Langston honored for county arts leadership

CEDAR RAPIDS - Americans for the Arts, a non-profit arts advocacy organization in Washington D.C., has presented the 2009 National Award for County Arts Leadership to Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston.

Langston received the award at the National Association of Counties annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

Langston has helped provide $75,000 in public money for the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, in response to last year's major flooding that devastated Linn County and Eastern Iowa. She is promoting a public art fund for new construction and re-construction as part of the flood rebuilding efforts. She is also a strong supporter of the Linn County Historical Society.

Before being elected to the Linn County Board of Supervisors in 2002, Langston served as director of The History Center in Cedar Rapids for more than four years. She has supported the arts on a national level as immediate past chair of the National Association of Counties' Arts and Culture Commission.

“Langston is a dedicated leader for the arts in Linn County and Cedar Rapids. Her support in the county has not only increased funding for the arts and cultural sector, her work has had a positive impact on the lives of local residents,” said Robert. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

Americans for the Arts established the National Award for County Arts Leadership in 1999.