What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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10 WHAT'S UP! JANUARY 17-23, 2021 FEATURE Bob Bogle Family Bentonville Patron Award The award praises Bob and Marilyn Bogle and their family as "generous supporters of the arts in Northwest Arkansas," having "donated to improvements in the arts, history, healthcare, athletics, academic and cultural spheres and have helped perpetuate and grow the arts statewide." Marilyn Bogle died on Jan. 23, 2020, and Bob Bogle doesn't sit for interviews. Their son, David, is the founder of the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville. Their daughter, Becky Alexander, shared these thoughts about her parents and the award. "My parents moved to Bentonville in 1951, one year after their marriage, and immediately fell in love with the small town," she begins. "Both can be described as warm, caring, kind and generous. Once you met them you were their friend for life. "Dad still lives in the house they built in 1955 just a few blocks from downtown. Growing up here was typical for small-town life: Dad managed the Walton 5&10 and later the Walton Family Center, while mom was busy with kids and everything that involves. Over the years they watched Bentonville grow from the small town where you knew everyone to the busy city it is now. "After Dad retired from Walmart in 1982, they began traveling extensively, always visiting beautiful gardens, museums and historic locations," Alexander continues. "In the late 1980s, Mom started traveling to New York City in December to see the decorations and go to Broadway plays. Shortly after, the Walton Arts Center was built in Fayetteville, which now brought Broadway to our area. Each year Mom and Dad chose to sponsor the Christmas themed Broadway play that would be performed during the holidays. Later they continued that tradition with SoNA by sponsoring the Christmas performance. Dad was never the one to attend performances, but Mom would grab a friend or family member and off she would go. "Neither can be described as particularly artistic or musical, yet I think both were in their own way," Alexander muses. "Dad had a passion for gardening and would bring ideas he saw while traveling back to his garden, and mom had her 'aha' moments. If you got a phone call that started with 'I just had an idea,' you knew you were about to be recruited for something. She always loved entertaining and decorating for holidays. Having family and friends around is what made her happiest. "They recognized how important the arts were to the community and how much it enriches the lives of everyone and how necessary it is to support them," Alexander says. "They have always felt very blessed in their lives and fortunate to be able to assist other organizations in any way possible. All of us in the family have our interests in the arts too. David opened the Museum of Native American History, and Bob and I are art collectors of American folk art and Native American art. We all love to attend a great performance of a play or listen to a wonderful concert. "It is an honor for our family to be given the Governor's Arts Award. Now more than ever we can be grateful for the arts and the efforts they have made this past year to bring virtual tours and performances to our home. It reminds us how much we appreciate the arts and what we would miss without them and how much they rely on our continued support now and in the future." FAQ Other Winners Arts Community Development Award — Pat Qualls-Taylor of Jonesboro, a retired high school choir director and private music teacher who was elected to the Arkansas Music Educators Hall of Fame in 2001. Arts in Education Award — Kai Coggin of Hot Springs, a widely published poet and a teaching artist in poetry with the Arkansas Arts Council and Arkansas Learning Through The Arts. Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award — Bylites Inc. of Little Rock, an event rental and production company. Individual Artist Award — Warren Criswell of Benton, a painter, print- maker, sculptor and animator who has had 41 solo exhibitions in the United States and one in Taiwan. Judges Recognition Award — Elmer Beard of Hot Springs, a poet, author, retired educator and community activist whose love of service and uplifting the African-American experience has led to a lifetime of community and civic leadership. Bob Bogle and the late Marilyn Bogle and their family received the Patron Award as "generous supporters of the arts in Northwest Arkansas," having "donated to improvements in the arts, history, healthcare, athletics, academic and cultural spheres and have helped perpetuate and grow the arts statewide." (NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo) Awards Continued From Page 9