Since its inception in 1997, the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley’s annual fundraising gala, “Celebrate the Arts,” has become a beacon in the region’s artistic and cultural landscape. Serving as a distinguished platform to honor exceptional individuals in the arts, culture and heritage sector of the Brazos Valley, the gala has grown into a cornerstone event that fosters community, recognition and support for the arts and culture scene.
From its early beginnings, Celebrate the Arts was designed to acknowledge and pay tribute to the influential figures who contribute to the enrichment of their community’s quality of life in its award ceremony. Over the years, this event has evolved into an extraordinary occasion marked by its prestigious awards, each commemorating remarkable dedication and service within the arts sector.
Beyond the awards ceremony, Celebrate the Arts is a multi-faceted event that combines food and drink, entertainment and philanthropy. This year, attendees will be treated to an exciting performance by The Killer Dueling Pianos, further underscoring the region’s artistic vitality. The evening will also include a Whiskey & Wine Toss, a Silent Auction, a Raffle and an extravagant dinner and full bar by The Hilton. In addition, visually striking artistic elements will adorn the center of every table, further immersing attendees in the art to be enjoyed. These centerpieces are generously loaned to the Arts Council for the event night by community members passionate about sharing and promoting art in the area.
As an overarching theme, the event is a tribute to the diverse forms of artistic expression that flourish in the Brazos Valley. Attendees from various walks of life gather to revel in the arts’ transformative power and collectively champion its importance. All of the proceeds raised during the event go toward the Arts Council to further its mission of making the arts more accessible to residents and visitors of the Brazos Valley.
In this year’s edition of Celebrate the Arts, the mantle of masters of ceremonies is graciously taken up by Scott DeLucia and Chelsea Reber of The Infomaniacs at WTAW Radio. Their presence ensures a lively and engaging evening, weaving the program together and fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie.
2023 Award Winners
STAR Volunteer of the Year Award Winners: Lou Ellen & Dave Ruesink
Lou Ellen and Dave Ruesink have lived in College Station for 56 of the 63 years they have been married. In addition to careers at Texas A&M University and an active family life, both Ruesinks have found time and energy for volunteer service to their community.
For more than 40 years, Dave served on city committees, including Parks and Recreation, Safety, Historic Preservation and Zoning Board of Adjustments. He was elected to serve two terms on the College Station City Council. Dave has also served as president of the C.S. Noon Lions Club and the local Sister Cities organization. He and Lou Ellen have traveled to Germany, Mexico, and Poland, representing the BCS Sister Cities Program. He was named Volunteer of the Year for 2014-15 by the BCS Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a Chamber Ambassador. In 2016, Dave was honored as a Jefferson Award Nominee.
Lou Ellen’s involvement in the Arts Council goes back to the 1970s when she served as a board member and chaired the student art competition. She helped found the Arts Council STARS program and also helped create and organize the BVSO Premiere Market. She is a former president of the Friends Association of the Symphony Orchestra and served two terms on the Brazos Valley Symphony Society Board. In 2015, The Prenatal Clinic named Lou Ellen as a You’re the Tops Honoree.
For decades, the Ruesinks have held season tickets for OPAS, BVSO and The Theatre Company. They also enjoy StageCenter and the Navasota Theater and performances by the Brazos Valley Chorale. They have traveled with the Brazos Valley Troupe on three Broadway trips in the past ten years. Both Dave and Lou Ellen are ordained elders and members of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. They are proud to be parents of three A&M Consolidated graduates, grandparents of six and great-grandparents of one: Hayes David Ruesink.
As Arts Council STARS, the Ruesinks continue to help serve food, pour wine, address envelopes or help with other behind-the-scenes jobs needed to ensure the success of Arts Council programs. Both believe the Arts Council and its affiliates make College Station a wonderful place to live and raise a family and the best place in the world to retire!
Arts Champion Award Winners: Afshi & Bobby Mirza
Afshi and Bobby Mirza weren’t planning to spend their lives in College Station when they got on the plane from Pakistan. Bobby came to Texas A&M for an engineering degree in 1974. Afshi followed in 1977. After getting into business for themselves, they adopted Aggieland as their home. Almost 50 years later, their love for the country — and the Bryan/College Station community — runs deep. While running Sound Waves (the building with the blue roof), Bobby and Afshi began their commitment to service by volunteering at KAMU/PBS. As their family grew with two children, Afshi began volunteering with College Station ISD. Through the years, Afshi and Bobby have supported various causes that reflect their belief in giving back to the community. These include Keep Brazos Beautiful, Habitat for Humanity, Opera and Performing Arts Society, Arts Council of Brazos Valley, Brazos County Sheriff’s Department Alumni and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
In June of 2019, Afshi received the Archivist’s Achievement Award from the National Archives and Records Administration for 20 years of outstanding volunteer service at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In addition, Afshi was recognized as the Daily Point of Light #7415 in November of 2022 for 25 years of service as a volunteer at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Afshi is also a proud Aggie wife and Aggie mom! Bobby currently serves on the city of College Station planning and zoning commission.
