Peggy LeKander receives Distinguished Service Award

University Park, Pa. --The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State has named Peggy LeKander, a longtime supporter and member of the fine arts presenter, recipient of its 2009 Distinguished Service Award.
 
LeKander has served as chair of the Center for the Performing Arts Community Advisory Council for three years. She and her husband, Dan, are Leadership Circle members of the Center for the Performing Arts. Last year they created a $50,000 endowment at the performing arts center. The Hall-LeKander Endowment, which helps make thperforming arts accessible to elderly residents of Centre County, honors the couple’s late sister-in-law, Julia Bonchak Hall, and Peggy LeKander’s deceased parents, Fred W. and Ethel S. Hall.
 
Peggy LeKander graduated from Penn State in 1975 with a bachelor of science degree in education. The LeKanders own Corvette America in Milroy, Mifflin County. Along with being involved with the Center for the Performing Arts, the couple belongs to a variety of other organizations, including the Palmer Museum of Art, the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania and the Nittany Lion Club. They were contributors at the Founders level for Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center and belong to various arts and environmental organizations in New York and Florida.
 
“Peggy LeKander is a deeply committed volunteer leader, member, sponsor, patron and benefactor of the Center for the Performing Arts,” said George Trudeau, director of the Center for the Performing Arts. “Her love of the center comes through in everything she has done over the years in support of its programs. All of us on the staff have enjoyed interacting with Peggy in all her various roles.”
 
Through Corvette America, the LeKanders have provided support for Center for the Performing Arts jazz programming—first sponsoring individual presentations and eventually underwriting all jazz concerts. They have also hosted receptions for the center’s Jazz Train members to meet and socialize with visiting jazz artists.
 
“Peggy LeKander has served the Center for the Performing Arts with distinction as a volunteer leader and generous supporter, sharing her time, talent and treasure so that the center can thrive and grow for the benefit of the university and our community,” said Barbara O. Korner, dean of Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture. “She has taken a personal interest in the center and its membership and sponsorship programs, cultivating relationships on behalf of the center with many others in our region.”
 
The Distinguished Service Award, presented annually since 1996, recognizes significant contributions and distinguished service to the Center for the Performing Arts.