R S three cultural programming awards Lisa Campos Center Stage

49:21Not R S three?

49:26I was going over there to get it.

49:29All right. If you are here for as the uh winners of Cultural programming?

49:38Innovation and creative contribution award one.

49:40Innovation and creative contribution award. Winners in cultural programming. Please step up to the pogium. That's a long title.

49:50All right, I'll go ahead and read the resolution first.

49:55Resolution number 26-193, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, congratulating the innovation and creative contribution award winners in cultural programming. Whereas the Cultural Affairs Advisory Council was established by the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners in 2022 and was tasked with the development and implementation of an awards program designed to recognize outstanding cultural programs, workshops, and events that contribute significant

50:27meaningfully to the cultural landscape of Pasco County. This past year, the Council has has created the Innovation in Cultural Programming Award to recognize an outstanding individual and the Creative Contribution Award in Cultural and Arts Programming to recognize an outstanding organization. ANRAS, the Council has nominated and awarded Lisa Campos for the Innovation in Cultural Programming Award. Lisa serves as a Director of Invest Investigation

50:57Station and has recently created Florida Rocks, a walkthrough Geologic time. Exhibit for Pasco County citizens to experience for free. This innovative program embodies education, the public, educating the public through an exciting cultural topic. And RAS, the Council has also nominated and awarded Center Stage Youth Theater for the Creative Contribution Award in Cultural and Arts Performing. Center Stage currently offers over 18 programs and has

51:28six. Students and has recently partnered with Pasco County Library System to provide theater performances for Pasco County citizens at the Starkey Ranch Theater Library Cultural Center. And RAS, the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners recognizes the value of arts and culture to society, and today we honor Lisa Campos and Center Stage Youth Theater for their continued cultural contributions to Pasco County. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco

51:58County, Florida, that said board hereby congratulates the innovation and creative contribution award winners in cultural programming and thanks them for their contributions to Pasco County. Done and resolved in regular session with a quorum present and voting this 21st day of April 2026. Move to

52:15approve. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Mr. Starkey.

52:19Thank you. Um we normally don't sponsor two, but you know, as you know, I helped found this council and it's real um important to me as we bring some culture to the county. So I want to thank all of you um for your contribution and um What a great idea to do these awards. So I wanna um make sure that I get some stories and photos and I'll put it in my newsletter and make sure that we publicize this even more than um here today. So thank you all.

52:50Um I'm not sure if you guys know who all these people are, so I'm gonna have them introduce themselves and say what they do. So please everyone introduce yourself. And um except for our library director.

53:10Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Mary Beth Isaacson. I'm the chair of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Council. Thank you so much for sponsoring this council. It's our privilege and our pleasure to advocate for the arts in Pasco County. Pasco County has long had the reputation of being a cultural Backwater. You had to go to St. Petersburg or Tampa if you wanted to see a theatrical performance or go to the orchestra. Well, that's not true, folks. We have a thriving cultural art scene right here in Pasco County, and the award winners today

53:40are two shining examples of that, of the activities that are available for our residents here. This is part of what makes our community a thriving place and why people want to live in the community. In Pasco County and not in Pinellas or Hillsboro because they have the opportunities for these things here. And it's part of what makes this a premier county.

54:01I want everyone to talk. Hey. Campos, hi.

54:04Good morning. Thank you so much for having us. My name is Lisa Campos. I am the director of Investigation Station. And for the past almost 21 years now, we have been linking art and science for our Pasco County residents. We create interactive exhibits for kids and their caregivers to experience for free on their own time in Pasco County. County. We have a one-mile-scaled model of the solar system in Starkey Wilderness Park. We have a mobile STEM exhibit that moves through the Pasco County Library

54:35System. And we have a water cycle-themed splash pad at the Veterans Memorial Park in Hudson. And we are currently working with the city of Newport Ritchie to create this new geology exhibit called Florida Rocks, a walkthrough. uh geologic time. Uh if you'd like to come and support us tonight, Reuters is holding a fundraiser for us at Slice of Life from six to eight P. M.

