National officers were present from across the nation for the chartering in Jamestown of a new chapter for the National Society of Arts and Letters.
Called the Chautauqua Chapter, the chapter will invite members from as far north as Buffalo, as far south as Warren and as far west as Erie.
Juanita Wallace Jackson was elected president of the local organization by the 20 charter members of the new organization. She is a year-round resident of Chautauqua Institution and has acquired a reputation locally as an operatic contralto and especially for her performances of programs on spirituals and the songs of slavery.
Present for the chartering on Saturday at the Robert H. Jackson Center was the national president of the society, Doni Lystra, from the Central Michigan chapter. Also present were, National Corresponding Secretary Denna Shiben from the Largo, Fla. chapter; National Recording Secretary Charles Altman from Pittsburgh; and Region 1 Director Norman Brown.
Region 1 of the society represents the northeastern United States, and the new chapter will be part of that region.
The National Society of Arts and Letters is a nationwide organization, founded in 1944, with the objectives to aid, assist and sponsor young artists, to create opportunities for artistic endeavor and expression, and to encourage and promote beneficial interest and development in creative art.
Members are professional persons in the arts, art educators and patrons who actively promote the arts and are united by the vital importance and commonality of the society's objectives.
Among the names on the National Honors Council of the organization are Mikhail Baryshnikov, Saul Bellow, Julie Harris, Marilyn Horne, Patricia McBride and Tommy Tune.
Each year, each chapter in the society holds a competition for young artists in one of the society's six areas of focus: visual arts, dance, literature, drama, music and musical theatre. Chapter winners move on to regional competition, and eventually national competition, with scholarships and awards offered to national winners.
The 2011 area of focus is dance, with the national competition held in May at Birmingham, Ala.
In addition to Ms. Jackson, officers of the Chautauqua chapter are Robert Dilks of Cassadaga, first vice president; Margaret Johnson of North East, Pa., second vice president; Irene Tabish of Chautauqua, corresponding secretary; Kathleen McGough Johnson of Falconer, recording secretary; and Lissa Vandewark of Lakewood, treasurer. Because the first local competition which the organization will sponsor will be in dance, Bonnie Crosby of Chautauqua was named dance chair.
A luncheon in celebration of the new chartering was held Sunday at the Hotel Athenaeum on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution.
Announcements will be forthcoming for dance students who wish to compete in the chapter competition.
Anyone who is actively involved in the arts who would like to participate in the organization is encouraged to send an e-mail to the chapter president at jwallacejackson@yahoo.com.