TINA MARKOE KINSLOW/Courier-Post Dancing to the music of the Haddonfield Symphony at the arts summit are Colby Lindeman (left) and Leslie Silver of Philadelphia's Creative and Performing Arts High School.

Visit these related links: South Jersey Arts: Series and Summits Special Report: South Jersey Arts

Arts education topped the agenda for the Third Annual Regional Business/Arts Summit. At the end of an action- filled Friday, 250 corporate and cultural leaders left the South Jersey Performing Arts Center on Camden's Waterfront with some strong messages.

They discovered how the arts are leading the revitalization of Mount Holly's historic downtown. They learned how a small regional sales tax in Colorado is generating $38 million to support 340 arts groups in the Denver area.

They found out that students trained in the arts score higher on tests and make more creative workers. And they learned how to build bridges between the cultural and business communities that strengthen both.

Keynote speaker Richard L. Smoot, chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra and former CEO of PNC Bank, urged the business leaders, "Get involved. You'll never regret it."

Between two panels of speakers, the arts and corporate leaders attended a children's concert performed by the Haddonfield Symphony in the art center's Walter Rand Theater. During a lunch-time ceremony, six corporations and individuals shared the summit's 2001 Partnership Awards.

The summit began creatively, as moderator Michael Willmann of WMSH Marketing Communications summoned to the stage Valerie Clayton, director of the Camden School of the Musical Arts. While Clayton sang "When the Arts Take Center Stage," the business and arts leaders played the melody to " When the Saints Go Marching In" on kazoos.

Barbara F. Russo, executive director of the New Jersey State Council, called Friday's summit "a terrific day." The Arts Council joined with the Arts and Business Partnership of Southern New Jersey and local corporations to support the summit.

"The summit is a testament to the region's arts leaders who have attracted the attention of corporations to create a circle of partnership," said Russo. "We all recognize the need to create a broad base of support for the arts."

Council member Arthur Factor hailed the summit as "a wonderful model for the rest of the state."

The third annual summit attracted about 50 more participants than last year's event. The arts and business leaders came to Camden with a variety of expectations.

"We're a small organization," said Barbara Wakeman, representing the Sketch Club Players of Woodbury. "We've never attended the summit before, but we're hoping we'll discover some ways to work with businesses and strengthen our community theater group."

Kerina McAdams, director of the National Ballet of New Jersey, based in Mount Laurel, was also attending the summit for the first time.

"This is an opportunity to get acquainted and be a part of the cultural community of South Jersey," McAdams said. "If we work together, we can accomplish things."

A few summit participants had ideas for forging new partnerships. John Stavros, vice president of marketing and business development for Cooper Health Service, suggested business and arts leaders band together to place sculpture along Camden's Waterfront.

Ira Shaffer of Woodbury arrived wearing two hats. Shaffer represented both the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce and the Volunteers of America, which he serves as director of development.

"I see corporate support of the arts and education as absolutely crucial to the future of South Jersey," Shaffer said. "The summit brings together all the disparate organizations to create a strong arts-business partnership."

Smoot recalled how he made PNC Bank a cultural force in the Philadelphia region. After Philadelphia's then-Mayor Ed Rendell enlisted the bank's help, Smoot committed PNC to to reviving the city's ailing downtown by supporting the creation of the Avenue of the Arts.

"That decision was the single best decision I made at PNC," added Smoot. "Support of the arts impacts a community's economy and quality of life."

Frederick Frank, chairman of the Arts and Business Partnership, handed out the 2001 Partnership Awards.

The honorees included Lockheed Martin Technology Services ( Corporate Partner of the Year); Capehart & Scatchard, LLP ( Business Partner of the Year); Joseph Barstys of Subaru of America (Business Volunteer of the Year); Mark Fields of the Glassboro Center for the Arts (Arts Partner of the Year); William Hidlay, executive editor of the Courier- Post (Partnership Advocate of the Year); and Assembly Speaker Jack Collins, R-Salem, (Government Partner of the Year).