Deborah Blackwell, the founder and director of Whitewater’s Studio 84, has won the Jefferson Award for public service for her work at the studio.
Studio 84 is a non-profit art studio, gallery and gift shop that specializes in the creative and vocational development of people with disabilities. Studio 84, 121 W. Center St., has a creative focus on the abilities through the arts.
The Jefferson Award recognizes dedication and service of volunteers who transform lives and strengthen communities across the United States. WKOW Channel 27, the Madison ABC affiliate, brings the Jefferson Awards to Wisconsin. The mission of the Jefferson Awards Foundation is to power others to have maximum impact on the things they care about most. The foundation was founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard.
Each year, WKOW selects a monthly winner from nominations submitted. Anybody can nominate someone on the Jefferson Awards Foundation website. At the end of their yearly cycle, which is the end of March, WKOW selects one of the twelve monthly winners to go to the national awards ceremony in New York. From there, several national winners are selected from the many local and regional winners. The selection committee at the national level includes numerous public figures such as Michael Douglas, Neil Simon and Whoopi Goldberg.
WKOW anchor Amber Noggle interviewed Blackwell and several artists at Studio 84. The interview will air this Sunday, March 18 at 10 am.
