July 12, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sarah McGreer
sarah@maaa.org

Mid-America Arts Alliance Elects Don Munro to Board of Directors

Mid-America Arts Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Hot Springs, Ark., resident Don Munro, Chairman/CEO of Munro & Company, Inc., to its board of directors.

In addition to his role as a leader in the shoe industry, Munro sits on numerous advisory boards, including the Foundation for the Mid-South; the Arkansas Nature Conservancy; and the Arkansas Arts Center. He is a former board member for the Arts Cooperative Team (ACT), Hot Springs; the Two/Ten International Footwear Foundation; and Hot Springs Health Partnership, among others.

“Don has an incredible amount of board experience, and we are so honored to have him as part of our leadership,” said Mary Kennedy McCabe, Executive Director. “I look forward to working with—and learning from—Don as we begin the next phase in Mid-America Arts Alliance’s bright future.”

Munro was an inductee to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Footwear New Hall of Fame in 2004. He has won numerous other awards over the years, both for his business acumen and his philanthropic involvements.

“So many Arkansas communities have experienced programs that have been developed or funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, and I appreciate the work that they do to make the arts accessible to our region. ” said Munro. “I look forward to working with them on the board of directors.”

A graduate of Yale University and a veteran of the United States Army, Munro and his wife, Barbara, have five children and five grandchildren.

Other Arkansas board members include Bobbi Dodge, Chair of the Arkansas Arts Council, West Memphis; Juanita Dunn, a civic leader from Fayetteville; June Freeman, a civic leader from Little Rock; Garbo Hearne, Director of Hearne Fine Art in Little Rock; Dorothy Morris, President, Morris Foundation, Inc., Hot Springs; and Joy Pennington, Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Council, Little Rock.

The mission of Mid-America Arts Alliance is to enrich communities through cultural experiences. Founded in 1972, Mid-America Arts Alliance is a nonprofit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. It is governed by a board of directors drawn from its partner states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major support is for Mid-America Arts Alliance is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations. For further information, visit the Web site at www.maaa.org.

###