through and see everything that's offered. Every time I come through, I come away super impressed and excited, and there's always so much to do and so much to get involved with, so I think people should take as much advantage of that as possible.”
“My favorite part is sharing it. I love Baker Arts Center so, so much, and sharing what we're doing here with the community is my favorite part of my job,” Heronemus added. “I love hearing people say 'Oh my gosh, I didn't know you did X or Y,' or 'I didn't know Baker Arts Center offered X program!' Those are, by far, the best comments I get to hear, and I especially love the children's activities – I've had people come in while we're having a youth activity upstairs that's a bit raucous, and they say 'You get to listen to that all day?' It can get noisy, but in my mind, those children are making memories and having fun in a space that's safe and secure and open to families. On behalf of Baker Arts Center, I want to thank Southern Pioneer Electric and the H.U.G.S. Program for this opportunity, and I can't wait to have something else to offer for people who come through this facility!”
