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Sydney and J.L. Huffines give $1 million to Dallas Center for the Performing Arts DALLAS (September 12, 2006) - Longtime North Texas auto dealer J.L. Huffines, Jr. and his wife, Sydney Thweatt Huffines, have made a $1 million Cornerstone gift to the campaign to build the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Foundation officials announced today. Huffines, who owns seven automobile dealerships in the Dallas area, has been a generous supporter of his alma mater, Texas A&M University, and numerous civic, social service and cultural projects in Dallas and surrounding cities. But with excavation for the underground parking garage at the site in the Dallas Arts District downtown nearly completed and construction well underway, the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts has become a top priority for Mr. and Mrs. Huffines. Huffines said it is exciting to see progress on the Center and know it is becoming a reality for Dallas. He and his wife are pleased that their gift will keep the momentum going for a project that they know will change the face of the city when it opens in 2009. Huffines said he has never seen a fundraising effort as successful as the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts campaign and credited the Center’s leadership for its commitment and determination. “The success of our campaign depends on people like J.L. and Sydney Huffines,” said Bill Lively, President and CEO of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. “Through the years, they have been generous in so many areas. We are pleased that this is their largest gift for the cultural arts and that they believe in what we are doing and what it will mean for North Texas.” Caren Prothro, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, agreed that the contribution from Mr. and Mrs. Huffines is not only generous, but a welcome endorsement of the campaign. “When the Huffines become involved in your project, it means you are doing something very good for the community,” Ms. Prothro said. “With construction already underway at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts site, this donation comes during a very important and exciting period in our campaign.” The Huffines family has been in the automobile business in North Texas for more than eight decades. J.L. Huffines, Jr. opened his first dealership in Commerce in 1950 and continues to be active in the business today. He is equally involved in civic service and philanthropy. The Huffines have several endowed charities at UT Southwestern Medical School and are major supporters. The Sydney and J.L. Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at Texas A&M University is named for them as a result of their financial support. In 1999, they also endowed a faculty chair at A&M’s College of Education and Human Development. The Huffines’ auto dealerships have awarded grants to a variety of worthy projects including a literacy program in Plano, a retired and senior volunteer program in Denton and the Search One Rescue Team in Lewisville. And, Mr. and Mrs. Huffines have been a supporter of the Phoenix House for substance abuse treatment in Dallas. Huffines has served on the boards of the Southwestern Medical Foundation, AT&T Cotton Bowl, the Salesmanship Club and the State Fair of Texas. The Cornerstone gift from Mr. and Mrs. Huffines brings to 86 the number of North Texas families who have donated $1 million or more to the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. More than $205 million has been pledged to the Foundation’s campaign. At least 93 percent of the costs for the $275 million Center will be raised from private sources. Construction at the Center site in the Dallas Arts District downtown is on schedule with excavation for the 600-space subsurface parking structure nearing completion. Work is set to begin on the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House and Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in early fall. About the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts: The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theater and dance, will open in 2009, completing the 25-year dream of the Dallas Arts District. The most significant performing arts complex to be built since Lincoln Center in New York, the Center will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than ten acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that is unparalleled in the world. The Center will feature the following: |
