Wednesday, January 6, 2010

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NEW YORK, NY — January 6, 2010 — Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, announces the selection of Joseph C. Dilg, Managing Partner of Vinson & Elkins LLP, to serve as chairman of BCA’s Executive Board. The BCA Executive Board is a 14-member group of corporate leaders who provide leadership and expertise on key BCA initiatives including messaging, advocacy, and strategic alliances within the private-sector community. He succeeds J. Barry Griswell, former chairman of the Principal Financial Group and president of The Des Moines Foundation, who is stepping down after three years of service as chair.

Mr. Dilg is Managing Partner of Vinson & Elkins LLP, one of the world’s leading energy law firms and is based in Houston, TX. He joined the BCA Executive Board in 2002 and serves on its nominating committee. Vinson & Elkins is a steadfast supporter of BCA. The firm provided pro bono legal services for BCA’s recent merger with Americans for the Arts and was also a sponsor of the 2008 National Arts Marketing Project Conference. Vinson & Elkins was honored by BCA in 2005 as one of the inaugural BCA TEN companies for the firm’s support of the arts among its employees and service to the Houston arts community.

“Business Committee for the Arts provides great opportunities for collaboration, creativity, and education within the arts and business sectors,” said BCA Executive Board Chair Joe Dilg. ”I am excited to work with my fellow BCA Executive Board members to make more of these partnerships and opportunities for support happen across the country.”

“I look forward to working with Joe as BCA continues to advance its work. The interplay between arts and business is important now more than ever. As the economy begins to rebound from the recession, both arts groups and corporations must recognize and value that ways they can assist one other in tough economic times,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA), a division of Americans for the Arts, was founded in 1967 by David Rockefeller to bring business and the arts together. Since then, business support to the arts has grown from $22 million in 1967 to $3.16 billion in 2006. 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. 



Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Visit us online at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.