Afshi and Bobby live their lives as a reflection of President George H.W. Bush’s belief in volunteerism, “any definition of a successful life must include service to others”. They became supporters of the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley to promote the arts for the entire community and believe that “any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can affect change — it can not only move us, it makes us move.”
In life, as well as in service, Afshi and Bobby often reflect on the words of Barbara Bush, “Faith, family, and friends,” that’s what life is all about.
M.L. “Sonny” Moss Artist of the Year Award Winner: Larry Schueckler
Eight years ago, Larry cleared a small area out of the native Post Oak and Yaupon forest at his home in south College Station to begin work on a sculpture studio. 800,000 lbs. of stone and 900 square feet of glass later — it’s nearly finished.
Larry grew up in Buffalo, New York, where 6-foot snowfalls are not uncommon. He migrated south to attend Texas A&M on a swimming scholarship and graduated with a degree in Landscape Architecture. The following 32 years were spent designing and building outdoor spaces that people interact with, move through, and discover; functional spaces with an awareness of balance, harmony, uniqueness, intrigue and always beauty.
The decision to begin a new direction in life was a significant decision but with the support of family, Larry began exploring life as an artist — a full-time sculptor. “I have always loved landscaping but felt that I needed greater challenges. Being an artist is a dedication to yourself, to use every ounce of energy and discover something new every day. It’s not really a choice, it’s that I can’t not do it.”
Larry’s favorite medium, warm, soft clay, can be manipulated into expressive lifelike figures. The figures are then molded and cast into a long-lasting finished bronze sculpture. The sculpture can now last 1000 years.
Much of the work completed by Larry is sold through galleries and disappears into homes and faraway places but three sculptures were completed this year that were created for everyone:
Our Lady of Victory, bronze cast and gilded, adorns the top of the dome of the newly completed St. Mary’s Church in College Station.
For 115 years, Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Austin, Texas, was left unfinished. The missing limestone sculpture of Saint Michael the Archangel has been carved from a single 4000lb. The block of stone and the historical limestone structure is now completed.
A bust of Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo has been created to be placed in the vineyards at Messina Hof.
D.A. “Andy” Anderson Award Winners: Becky & B. Don Russell
Becky and B. Don Russell have been in our community for over half a century. Their combined passions have impacted numerous organizations throughout the Brazos Valley.
Becky was born in Bryan and studied at the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma before moving to College Station. B. Don was hired as an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M University, and Becky was mother to their four children and a community volunteer. B. Don has served Texas A&M for 46 years and currently holds the esteemed position of Distinguished Professor, the Bovay Endowed Chair in the College of Engineering and is the Director of the Power System Automation Laboratory. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and serves as an advisor to Congress and federal agencies.
Becky’s community service began with Junior League and continued with membership in the Woman’s Club. For ten years, Becky served as an educational docent at the George Bush Presidential Library.
Together with Becky, B. Don Russell's support of the arts in our community has been remarkable. They are active in our local Opera and Performing Arts Society. Becky has also served on the board of the Arts Council and served as board president for two terms. Becky was also the chair of the first-ever Celebrate the Arts and started the Distinguished Lecture Series, now Stories at the Gallery.
Becky currently serves on the board of the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History as well as the board of Unlimited Potential. She and Don are active participants in the Fresh Start Campaign.
Becky currently serves on Texas A&M President Kathy Banks' Working Group to study a future community museum, teaching gardens and a performing arts center. Becky and B. Don also provide scholarships to engineering students at TAMU, help fund the School Pantry Project for the Brazos Food Bank and support Still Creek Ranch.
Becky and B. Don Russell treasure their beloved family of 23: Christyn and Brian Taylor, Jenny, and Tim Winter, John Paul and Stacie Russell, and Elizabeth and Garrett Latham, along with their 13 grandchildren.
D.A. “Andy” Anderson Award Winner: Jeremy Osborne
Jeremy Osborne is a former Arts Council board member and was president from 2021 to 2022. He also served as the 2021 and 2022 Celebrate the Arts chair. With Becky and B. Don Russell, Jeremy relaunched the Arts Council’s acclaimed lecture series in 2022. He has helped host notable speakers, including Jim Olsen, Jean Becker and Conor Knighton, to discuss their remarkable lives and books with patrons in the Arts Council gallery.
In addition to his work with the Arts Council, Jeremy has served on the College Station Planning & Zoning Commission, the Design Review Board and the 2020 Comprehensive Plan Evaluation Committee. He is a member of the BCS Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Brazos class of 2018. Jeremy is also a former member of the Texas A&M Young Alumni Advisory Council and the Liberal Arts College Alumni Council. He has been a speaker at Aggie Muster events, most recently speaking to the Los Alamos A&M Club.
