Segerstrom Center for the Arts Salutes Local Business Leaders During Arts and Business Leadership Awards Dinner

Segerstrom Center for the Arts will honor two Orange County business leaders during its third annual Arts and Business Leadership Awards Dinner on Friday, May 6, 2016. During the fundraiser, noted Orange County business leader and arts philanthropist Zelma "Zee" M. Allred will receive the Center's Distinguished Leader Award and Ashleigh Aitken will be presented with the Rising Leader Award. The Distinguished Leader Award pays tribute to an established corporate leader and the Rising Leader Award to a young corporate star, both of whom have demonstrated exemplary business leadership and consistent, generous support to Orange County's arts organizations. In addition to the reception, dinner and awards ceremony, honorees and guests will attend a performance by celebrated singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne in Segerstrom Hall. The evening will continue the celebration with a post-performance after party. Proceeds from the Arts and Business Leadership Awards Dinner support the Center's education and community outreach programs, which demonstrate their positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people each year.

John Ginger, chairman of the Center's board of directors said, "When a community fosters a strong arts sector, neighborhoods transform, attracting new businesses and bright minds. Creativity flourishes, creating a vibrant, lively culture fueling an unstoppable economic engine. We are privileged to have such vibrancy here in Orange County, and it is an honor to acknowledge and celebrate Zee Allred and Ashleigh Aitken, two individuals who understand and enthusiastically cultivate this important synergy between the arts and business."

The Arts and Business Leadership Awards Dinner is an annual fundraiser presented by Segerstrom Center for the Arts' Business Leadership Committee. The committee is a partnership between the Orange County corporate sector and the Center. This year, it is chaired by Rick Muth, president of ORCO Block and Hardscape and Center Board Vice Chair, Finance, and William Mehan, partner, Rutan and Tucker, LLP and Center board member. The committee represents the widespread and diverse constituency within the local business community that recognizes the importance of the arts to the development of a creative and informed workforce and the significant economic impact arts organizations have on the community. Segerstrom Center depends upon long-standing partnerships with the Orange County business community. For its part, the Center serves as an important economic force in Orange County, generating an annual impact of $350 million to the region.

Zelma "Zee" M. Allred has been a business leader, community activist and philanthropist in Orange County for more than 40 years. She is chairman and CEO of Pool Water Products, one of the top companies serving the national and international pool and spa market. She is also an equal partner in "Pentagon A" Investments, a real estate leasing company, and an equal partner in "Aqua Tri," a chemical manufacturing company. She has been listed as one of the 100 most influential people in Orange County by Orange County Business Journal and voted Orange County's Woman of the Year.

Allred has set a standard for community involvement in Orange County through her extraordinary commitment and leadership in non-for-profit arts, education and health organizations. She is a member of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts board of directors and the Center's Angels of the Arts support group. Allred is also active with Pacific Symphony, Orange County Philharmonic Society, Pacific Chorale, South Coast Repertory, Laguna Playhouse, the Orange County Museum of Art and Bowers Museum.

Ashleigh Aitken is Of Counsel at Aitken - Aitken -Cohn, where she specializes in complex business litigation, class actions and major personal injury cases. Aitken, a graduate of USC Law School, is a former federal prosecutor, practicing in the Los Angeles and Santa Ana Office of the United States Attorney in the Central District of California. While serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, Aitken prosecuted cases involving armed bank robbery, narcotics, and mail and wire fraud, child pornography and firearms violations. She has tried several criminal cases and argued before the 9th Circuit.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution and as well as a beautiful multidisciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Photo Courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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