The group’s highest honor, the 2006 Encore Award, will be presented to Sovereign Bank and Steven Issa. Mr. Issa is President and CEO of the Rhode Island Market and oversees community relations for Sovereign Bank. Steve has been in banking for 28 years. He serves on the boards of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, CCRI Alumni Foundation, Business Development Company of RI, RI Public Expenditure Council, United Way, Providence College Presidents’ Council, Bryant University Leadership Council and the Governor’s Commodore Advisory Council.

Jabez Gorham Award - Tyler Denmead

Mr. Denmead is the Artistic Director of New Urban Arts, an interdisciplinary arts studio that empowers young people to develop a creative practice they can sustain throughout their lives. New Urban Arts has been named one of the fifty best arts and youth development programs by the President's Committee for the Arts & Humanities for the past four years.

A& BC/RI Small Business Award - GLAD WORKS Design

Gina DiSpirito is the Creative Director, Founder and Principal of GLAD WORKS Design. She also serves on the Board of the Arts & Business Council of RI, the Marketing Commitee of the Pawtucket Armory Association and is a member of Festival Ballet Providence's Artistic Director's Commission and Marketing Committee.

A& BC/RI Arts Advocate Award - Christopher "Kip" McMahan

Mr. McMahan is a Design Architect and Vice President with the architecture/engineering firm Robinson Green Beretta. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the RI State Council on the Arts, and serves on the Boards of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts. Mr. McMahan received the 2004 Presidents' award for chairing the steering committee for the PPS/AIAri Guide to Providence Architecture.

A&BC/RI BVA of the Year Award - Dr. Robert Allio

Dr. Allio founded Robert J. Allio & Associates, Inc. in 1979. Over the past 26 years, he has led top-level strategy consulting and management education projects for hundreds of firms in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and India. As a Business Volunteer for the Arts, Dr. Allio is facilitating a strategic planning process for the Arts & Business Council of RI.

A&BC/RI Individual Achievement Award for the Performing Arts -

Valerie T. Tutson

Ms.Tutson has been telling stories in schools, churches, libraries, festivals and conferences since 1991. As a founding member of Rhode Island Black Storytellers, she directs FUNDA FEST: A Celebration of Black Storytelling. Ms, Tutson graduated from Brown University with a Masters Degree in Theatre Arts and Storytelling as a Communications Art.

A&BC/RI Individual Achievement Award for the Visual Arts - Boris Bally

Boris Bally is a metal artist and designer who trained as a goldsmith in Switzerland and received his B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. His work is provocative, witty and innovative. His work celebrates his raw urban street environment and takes the form of furniture, furnishings, wearable art and sculptural installations. Boris received a Rhode Island Council on the Arts Crafts Fellowship in 1999 and 2002, as well as a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Crafts Fellowship in 1993. His work is featured in numerous international exhibitions and publications. Public collections include London’s V & A. Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, the Fenwick Gallery and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.

A&BC/RI Special Recognition Award - Lisa Churchville & NBC 10

Ms. Churchville is President and General Manager of WJAR-TV, a top ranked television station in the state. Prior to joining WJAR, Ms. Churchville was the Vice President for Marketing and Programming at WMAQ-TV in Chicago. She currently chairs the Board of A&BC/RI, and has led the Boards of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Click here for general information about this year's Encore Awards.

Click here  to see a list of all past honorees.  

Click here  view our archives, which contain more detailed information about past honorees and banquets.

Photos of Kip McMahan, Tyler Denmead, Boris Bally and Valerie Tutson by Frank Mullin