On May 2nd, the winners for the Spring Fine Art Festival were announced. There was a surprise award called the Ray H. Cornell Award. This is a rare award that is not given every year because it would defeat the purpose of the award.
The Ray H. Cornell was created ten years ago after the passing of Ray Cornell. His wife, Janet Cornell, created it to honor him. She chose to help fund art education because he always expressed an interest in art and, after taking a few classes here at Las Positas, “he was bitten by the art bug,” as Janet Cornell phrased it.
The award is not given every year because students don’t reach the requirements. In order to receive the award they have to meet two different criteria. Raw talents alone won’t win this award.
One, they must show an ability in the visual arts.
Two, they must demonstrate community spirit.
“This is the important one, a willingness to be of assistance to their fellow students in the art community,” Cornell said.