FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2007

CONTACT:
Michael Johnson, Director of Communications
816-421-1388
michael@maaa.org

Richard J. Vierk Elected to Mid-America Arts Alliance Board of Directors

Kansas City, Mo.—Mid-America Arts Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Lincoln, Neb. resident Richard J. Vierk, Managing Director of Business Succession Planning at the First National Bank of Omaha, to its board of directors.

Vierk was appointed to his current post as Chair of the Nebraska Arts Council by Governor Dave Heineman in 2007. A well-known civic leader, Vierk also serves on the Lied Center advisory board. His career spans over 28 years in public accounting, with extensive experience in the nonprofit sector.

“Mid-America Arts Alliance is an organization of leaders, and as most Nebraskans know, we have benefited from Rich's leadership in the cultural arena for many years,” said Suzanne Wise, Executive Director of the Nebraska Arts Council. “Rich is a natural fit for our regional arts partner and he will represent us very well."

Vierk is a past president of Nebraska Citizens for the Arts, past chairman of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, and a Life Trustee for the Nebraska Art Association. He also serves on the boards of the United Way of Lincoln, the Public Education Network, Allegiant Health System, and he is chair of the donors circle group for the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.

A graduate of Dana College, and the University of Nebraska College of Law, Vierk and his wife, Karen, have two children.

Other Nebraska board members include Marian Anderson, a civic leader from Omaha; J. Robert Duncan, Chairman of Duncan Aviation, Lincoln; Terry Ferguson, an attorney with Fraser Stryker PC LLC, Omaha; Ruth Keene, a civic leader from Omaha; Marilyn Mitchell, a civic leader from Norfolk; and Wallace Richardson, an attorney at Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson & Endacott, Lincoln.

Mid-America Arts Alliance, founded in 1972, 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 provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, participant state arts agencies, and leading foundations and corporations.

Mid-America performing and visual arts programs reach audiences in Nebraska though partnerships with cultural organizations including the Red Cloud Opera House in Red Cloud, the Durham Western Heritage Museum in Omaha, the Lied Center for Performing Arts, Lincoln, and Norfolk Arts Center, Norfolk. Numerous communities across the state have participated in Mid-America programs in the last five years including Albion, Brownville, Columbus, David City, and Kearney.

For more information, please contact Andrew Graham at (816) 421-1388, ext. 225.