The board and staff of the Arizona Commission on the Arts lost a colleague and dear friend this past weekend. Carolyn Allen, vice chair of the Commission’s governing board and a former state legislator, died on Saturday, August 27, 2016, at the age of 78.
For those who had the pleasure and privilege of knowing Senator Allen, the past week has been one of reflection and fond remembrance. We have been gathering some of these thoughts and memories throughout the week. We present them below in celebration of her life and her work.
“Senator Carolyn Allen, true to Arizona values, was a strong voice for individuality, hard work, and perseverance. Her dedication to making Arizona a place for all people and her understanding of the public value the arts bring to our communities and the education of our young people will long remain a guiding force and source of inspiration. I am one of many who will miss her dearly.”
– Robert C. Booker, Executive Director, Arizona Commission on the Arts
“Carolyn has been an arts advocate throughout her long and distinguished career of public service. In addition to her wonderful sense of humor she was an insightful source of direction and strategy for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.”
– Mark Feldman, Commission Chair, Arizona Commission on the Arts
“So much has been said about Senator Allen’s contributions to Arizona, her ferocity, her wit. She was a presence. She loved this state and its people, and when some of those people selected her – trusted her to lead – she appreciated the responsibility of their faith in her, and felt duty-bound to fight for smart, compassionate public policy.
Carolyn knew that I felt called to community leadership and she took an interest in my development. I’ll always be grateful for this generosity. I also feel lucky to have been present to hear many of her stories about old Arizona politics: stories of unlikely partnerships, creative collaborations, wild harebrained schemes, western perseverance, and impossible-to-predict outcomes. Teeming with knowledge and memories of the collective history of this place. There are so many things I’d still like to ask her!
Her contributions were enormous, and lasting, and she will be greatly missed. What a remarkable woman, what an inspirational life.”
– Jaime Dempsey, Deputy Director, Arizona Commission on the Arts
“Carolyn Allen was one of a kind and I miss her greatly both as a friend and professional colleague and arts advocate.
She was engaged, informed, and passionate about a lot of issues including the arts, the environment and those in our community needing special assistance including people on welfare, people with disabilities, people suffering with arthritis.
You always knew where she stood with Carolyn; she was direct and disarming with both her allies and adversaries. And she had a wicked sense of humor.
While in the State Legislature, she was the “go to” person for the arts. She made it no secret that arts funding was on her ‘going home list’ and that arts funding had to be secure before she would vote to approve the budget.
For many years, it was Carolyn Allen’s belief, support, and action in support of the arts that set the standard for legislative arts advocacy.”
– Shelley Cohn, Executive Director (1984-2005), Arizona Commission on the Arts
“Carolyn Allen was an arts advocate extraordinaire. When she and Jack moved to Scottsdale, one of the first things she did was sign up as a volunteer at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. She had worked in party politics in Colorado and understood the political system and how to be an effective Advocate! She was soon recruited to the Board of the Center for the Arts (SACA, in those days), and would become their first Executive Director when it became an independent organization. She guided it skillfully and effectively in a challenging time.
When she was asked to run for the Arizona House of Representatives, she was handily elected, having served the community in the arts, at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, as a Founder of Las Rancheras Republican Women’s Club, Scottsdale Planning Commission – she was already held in high esteem by her colleagues, friends, and the community.
She was elected to the Arizona Senate when she had termed out in the House.
The arts in Arizona were the beneficiary of the respect and high regard she earned from her elected colleagues. Republicans joined Democrats in supporting consensus budgets that included the arts, which brought Carolyn huge satisfaction, as did her work in health care and the environment. (The arts community cannot alone proclaim her as their advocate extraordinaire.)
She was honored and proud to have been appointed by Governor Brewer as Vice Chair of theArizona Commission on the Arts. She took her position very seriously, and enjoyed the collegiality and professionalism she encountered there. Thus, she continued to make a difference in the arts even after serving the citizens of Arizona in an elected capacity for sixteen years.
This feisty, unpretentious woman, shaped by a childhood in Mark Twain’s Hannibal, Missouri, was a warrior when it came to things she cared about – and at the top of that list were her small family and her legion of friends. We were all fortunate that the arts were next on that list! And even more fortunate if we could say we were a friend of Carolyn Allen.”
– Sam Campana, Mayor (1996-2000), City of Scottsdale
