3/4/2020
Discovering The Smith Center /
Supporting the Arts
When The Smith Center opened in March 2012, board member Michael Yackira knew it would make a tremendous impact across Southern Nevada. “There’s something transformational about performing arts centers like this,” Yackira says. “We have so much entertainment in the Strip, but to have a place that is for us locals, that can bring the entertainment that exists in places like Broadway for people here to take part in, it’s phenomenal.”
2/28/2020
Community Impact /
Supporting the Arts
When Janice Haupt Allen attended The Smith Center's opening-night event, she shed tears of joy the entire evening. “To be a part of this unbelievably beautiful auditorium was breathtaking,” Allen remembers. As a Smith Center founder, Allen helped make the center’s opening possible with a donation of $1 million.
1/3/2020
Community Impact /
Supporting the Arts
David Grayson estimates that at any given time, he has tickets for at least 10 upcoming Smith Center shows. “Ever since I found The Smith Center, I have been frequenting Reynolds Hall and Myron's Cabaret Jazz,” says Grayson, a 32-year-old software developer and Las Vegas resident.
12/10/2019
Supporting the Arts
Regardless of having no performance background, when Dr. Ron Koe saw his first musical “The Phantom of the Opera” as a college student, he was permanently hooked as a performing arts fan. Preserving such uplifting live experiences remains a top reason Dr. Koe contributes to The Smith Center, a nonprofit organization, as a donor.
12/9/2019
Supporting the Arts /
Education and Outreach
Even after nearly quadrupling choir membership at Greenspun Junior High School, teacher Heather Houchens admits she thought about leaving her profession. That is, until she became one of 20 teachers from several hundred finalists to be named a winner at The Smith Center’s first Heart of Education Awards. And sponsors help make it all happen.
11/6/2019
Supporting the Arts
Rarely do young professionals get public speaking tips from acclaimed artists who make their living in the spotlight. But members of Fanfare! — The Smith Center’s networking and engagement group for young philanthropists with a passion for the arts — experienced that and more this fall.
10/30/2019
Supporting the Arts
The holiday season is here, and many prefer shopping for gifts online. Making online purchases can even help support nonprofits like The Smith Center, thanks to AmazonSmile. “This offers a great option for those who want to take part in the season of giving,” says Carol Hollatz, director of Annual Fund at The Smith Center.
10/10/2019
Supporting the Arts /
Broadway Las Vegas
Members who donated $1,000 or more to The Smith Center, a nonprofit organization, were invited to an exclusive, behind-the-scenes experience this September with Broadway smash “Wicked,” which included rare backstage glimpses usually enjoyed by just the cast and crew.
10/3/2019
Supporting the Arts
There’s little in Southern Nevada that Don Snyder hasn’t influenced. As the former president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Don Snyder played a key role with launching its new medical school. He cofounded Bank of Nevada and served as president of Boyd Gaming. He even led the initial efforts to entice the Raiders to move to Las Vegas.
9/5/2019
Supporting the Arts
When asked about her earliest exposure to the performing arts, Bonnie Lemert recalls one very clear childhood memory: seeing a live performance of “The Sound of Music” with her family. “We kids thought it was funny that mom was crying during part of the show,” recalls Lemert. Now she understands.