June 16, 2010
East Arkansas Community College-Forrest City
Press Release Release-Photos Attached (2)

The East Arkansas Community College Foundation has announced the naming of the Main Auditorium Entrance in the new EACC Fine Arts Center in memory of Ann Hawks Nimocks and Katherine Payne Leftwich. Both Ann Hawks Nimocks and Katherine Payne Leftwich were very interested and supportive of the arts in all forms. They were longtime friends who were both advocates and participants in many kinds of creative artistic expression.

The Nimocks-Leftwich Auditorium Entrance was given in memory of Ann Hawks Nimocks by her husband Alfred ‘Al’ B. Nimocks of Forrest City, her son Mallory Nimocks and wife Carla of Forrest City, son Byron Nimocks and wife, Emilie Murphy of Rye, New York, and daughter Madge Nimocks-Briggs and husband  David Briggs of Ipswich, Massachusetts. “Ann was always interested in the arts, particularly music,” said Al Nimocks. “She also took several art courses from Peter Haven at the College over the years so we thought this was an appropriate way to honor her memory. She and Katherine both shared a love of the opera and would meet in Memphis at the shows. We all thought it was appropriate to share this memorial between them both.” 

The family of Katherine Payne Leftwich provided their donation for the Main Auditorium Entrance in memory of Katherine Payne Leftwich who was the longtime social editor for the Times Herald and a tireless advocate of the arts. Donations were received through various fundraising events as well as from friends and members of the Leftwich family including Katherine’s daughter, Kaye Leftwich Knight and her husband Henry S. Knight, Jr. of Columbia, South Carolina. “Although Mother's primary passion was always music, she was an enthusiastic supporter of all the arts and would have been thrilled with the fabulous new performance facility at EACC,” said Kaye Leftwich Knight.  “She was so excited and proud to be part of this project, and I know she would have been especially pleased to share the honor with her long-time friend Ann.”

The EACC Fine Arts Center includes an Auditorium that seats 1,100, a state-of-the-art Stage, Orchestra Pit, a Black Box Theatre, a Banquet Hall, and a Gallery for art exhibitions. The building, considered a ‘Class A’ performance center, was designed with ‘flexible seating options’ to accommodate many different seating and table configurations and is able to host many types of meetings, performances and exhibits.

Leftwich Photo: Katherine Merrill Knight of Washington, D.C. and Kaye Leftwich Knight of Columbia, South Carolina

Nimocks Photo: Al Nimocks, Carla Nimocks and Mallory Nimocks, all of Forrest City