Former Community Improvement Foundation Chair Anne P. Baker has continued her history of generosity and commitment to Hopkins County providing a $100,000 gift to the Fulfilling the Promise Campaign at Madisonville Community College. The gift will be used to establish the Anne P. Baker Endowment for Sustained Excellence in the Arts at the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts. This gift is the second lead gift that Baker and her family have contributed to MCC during the past eleven years. The fund will provide permanent income for classical-related programs and performances that support an appreciation for classical music, such as productions of the Louisville Orchestra or Nashville Symphony, and for theatrical performances.

Mrs. Baker, who with her late husband James, a long-time local business leader and arts advocate, has provided support for many arts-related endeavors over the past decade, including performances by the Louisville Orchestra, a stage production of "Death of a Salesman," and the March 2005 production of "Children's Swan Lake." She has also supported exhibits in the Anne P. Baker Gallery, which was named in Baker's honor in 1995 in recognition of her work during MCC's Partners in Progress Campaign that was conducted in the early and mid 1990s. Mrs. Baker served as Community Gifts Chair during that campaign and was involved in the successful effort to build a 400-space parking area adjacent to the Arts Center that now serves students and arts patrons alike.

College President Dr. Judy Rhoads and Steve Cox, General Chair of the Fulfilling the Promise Campaign, were ecstatic with this latest campaign success. "Anne's name is synonymous with generosity in our community" stated Rhoads. "She continues to inspire literally generations of arts patrons, and along with Glema (Mahr) and Juanita Badgett, has been a major influence in making our community one that is committed to and values the arts."

Chairman Cox stated that Mrs. Baker's gift was the seventh lead gift that Madisonville has received during the Fulfilling the Promise Campaign. "Mrs. Baker and her family have been working with us on campaign matters for the past year. They are committed to our college and to Madisonville in general, and an endowed gift of this nature will make it possible for orchestras and other classical presenters to come to our community for years."

The college is planning a community reception for the Baker Family on July 16 at 6 p.m., in coordination with the Glema Center's production of "Annie."