(West Palm Beach, FL – February 8, 2010)  Donors, guests, and business leaders attended the second annual reception for the Helen K. Persson Endowment Society, held on January 26 in the Kravis Center’s Gimelstob Ballroom.

Sponsored by Bernstein Global Wealth Management, the evening opened with welcoming remarks from William A. Meyer, Chairman of the Kravis Center’s Board of Directors.

Calling the Endowment Society’s namesake a “shining example of generosity to her community,” Mr. Meyer hailed Mrs. Persson for her inspiring “service, leadership, and commitment to the long-term fiscal stability of the Kravis Center.”

The purpose of the Helen K. Persson Endowment Society is to build an endowment that will provide supplemental funding to help support the operation of the Kravis Center now and in the future, while continuing its mission to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County.

Mr. Meyer also recognized the Kravis Center’s original Building Advisory Board and Cocktails for Culture committee members for “their vision and voracity in spearheading (our) early fundraising efforts.”

Guest speakers from Bernstein Global Wealth Management were Joel R. Stevens, II, Senior Vice President and Senior Managing Director, and Barry S. Berg, Principal.

In her comments to the crowd, Mrs. Persson recalled: “When Alex Dreyfoos asked me two years ago if I would lend my name to an endowment society at the Kravis Center, I was filled with great pride and humility.  I was celebrating my 90th birthday, so the privilege of hearing the announcement of the establishment of the Helen K. Persson Endowment Society was music to my ears. I knew that the possibilities for creating a strong and healthy permanent endowment would ensure a glorious future for the Kravis Center. Since the Society was created, we have been fortunate to receive several significant endowment gifts, and I am joyful that I am here to see the Society grow.”

Mrs. Persson acknowledged the presence of new Endowment Society member Natalie G. Stone, who had served as co-chair of both the Kravis Center’s original Building Campaign Advisory Board and Cocktails for Culture, and was happily celebrating her 93rd birthday.

Many of the reception attendees were Regional Arts subscribers, who enjoyed a lecture by former Palm Beach Postmusic critic Sharon McDaniel prior to the concert by the Moscow State Radio Symphony.  Ms. McDaniel’s lecture was sponsored by Nancy and Jay Parker.

For more information about the Helen K. Persson Endowment Society, please contact the Kravis Center development department at 561.651.4320.

About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts:
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. 

The Kravis Center is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL.  For more information, please call 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.