{"id":354159,"date":"2026-07-27T21:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/354159\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:17:12","slug":"orange-county-mayor-jerry-demings-receives-national-leadership-in-the-arts-award-wdbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/354159\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings Receives National Leadership in the Arts Award \u2013 WDBO"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings was honored Thursday for his commitment to seeing that the arts \u201cremain an essential part of Orange County\u2019s future,\u201d according to Orange County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 LISTEN TO ORLANDO\u2019S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis recognition reflects the incredible artists, arts organizations, and cultural leaders who make Orange County such a dynamic place to live, work, and visit,\u201d said Mayor Demings.<\/p>\n

Demings has served as the Mayor of Orange County since 2018 and is the latest Central Florida official to receive the award.<\/p>\n

Over the past eight years, the County has increased its investment, expanding this year\u2019s support to $31 million, including $15 million in grants for cultural arts programs.<\/p>\n

Demings has supported various projects aimed at boosting arts programs around Orlando. In early July, the Mayor spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Winter Park Playhouse.<\/p>\n

READ: Winter Park Playhouse to unveil newly renovated theater with ribbon-cutting celebration<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCounties that invest in arts and culture are investing in stronger communities, vibrant local economies and a higher quality of life,\u201d said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. \u201cMayor Demings has demonstrated how local leadership can elevate the arts as a driver of community pride, economic opportunity and cultural vitality. We congratulate Mayor Demings on this well-deserved recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The award is said to recognize elected officials who have used their position to advance the arts and arts education within the community they serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cMayor Jerry Demings has paired sustained investment in arts and culture with a long-term vision for his community\u2019s future,\u201d said Erin Harkey, CEO of Americans for the Arts<\/a>. \u201cHis leadership shows that when local leaders commit real resources to the arts, the returns are lasting \u2014 stronger economies, more jobs, and richer quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Americans for the Arts\u2019 \u201cArts & Economic Prosperity\u201d study<\/a> found that the nonprofit arts and cultural sector in Orange County alone generates over $264 million in direct economic activity, supports nearly 5,000 jobs and welcomes nearly 3 million audience members.<\/p>\n

READ: Orlando Museum of Art celebrates Peru Independence Day this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe arts enrich every aspect of our community, and I am honored to accept this award on behalf of everyone who helps make Orange County a destination for creativity and innovation,\u201d Demings said.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here<\/a> to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings was honored Thursday for his commitment to seeing that the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[6029,6030,147,3834,28,8134,144681,135273,14222,144683,144684,1335,118970,22123,139,141,140,144682,5597],"class_list":["post-354159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-580am","tag-am580","tag-central-florida","tag-central-florida-news","tag-florida","tag-jerry-demings","tag-jerry-demings-arts-award","tag-jerry-l-demings","tag-mayor-jerry-demings","tag-national-assocation-of-counties-arts-award","tag-national-assocation-of-counties-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orange-county-mayor","tag-orange-county-news","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-public-leadership-in-the-arts-award","tag-wdbo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}