54:58Nice. And I don't hear anything on the east side. So Commissioner Oakley and Commissioner Weightman, we gotta get some culture over there on the

55:06Any given Saturday, the Wesley Chapel Performing Art Center at the high school was booked in full. and the um Pasco and Andrew State College Performing Arts Center is often booked every weekend. We just had the Dade City Symphony play at Pasco Middle School. Very nice. And we just had uh the Heritage Arts Association annual uh event performance uh uh A uh an afternoon and a evening matinee that were

55:37completely full. So I am

55:38shocked that Weightman is the correct thus like like that. There you go. He was ready. You all four of me.

55:49Commissioner Starkey. In Pasco County, when you live on the east side, you're in heaven already.

55:58All

55:58right, come on come on up. Wait to hear how his program is evolved.

56:04Hi, my name is James Freud. I'm the co-founder and executive producing director for Center Stage Youth Theater. Um we started in twenty eighteen with forty-two students. students and we have grown exponentially from there. My co-founder and I, Anna, have been working hard to bring uh youth theater to this area and I would love to say it's all me and uh and her have done it all, but truly the the rate at which we've grown and the programs

56:35at which we have. We had one cast when we started. We now have eight casts, full casts, uh that perform at Generations Christian Church. And I will use this to plug my program too. We have Moana Jr. um being done uh May Second, third, and fourth. Uh so if you want to see some awesome youth theater done that there's no better place than center stage youth theater. Um but our our staff of we have eighteen uh staff members We have um that do Directing,

57:05choreographing, uh vocal technique for all these students. And our our program wouldn't have grown without these wonderful people. This is really a a um an award, a recognition for them and our staff because we they work endlessly. Uh our volunteers and I look forward to continuing to bring all of this. It's the most proud thing I've ever done. And I look forward to bringing even more of it to uh to Pasco County for a long, long time.

57:32Yeah, great job. Right. Hold on.

57:35My name is Charles Adar. I'm with the Museum of Archaeology, Paleontology and Science MAPS, and I'm also on the board with Mary Beth. And so we're proud of the work that these folks have done and when we're can we continue to recognize folks in the future for their work that they do.

57:51And if you haven't toured his facility and and I hope you're gonna be moving to that new big and better

57:58It's amazing. Can you can you tell the commissioners what you have?

58:03Um yeah, we have collections from all over the world. We're involved in marine archaeology. on land archaeology. I hope to see a couple of commissioners in Panama in June. We'll be we have a couple of spots open for that. We also work in paleontology. We have dinosaur digs in different places in the world. And there's a lot of other different geology and things. We have some of the largest collections of pre-Columbian in the southeastern US with 7,000 artifacts. And we have about 600 artifacts from shipwrecks, including a

58:33Titanic spoon. We have a dinosaur egg with a baby dinosaur in it. So we have some pretty incredible collections and we are looking to move to a much bigger location. So we're working on that for this year. So It is phenomenal what you have.

58:45Yeah, really is awesome. And if I could j just say one more thing, I'd also like to thank Sean McGarvey, Library Director, Robert Spike from Pasco Libraries, Ben Deal, Pasco Libraries, Tanisha Auden, also Pasco Libraries, and everyone on the libraries, parks, and tourism teams, as well as some former library folks who are here with us today, help who help make all of these wonderful events possible. We thank them so much for all of their support. I really

59:11so I see Ben in the back, so maybe the other uh parks and libraries people can come forward too. And and do the picture in front.

59:18That's right.

59:22Awards that they want to present? Yeah.

59:24Do you have some awards to present? Okay, are you gonna do that in our photo? Is that what you or how do you wanna do the awards? Well no however you guys want to do it. But you gotta step up if you're doing it.

59:34No no no it's let's present.

59:36Yeah. Yeah.

59:37here. What?

59:40All right, let's call up first uh Lisa Campos. for your Innovation and Culture Programming Award.

59:57And then next up we have Center Stage Youth Theater for our creative contribution in Arts and Culture Awards.

1:00:10Okay,

1:00:10we're gonna come down and take a photo.

1:00:12What why don't you just stay down there, Commissioner Starkey? I think alone stay up there.

1:00:17I only have one actually the one you have

1:00:19to recruit

1:00:19in

1:00:19your

1:00:20own.

1:00:22You can blend this nice place.

1:00:25Okay, I apologize. Only one of these is in a frame. We'll we'll run and get get um uh get a frame. Okay.

1:00:36All right, right?

1:00:59All right. Yay.