Selected in the "Arts Organization" category are the Chippewa Valley Cultural Association (creator and operator of Heyde Center for the Arts), board chairman Gerald Mann and executive director Debra Johnson.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation (Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer) of Milwaukee is recognized in the "Corporate/Business" category.

Lynne Watrous Eich of Madison will receive a special lifetime achievement award in arts administration.

Gov. Jim and First Lady Jessica Doyle will host this year's ceremony honoring the state's outstanding arts supporters at the Executive Residence in Madison on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, at 5:30 p.m. Northwestern Mutual of Milwaukee is partnering with the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts in sponsoring the annual event. Edward J. Zore, president and chief executive officer of Northwestern Mutual, will represent the company at the ceremony. Honorary co-chairs of this year's Governor's Awards in Support of the Arts are Don and Kate Wilson of Brookfield. In 2002, the Wilsons received a Governor's Award in Support of the Arts for their generous philanthropy and volunteer leadership in turning the concept of a community arts center—the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield—into a reality.

More about the 2006 award winners:

Individual Leadership: Oscar C., Patricia, Thomas J. and Renee Boldt

Two generations of Appleton's Boldt Family are recognized for generous philanthropy and innovative leadership in the arts and culture of the Fox River Valley and improving arts programs throughout Wisconsin. Oscar C. and Patricia Boldt established a tradition of leadership and philanthropy that is continued by their son and daughter-in-law, Thomas J. and Renee Boldt.

Oscar C. Boldt, chairman of The Boldt Company, viewed the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (PAC) as an opportunity to build something for the future of the community and volunteered as a principal fundraiser, in addition to his responsibilities for construction. He also funded and shepherded "The Art of Labor," a 238-page book focused on the special art inherent in the labor invested by hundreds of dedicated people to make the PAC a reality. Patricia Boldt is past president of the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra.

Tom Boldt, chief executive officer of The Boldt Company, is president of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and past president of the Academy Foundation. He strategically led the process that moved the Academy's gallery program and public forums into Overture Center for the Arts in Madison. Renee Boldt chairs the Circus World Museum Foundation, confidently guiding this unique cultural organization through a critical, transformative period.

Tom and Renee Boldt are also major promoters of American Players Theatre of Spring Green, bringing the troupe to the Fox Valley for performances and student workshops. Through their company or with personal resources, the Boldt family supports numerous programs and venues, such as Riverside Players Theatre, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and the Fox Valley Symphony.

Individual Leadership: Ken and Diane Hendricks

Ken and Diane Hendricks are honored for imaginative thinking, belief in their community and using the arts to revitalize the heart of Beloit. Major contributors to Beloit Film Festival, Beloit Arts Incubator and Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra, perhaps their greatest impact is in the visual arts—bringing together ideas, materials and artists to create public art.

After purchasing empty Beloit Corporation buildings, they enlisted artists to fashion thousands of abandoned hardwood patterns into hundreds of sculptures, some decorating their buildings, others for sale or filling the American Industrial Art Gallery that they established. They commissioned a series of murals on the renovated Beloit Ironworks buildings, paying tribute to workers and Beloit's manufacturing heritage. Today, the Ironworks campus is revitalized and serves as a vibrant, mixed-use city center.

The Hendricks commissioned a series of paintings for Janesville's Peace Park. Each painting represents a different Native American culture; the word "peace" is hidden in each painting, encouraging viewers to find peace in their own way.

Arts Organization: Chippewa Valley Cultural Association

In the 1970s, the Chippewa Valley Cultural Association (CVCA) dreamed of restoring the boarded-up old McDonnell School and converting it into an arts center. The dream languished for two decades as grant requests were repeatedly rejected, but a small group of committed citizens refused to give up. Determined to host the 1994 Spring Art Show in the neoclassical building on a hill, the CVCA issued a call to area residents, inviting them to reclaim the building. Floors were swept, pigeons sent flying, temporary electrical service established, pictures hung and people came to enjoy the art! Excitement for the project grew with donations of money and volunteer labor; eventually, more than $2 million was gathered from a community of 13,000 people.

In 2000, the building reopened as the Heyde Center for the Arts. It's a place where local musicians make music, community thespians create drama and visual artists fill the galleries with color, texture and shape. More than 100,000 people a year take part in seasonal art shows and workshops, poetry readings, dance recitals, concerts and theater performances. An 18-member CVCA volunteer board manages the facility; Gerald Mann serves as its chairman and Debra Johnson as executive director. The association boasts more than 350 members and maintains a database of 140 actors, 160 musicians and more than 300 artists offering arts opportunities for west-central Wisconsin residents. In addition, it collaborates with nearly a dozen local and state agencies to provide staffing and arts opportunities for youth and adults needing special services.

Corporate/Business: Wisconsin Energy Corporation

Wisconsin Energy Corporation of Milwaukee (Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer) is recognized a second time for several decades of generous arts support, with more than $12 million donated to Wisconsin arts groups in the past 15 years. Included in this amount is $2.5 million in gifts matching employee contributions to the arts. Wisconsin Energy provided major sponsorship of two recent, popular exhibitions at the Milwaukee Art Museum: "Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendors of Poland" and "Rembrandt and His Time." The Company previously received the Governor's Award in Support of the Arts in 1987.

A major sponsor of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), Wisconsin Energy's annual corporate gifts exceed $500,000. Additionally, Wisconsin Energy supports two of the six member groups with direct gifts. In 2007, they will sponsor UPAF's Performing Arts Profile that details the five-year trends and accomplishments of Greater Milwaukee's thriving performing arts sector.

Wisconsin Energy corporate leaders have served on UPAF's Campaign Cabinet for years; many employees are members or board chairs of member groups including Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Present Music and Skylight Opera.

Lifetime Achievement in Arts Administration: Lynne Eich

Lynne Watrous Eich, first and only director of the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, has developed a successful model of private and public funding producing a grant-making legacy of support for local artists and cultural organizations. Over the past 29 years, the Commission has awarded nearly 3,000 grants, touching every community in Dane County, and supported the creative work of thousands of Dane County artists, musicians, dancers, actors, sculptors, historians, poets, filmmakers, museums, galleries, schools, colleges and universities. Eich will be recognized for her lifetime achievement in arts administration.

Each recipient of the 2006 Governor's Awards will receive a personal citation signed by the Governor and a gift of original art. This year, the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts commissioned Madison fiber artist Sue Gilgen to create the art. A landscape quilt artist, she combines her artistry with quilting techniques to stitch quilts inspired by nature and intended to be hung on a wall.

The Governor's Awards in Support of the Arts began in 1980 to encourage support of the arts throughout Wisconsin. In 26 years, the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts has honored more than 130 businesses, individuals and organizations whose extraordinary contributions to the vitality of the arts in local communities or statewide deserve recognition. Four previous governors have hosted the ceremony and personally presented the awards.

The Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts is a nonprofit, public organization supported solely by membership dues and contributions. For more information, please contact Jeffrey Bartell, chair of the Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts, at 608-283-2432 or executive director Kristi Williams at 608-839-4758.