Cape native among winners of arts council award

A Cape Girardeau native will receive one of the six 2005 Missouri Arts Council Awards on Feb. 9 in Jefferson City.

Susan Bohnsack Cole, who lived and worked in Cape Girardeau before taking a job in Jefferson City, will be awarded with the Arts Education Award.

Cole is a graduate of Central High School and received a bachelor of science degree in education, speech and English from Southeast Missouri State University. She went on to receive graduate degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

She taught speech and English at Central Junior High and a course in English as a second language at Southeast. From there, she moved on to take a job in the state capital, where she has worked for 18 years.

Cole is currently the coordinator of state programs with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Cole was instrumental in establishing the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, which has been held at Southwest Missouri State University annually for the past nine years.

Other award recipients are St. Louis Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, Gladys Cogswell, Jill McGuire, the Whitaker Foundation and former Gov. Warren Hearnes and his wife Betty.

The Missouri Arts Award is the highest honor given to individuals and organizations in Missouri for their contributions to the arts and cultural climate of the state.

Gov. Matt Blunt will present the awards at a public ceremony on Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. in the rotunda of the state Capitol building.