Thought for the Day

"As a supporter of the arts, I recognize the cultural and economic value of arts and humanities programs in our community. Each year, the arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity, and provides nearly 5 million full-time jobs. At the same time, it returns $10.5 billion to the federal government in income taxes and attracts new tourism dollars. Just as importantly, the NEA and NEH support life-long learning in the arts and humanities which is critical to the development of our children and to the cultural health of our society while art education has been shown to help close the education achievement gap, and benefit both children and adults. Studies have shown that kids have greater self-confidence, earn better grades, do better on exams, perform more community service, and watch fewer hours of television when they have arts education."

Congressman Jim Matheson
2nd District, Utah
in a June 15, 2007 letter to
Lori England
American Fork Arts Council Director