A portrait of former Utah Governor Herbert in the state capitol.

Governor Receives AFTA Award

At a special event on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) honored Governor Gary Herbert with its Governors Arts Leadership Award. Founded in 1960, AFTA is the nation’s leading organization for advancing the arts and arts education, supporting the network of organizations and individuals who cultivate and promote the arts in America. Governor Herbert was recognized for his outstanding support of arts and culture in Utah.

The event, held in the Rio Gallery at the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City, also included a reading by Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal, who was asked by the Spike 150 Commission to write a book-length poem about the Chinese railroad workers on the transcontinental railroad. The evening’s festivities took place in the surroundings of the exhibition Transcontinental: People, Place, Impact, a show about the railroad and its legacy.

Congratulations to Governor Herbert!