Jeremy is a founding member of Sago Capital, a boutique real estate investment firm based in College Station with holdings across the United States. In 2014, The Association of Former Students named Jeremy one of the “20 Young Aggies on the Rise.” He was named a 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award regional finalist for the Gulf Coast area. Additionally, he has started companies that have been named to the Inc. 5000 List, Entrepreneur 360 List and Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces in America. During his career, he has been interviewed by The New York Times and CNBC.
Jeremy holds a BS from Texas A&M University and a JD, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a member of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy and elected to the Order of the Coif. Jeremy also completed law clinic programs at Georgetown and Stanford Law School. He is licensed to practice law in Texas, Colorado, and the District of Columbia.
Special Recognition Award Winner: Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History
The Museum’s mission is to preserve and protect cultural and natural history and promote science education. They do this in three ways: 1) through the preservation of artifacts, 2) through exhibits and special events, and 3) through educational programming. Their activities are designed to promote understanding of our natural and cultural history and to encourage the responsible stewardship of our natural resources. They provide education for all ages that stimulate understanding of science and our natural and cultural history. BVMNH educational programs are unique in that they draw upon the more than 25,000 natural history and artifact specimens entrusted to the Museum and its large variety of living specimens. BVMNH is the only museum in a 100-mile radius that focuses on science, natural history, and human interaction with nature.
The education program enhances science literacy in engaging ways. Science literacy is more important than ever because of the pace of technological advancement. Citizens who come to the museum are exposed to the unique resources of a natural history museum. Museums are learning centers and BVMNH offers significant support for school science education. According to the American Association of Museums (AAM), Americans view science museums as one of the most important resources for educating our children and as one of the most trustworthy sources of objective information.
Jane Wolfe Distinguished Arts Leadership Award Winner: Cathy Hastedt
Cathy Hastedt is the Director of the University Art Galleries Department at Texas A&M University, which oversees the J. Wayne Stark Galleries and the Forsyth Galleries, as well as the public art on campus. Over her 37-year career in the museum field, she has worked at and consulted at various museums across the country and abroad, including the Kelsey Museum at the University of Michigan, the University of Cincinnati Art Collection, and the Underwater Archaeology Museum in Bodrum, Turkey. She has curated over 60 exhibitions, including the nationally touring “From Curie to the Quantum Switch: 100 Years of Science Innovation.” She is the co-editor of the Journal of Literary Biography-American Book and Magazine Illustrators to 1930 and has written over 20 exhibition catalogs. She currently serves on the board of the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts at Texas A&M and has been instrumental in developing the University’s public art policies and procedures.
Her involvement with the Arts Council of Brazos Valley started in the 1990s when she spearheaded the first “Art in Public Places'' program, which invited artists from across the country to display their sculptures at various locations across Bryan and College Station, eventually leading to permanent installations such as at the College Station Library and Easterwood Airport. She ran the public art competition for the very first sculpture at Veteran’s Park and has consulted with various entities on the care and maintenance of public art collections. She has served numerous times as a grants reviewer for the ACBV, has volunteered for the Brazos Valley Symphony, Voices for Children and served as President of the Bryan Rotary Club.
Business Arts Patron Award Winner: Insite Brazos Valley Magazine
Beginning first as a magazine promoting the booming housing market, Insite Brazos Valley Magazine has continued to grow its almost 40-year legacy with one goal: ensuring the community is in the know about what’s going on in and around the community.
With its first issue published in April 1984, Insite Brazos Valley Magazine has continued to share community-driven lifestyle stories with the Brazos Valley through complementary issues available around town. The magazine works to recognize and highlight people and places in the Brazos Valley that truly make this community a special place to call home. Each issue brings a variety of content including in-depth stories about local people, places, and businesses; upcoming events; and useful resources available to the public with special focuses on promoting the arts and local nonprofits.
In addition to monthly issues, the magazine also sprouts a large online presence with its website (insitebrazosvalley.com) featuring a community calendar, and social media profiles across multiple channels including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as the weekly Insite Scoop newsletter.
Insite Magazine is also the host of the Insite A-List People’s Choice Awards celebrating the best businesses and community members in the Brazos Valley. The community is invited to nominate and vote for their favorites throughout the process before winners are crowned.
With publisher Kyle DeWitt at the helm, the magazine is led by Editor-in-Chief Aubrey Vogel and staffed by sales representative Sarah Beaver as well as multiple editorial and marketing interns from Texas A&M University. Insite Magazine is proud to be a part of the Integ family, which in addition to printing our publication offers offset and digital printing and business solutions.
The magazine is honored to support the Brazos Valley and is always looking for ways to connect with organizations and businesses in the community.
