Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts Announces
The 2015 Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship Program
Call for Applicants

Tampa, Fla. – (Jan. 15, 2015) Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts (TBBCA) is pleased to announce its 2015 Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship Program Call for Applicants. Each year, the TBBCA awards $15,000 in scholarships to Bay Area students based on artistic ability in the fields of instrumental music, vocal music, theatre, dance, visual arts and literary arts. High School Juniors and Seniors from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties are invited to apply.

The 2015 Application and Guidelines are available for download at www.tbbca.org. Interested parties can also contact the TBBCA offices at 813-221-2787 to request a hard copy. Applications must be emailed, mailed or delivered to the TBBCA office by 3:00 p.m. on March 6, 2015. There is no fee to apply. Six students will be awarded $2,500 to be used for tuition at the college, university or professional arts training program of their choice.

The TBBCA is proud to support young artists with The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships. The scholarship program is named in honor of the TBBCA’s former Board President, Charlie Hounchell, who passed away unexpectedly in 2013. The scholarship program was developed and championed by Hounchell in 2007 and has since awarded $107,500 to Bay area students who wish to continue their educations and pursue careers in the arts.

TBBCA will announce the 2015 winners in early April. The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship program is a unique funding resource and all qualified eligible students are encouraged to apply!

Previous year’s 2014 Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships were awarded to: 1) Brittany White, a graduate of Howard W. Blake High School, won the scholarship for Dance. She is currently attending the University of South Florida. 2) Kaila DeLany, a graduate of Tarpon Springs High School, won the scholarship for Instrumental Music. She is currently attending Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. 3) Brooke Page, in her senior year at Seminole High School, won the scholarship for Literary Arts. Brooke is currently applying to colleges of her choice. 4) Cameron Kubly is a graduate of Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa. He won the scholarship for Theatre and plans to attend Oklahoma City University for Musical Theatre. 5) Alice Corinne Leavengood, a graduate of Shorecrest Preparatory School in Pinellas County, won the scholarship for Visual Arts. She currently attends New College of Florida. 6) Brandon Rodriguez, a graduate of Riverview High School, won the scholarship for Voice. He currently attends the University of Tampa.

The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarship is sponsored by individual and corporate donations. Major contributors include Stephen Gay, Linda & Michael Connelly, Premier Eye Care, Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long & McBride, the Tampa Bay Times and Cox Media. For sponsorship opportunities email:  susanaweymouth@tbbca.org.

About TBBCA:
Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts is a non-profit organization with the mission to unite Tampa Bay businesses to champion arts and culture for a prosperous community. This is achieved through advocacy, research, targeted communications, scholarship funds and providing access to cultural programming. TBBCA was founded in 1989 as an affiliate of the National Business Committee for the Arts, which in 2008 merged with Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.

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