MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Nunnelee

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING FLO BECK OF LEE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, FOR BEING SELECTED AS A FINALIST IN THE 2001 CALL FOR CHILDREN'S ART PROGRAM AND FOR BEING RECOGNIZED AT A CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION DURING ARTS AND EDUCATION MONTH.

WHEREAS, five young people with disabilities from around the nation have been selected as representatives for VSA arts' "How Does Art Shape Your World" Call for Children's Art. Their artwork will be part of a Capitol Hill exhibit on display March 19 through 23 in celebration of Arts and Education Month; and

WHEREAS, one of these representatives is a visually impaired student at Mooreville High School, who lives in Lee County, Mississippi, and will travel to Washington, D.C., to be honored at a congressional reception in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G-11, on Tuesday, March 27, 2001, at 12:00 p.m.; and

WHEREAS, the Capitol Hill exhibit culminates a national Call for Children's Art for students in Grades K through 12 who have participated in VSA arts programs. The call for art was designed to encourage art educators, administrators and facilitators to individualize instruction in response to students' strengths and to explore alternative working methods in the arts. The entire exhibit includes 32 pieces of artwork, each created by a young person in a different participating state; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress has designated VSA arts as the coordinating organization for arts programming for children and youth with disabilities. The educational programs of VSA arts use alternative curricula and teaching strategies designed to promote optimal learning experiences in a fully inclusive environment. VSA arts works to ensure that all students, including students with disabilities and special needs, receive equal and adequate opportunity for involvement and instruction in the arts as part of their education; and

WHEREAS, VSA arts is an international, nonprofit organization that promotes artistic excellence and lifelong arts-in-education opportunities for children and adults with disabilities. Founded in 1974 by Jean Kennedy Smith as an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, VSA arts offers programs in music, drama, dance, creative writing and the visual arts. The VSA arts network includes affiliates across the United States and in sixty other countries; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize this achievement by a talented young Mississippian who brings honor to her school, her community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Flo Beck of Lee County, Mississippi, for being selected as a finalist in the 2001 Call for Children's Art Program and for being honored at a Congressional reception during Arts and Education Month, and wish her continued success in her future academic and artistic endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to Flo Beck and her family, and her teacher M.S. McFeeters of Mooreville High School, and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.