County of Monmouth

For Immediate Release:

August 28, 2014

 

Freeholder Director Burry
honored by Count Basie

Theatre cites longtime dedication to the arts

 

RED BANK, NJ – Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry was honored with a Vanguard Award by the Count Basie Theatre. The Board of Chosen Freeholders congratulate Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry (second from left) and Monmouth County Arts Council executive director Mary Eileen Fouratt (third from left) for being chosen as recipients of the inaugural Vanguard Awards at Count Basie Theatre on Aug. 22 in Red Bank, NJ. Pictured left to right: Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry, Mary Eileen Fouratt, Freeholder Serena DiMaso and Freeholder Deputy Director Gary J. Rich, Sr.

 

“It is an honor to be chosen as one of the first recipients of the Vanguard Awards,” Burry said. “I believe that art and history are the foundation of our society and it is essential to maintain a strong presence of the arts in our communities.”

 

The Vanguard Awards took place on Aug. 22. Vanguard Awards were also given to E-Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen Van Zandt and Monmouth County Arts Council executive director Mary Eileen Fouratt.

 

A longtime proponent of local arts and the Basie, Burry has been a three-time presenter at the theatre’s annual Basie awards, and in 2014 was honored as the Monmouth County Arts Council’s "2014 Community Champion of the Arts."

 

In the winter of 2014, Burry participated in a presentation about the MoCo Arts Corridor Partnership. The five-minute video was presented during a panel session at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Development’s 52nd Session of the Commission for Social Development. The video focused on the MoCo Arts Corridor which is both a physical and cooperative initiative designed to promote the many art, cultural and historic assets in Monmouth County. 

 

Since her election to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2005, Burry has been the Board's Director three times and is liaison to the Parks and Library and Public Services divisions. She is also a member of the Monmouth County Planning Board's Master Plan Arts, Cultural & Historic Resources working group.

 

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