[Durham INC] Corporate and Foundation Support of DPAC Continues

Fri Oct 14 13:11:22 EDT 2011

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

News Release

For Details, Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov

For Immediate Release: October 14, 2011

Corporate and Foundation Support of DPAC Continues

DURHAM, N.C. - Recognizing the Durham Performing Arts Center's (DPAC)
positive impact on Durham and the Triangle area, three corporations and
two major foundations recently gave more than $80,000 in naming rights
contributions and support to the nationally ranked theater.  

Merck & Co. Inc. is sponsoring the Technical Director's Office, Burt's
Bees is supporting the Grand Tier West Concessions, and the F.M. Kirby
Foundation is naming the General Manager's Office. Additionally, the
Biddle Foundation is providing funds for DPAC operational needs, and IBM
has donated a computer server to improve DPAC's technological
capabilities.

DPAC continues to surpass attendance and revenue projections and was
recently ranked the #3 performing arts venue in the nation based on
ticket sales. "It is very rewarding to have the companies and
foundations of this stature behind the Triangle's premier arts venue,"
said Mayor William V. "Bill" Bell. "It is a clear indicator of our
achievements to date and validation of our vision for the future."

Merck & Co. Inc., a global health care leader, is nearing completion on
a 700,000-square-foot facility in Durham that will be dedicated to
manufacturing live virus vaccines. Construction of the Maurice R.
Hilleman Center for Vaccine Manufacturing began in 2004, with several
expansions announced since the project began. It is anticipated that the
finished facility will be one of the largest live virus vaccine
manufacturing facilities in the world. 

"We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities in which we
operate by supporting a wide range of local art and cultural
initiatives", said John Wagner, Plant Manager, "Durham is a great place
to live and our employees enjoy the dining and entertainment options
that continue to expand. We are pleased to make a contribution to
support this outstanding facility." 

Burt's Bees, a leading natural health and beauty care company, has
called the Triangle home for nearly 20 years, but moved to Downtown
Durham's American Tobacco Campus in 2009. "It's exciting to witness and
be part of the growing vibrancy in downtown Durham,"  said Burt's Bees
General Manager Nick Vlahos. "We are proud to have DPAC as a close
neighbor and fully support their good efforts to bring top-notch arts
and entertainment to the Durham community." 

IBM provided a valuable high-rack server to the DPAC to bolster the
DPAC's operational capabilities.  IBM Manager of Corporate Citizenship
and Corporate Affairs Tina Wilson said, "IBM is pleased to be able to
both enhance the technology at the DPAC with IBM products, but also have
an impact in the arts community as well."

The F.M. Kirby Foundation, based in Morristown, New Jersey, has a strong
history of supporting the Durham community, according to President S.
Dillard Kirby. "We have been long-time supporters of the Carolina
Theater," said Kirby, "So we wanted to make sure the DPAC was a
complement, and not a detriment, to that venue. Our review showed both
facilities doing well and the unique combination of the two is helping
to grow the performing arts community." 

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation is known throughout the greater Durham
community for its support of arts, education, and medicine. The
Foundation's leader, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, is well known for
her broad support of the arts and the DPAC fits comfortably as a leading
performing arts center. "The DPAC is one of Durham's greatest assets,"
extolled Doug Zinn, Executive Director of the Biddle Foundation. "This
venue plays a vital role in the revitalization of the city and is making
a great name for Durham, literally worldwide!"

Merck, Burt's Bees, IBM, and the F.M. Kirby and Biddle Foundations, join
naming rights donors such as Skanska and KeySource Bank, together with
major benefactors Capitol Broadcasting Company, Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of North Carolina, and Mildred & Dillard Teer, in providing
significant financial support for the DPAC. 

ABOUT THE DPAC CAMPAIGN

The DPAC Campaign is a major funding campaign focused on providing
private resources to help sustain the DPAC long-term. Naming
opportunities in the Campaign are still available and range in value
from $1,000 for a seat to $200,000 for the President's Lounge.
Contributions are tax deductible. For information on naming rights or
funding opportunities at the DPAC, please contact Sports & Properties
representatives Hatcher Kincheloe (919-234-4184, 
hkincheloe at sportsproperties.com) or Hill Carrow (919-678-1651, 
hcarrow at sportsproperties.com). 

ABOUT MERCK

Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be
well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.
Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and
consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and
operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health
solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to
healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs, and partnerships.
For more information, visit www.merck.com.

ABOUT BURT'S BEES

Burt's Bees has been offering distinctive earth-friendly, natural
personal care products for 25 years.  From a beekeeper's backyard in
Maine to the leading edge of natural, Burt's Bees knows natural body
care solutions from head-to-toe.  The company creates products for total
skin health that keep The Great Good top of mind.  Burt's Bees has
approximately 400 employees with products available in the United States
and nearly 20 markets worldwide as well as on its website 
www.burtsbees.com. 

ABOUT IBM

IBM is one of the world's largest technology and consulting firms.  For
100 years, IBM has been at the forefront of technological advancement on
a global scale.  Since 1960, IBM has been one of the largest employers
in the Triangle region and currently employs more than 10,000 people at
its RTP headquarters.  For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com

ABOUT THE F.M. KIRBY FOUNDATION

History demonstrates time and time again that when people unite in a
charitable cause, which is right and good, the impossible becomes
possible.  America's proliferation of nonprofit organizations and vast
philanthropic resources is unparalleled within the global community. At
the F.M. Kirby Foundation, we believe that private philanthropy, at its
best, if provided compassionately and prudently, encourages
self-reliance and diminishes government's role.  Dedicated grantors and
grantees, working together, tend to ennoble and enrich our society.  For
more information on the F.M. Kirby Foundation, visit 
www.foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/kirby/index.html

ABOUT THE MARY DUKE BIDDLE FOUNDATION

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation was founded in 1956 to support the
founder's interest in education, religion, music and the arts, and to
provide aid to communities.  For over 50 years, the Mary Duke Biddle
Foundation has dedicated more than 40 million dollars in grants to Duke
University, as well as various causes throughout North Carolina and New
York.  For more information on The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, please
visit www.mbdf.org.

ABOUT THE DPAC 

The Durham Performing Arts Center is a state-of-the-art performance hall
located in Downtown Durham at the American Tobacco Campus.  It has the
largest stage and seating capacity of any theater in the Carolinas.  The
DPAC, which opened in the fall of 2008, has hosted numerous Broadway
plays, musicians, comedians, and the American Dance Festival.  The DPAC
is owned by the City of Durham and is operated by a partnership of PFM
and Nederlander.  More information about the Durham Performing Arts
Center can be found at www.dpacnc.org.  

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