Arts Advocacy (and breakfast) in Tulsa

On Thursday morning, the CEO of The United States' leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America, Americans for the Arts, had breakfast in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Robert Lynch was in town for the induction of Ken Ferguson into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Ken Ferguson is a banker from Altus, OK who has become a huge supporter and advocate for the arts in Oklahoma. Mr. Ferguson serves as the national treasurer for Americans for the Arts.

Most of us are no strangers to the importance of arts advocacy in today's society, especially in today's economic climate. As most non-profit organizations struggle to receive funding from the corporate and government sector, it becomes more important than ever for us to carry the torch for the arts and the need for its support on all levels. I was fortunate enough to join Mr. Lynch and Ken Ferguson for breakfast (downtown at the Chalkboard Restaurant) along with seven other advocates for the arts in Tulsa, OK: Rich Fisher (from Public Radio Tulsa), Linda Frazier (representing Tulsa Symphony Orchestra), James Watts (from the Tulsa World), Elizabeth Geer (representing Tulsa Opera) , Edith Wilson and Ken Busby (representing the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa) along with one of Tulsa's biggest arts advocates, Nancy Feldman.

After we had all been seated for just a few minutes, Ken Busby returned to our table with Tulsa's new mayor elect, Dewey Bartlett Jr, who was also having breakfast at the restaurant. Of course, as any politician would do with a captive audience, Mr. Bartlett proclaimed the importance of the arts in Tulsa and said that he is looking forward to serving the community, etc. At one point, Ken Ferguson told Mr. Bartlett that we would love to see him go down in history as the mayor that did the most for the arts in Tulsa. Indeed, we would all love for that to be the case and wish him the best.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that we all learned from hearing Mr. Lynch speak about his work in arts advocacy was that it only takes a few emails to sway your local congressman's decision on a particular topic that might be facing a vote. The revealing number was 10! It only takes 10 emails from constituents to be considered a landslide victory for influencing a particular vote. That is not to say that it happens every time, but more often than not a congressman will be influenced by as little as 10 emails when faced with a decision. For basically all of us at the table, that was a huge revelation! Just think about how many arts supporters we have amongst us with regard to board members, staff members, volunteers and patrons. If each of use were to just take 2 minutes to send a note to our representatives when key issues involving the arts are being brought to the floor, we could become a major force with seeing increased support for the arts and arts education- which are vital to our future as Americans--and especially Oklahomans.

Let's All Get Involved
Encourage your friends, colleagues and fellow board members to join the Arts Advocacy Fund through Americans for the Arts. Membership is FREE and it gives you access to all kinds of easy tools to communicate with our national and local legislators as well as the media. Also, lots of helpful information and statistics about the cultural and economic benefits of having a vibrant arts community.

So, as each of us learned the other morning, it's very easy to make a difference. 2 minutes is all it takes to ensure that our voice is heard and that arts will continue to thrive in Tulsa, making it one of the best places in the world to live, work, play and raise a family. Don't you think Tulsa deserves the very best?