News and Events

21st Annual Founders Day Honors Volunteer Leaders

Each year, Kennedy Heights Arts Centers recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Arts Center’s mission through their leadership and volunteer service through awards presented at our annual Founders Day event. The 21st Annual Founders Day will be held on Sunday, April 27 from 2-4 pm.

We are pleased to announce this year’s honorees.

Donita Parrish, Kennedy Award

Donita Parrish discovered Kennedy Heights Arts Center through family friends (and KHAC founders) Jim and Susan Zarnowicki. She recalls attending her first Winterfest in 2007, shortly after she and her husband Paul moved to Pleasant Ridge.

Upon joining the board, Donita took on the role of vice president and then president from 2018 to 2024. Her outstanding leadership during a pivotal time in KHAC’s history earned her this year’s Kennedy Award, honoring exceptional contributors to the mission.

Some of the work Donita is proudest of may not be obvious to KHAC visitors but has a significant impact on those who work for the Center. “I’m very proud that we improved some personnel policies and made it possible for the Arts Center to start offering health insurance,” she says. She’s also proud of the work KHAC has done in conjunction with the OF/BY/FOR ALL Change Network, a program for cultural organizations that provides an intentional framework to help make them more inclusive, equitable, and relevant.

Asked what experiences at the Arts Center stand out most to her, Donita points to the Center’s artist-in-residence programs. In fact, one such program reunited her with college friends from Cleveland’s Inlet Dance Theatre a few years ago.

Donita’s experience with KHAC will resonate with many people for whom the Center is part of the fabric of family life. “The Arts Center has impacted my life by helping me stay connected—and reconnect—with art,” she says. “With the demands of parenting and working full-time, having the Arts Center in the neighborhood has made participating in creative endeavors possible for me at different times when my kids were growing up. Also, it’s been a third place for my kids—one who’s in college and one who’s graduating high school—through summer camps, classes, and Teen Artists for Change.”

Thank you, Donita, for making Kennedy Heights Arts Center a more inclusive and welcoming place for all families!

David Gruber, Volunteer Award

David Gruber has been involved with Kennedy Heights Arts Center almost since its founding. A Kennedy Heights resident at the time, he attended many events and exhibits at the fledgling organization. Later, he helped plan the Jazz in the Heights concert series, which led to his joining the Board about a year later.

David’s impact on the Arts Center has literally blossomed through the years: As a board member and chair of the Facilities Committee from 2018 to 2024, he led efforts to revamp the Center’s campus. Inspired by the lush landscape created by Lee DeRhodes, he worked to preserve and enhance this legacy. His dedication went beyond leadership—he could often be found in the garden himself, pulling weeds and tending to plants. The garden project remains one of David’s proudest contributions to KHAC.

David’s leadership and hands-on dedication have ensured that the Arts Center remains a beautiful, welcoming space for all. We are honored to recognize him with this year’s Volunteer Achievement Award.

Some of David’s fondest memories of KHAC include working with staff and board members to create collage art with artist June Daley, and experiencing Wing Yung Huie’s photography exhibit. Speaking to the latter about his motivations, David says, challenged him to consider questions like, “What is my identity? How do I fit into the world? How might my life be different if…?”

David has always enjoyed exploring visual and performing arts across a wide range of styles and periods. In college, he was exposed to the artistic forms of African cultures, which broadened his perspective on the role of art and artistic expression in societies. It also gave him a way to understand more of the world outside of the US and Europe that had made up the majority of his academic experiences to that point. “I continue to explore diverse art in my travels and through exhibitions that come to Cincinnati,” says David. “When you look at the range of programs KHAC offers, it is a remarkable diversity of art forms, ideas and expression that you can experience here.”

Thank you, David, for all you’ve done! Because of you, the Arts Center will continue to bloom for many years to come.

All are invited to join us for the 21st Annual Founders Day celebration on Sunday, April 27 from 2 to 4 pm. The program starts at 2:30 pm. Free.

RSVP appreciated by April 22.