Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
Named to THE BCA TEN:
Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America
Sponsored by Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. and FORBES Magazine
New York, NY, October 6, 2005 – Vinson & Elkins LLP, Houston, Texas, was named to THE BCA TEN: Best Companies Supporting the Arts in America, sponsored by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA) and FORBES Magazine, on October 5 during a black-tie gala attended by business and arts leaders from throughout the country at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, New York. Vinson & Elkins was cited for helping the arts improve their business practices and for providing the arts with free and substantially discounted legal services, all of which helped the arts reduce operating costs and redirect their resources to programming. The law firm was also recognized for its grants and in-kind services to arts organizations large and small; for underwriting major exhibitions; for involving its employees and clients with the arts; and for its partners leadership efforts that have resulted in new resources for the arts throughout its headquarter city of Houston.
Vinson & Elkins has served as general counsel, for example, to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston since 1973, performing all work on a pro bono basis. The firm also has provided pro bono legal services to the Houston Grand Opera since 1975, and has provided both pro bono legal services and financial contributions to the Houston Music Hall Foundation, which developed and operates the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
"The arts enrich the lives of all they touch," said Joseph C. Dilg, managing partner of Vinson & Elkins. "By contributing legal and financial resources, we enable arts organizations to reach more members of our communities."
This national annual list - the first ever created by a not-for-profit organization - was initiated by BCA to recognize ten companies for their exceptional support of the arts in the United States. The other companies on THE BCA TEN for 2005 were: American Airlines, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; American Century Investments, Kansas City, Missouri; Deere & Company, Moline, Illinois; Meredith Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa; Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia; Shugoll Research, Bethesda, Maryland; The First American Corporation, Santa Ana, California; United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut; and Wells Fargo & Company, San Francisco, California.
"These ten companies are in the forefront of providing the arts with cash and non-cash support, as well as incorporating the arts in their employee, customer and community relations," said Judith A. Jedlicka, President, Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. "And, they are leaders in developing and sustaining arts education initiatives, workplace art collections, plus exhibition and performance spaces, all of which enriches the lives of millions of Americans in communities large and small from coast-to-coast."
The announcement of THE BCA TEN was made by Leonard Slatkin, Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C., and Trisha Brown, Artistic Director, Trisha Brown Dance Company, New York, New York - two leading American artists who acknowledged that "business support to the arts is critical to the growth of the arts in America" and who thanked the companies on the list "for supporting our work and the work of our fellow artists."
The Presenting Sponsors of THE BCA TEN were: Principal Financial Group, The First American Corporation, Target and MultiPlan, Inc.
The judges for THE BCA TEN were: Edward H. Able, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C.; Ben Cameron, Executive Director, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), New York, New York; Robert J. Darretta, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey; Martha R. Ingram, Chairman of the Board, Ingram Industries Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; Parker S. Kennedy, Chairman and CEO, The First American Corporation, Santa Ana, California; and Andrea Snyder, President and Executive Director, Dance/USA, Washington, D.C.
Since the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA) was founded in 1967 by David Rockefeller to bring business and the arts together, business support to the arts has grown from $22 million in 1967 to $3.32 billion in 2003. BCA's mission is to ensure that the arts flourish in America by encouraging, inspiring and stimulating business to support the arts in the workplace, in education and in the community. For information about BCA, visit www.bcainc.org.