PORT ANGELES — A woman who died in 2014 has left $9 million to build a new performing arts center in Port Angeles, it was announced today.
Donna M. Morris, a Port Angeles woman who died at the age of 67, gave the money to the Peninsula College Foundation, which is serving as a conduit for the funds.
Morris left the gift to the nonprofit organization to be used “specifically for the design, construction and maintenance” of a facility in her hometown.
To ensure that the new center meets the needs of the local arts community, Morris directed in her will that her executor appoint a committee of local citizens to oversee the project.
A seven-member Performing Arts Center Committee was formed to select a location and design for the facility. It is an ad hoc committee to the Peninsula College Foundation.
“This is an incredibly generous gift to the citizens of our community,” said retired Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor, chairman of the advisory committee and Peninsula College Foundation board member.
“It demonstrates Donna M. Morris’ love of Port Angeles and her commitment to promoting the arts in our community. I am excited to be able to play a part in this project.”
Said foundation President Joe Floyd: “Our board is honored that Peninsula College Foundation has been chosen as the recipient of a gift of this magnitude.”
“We determined, as did the college leadership team, that the purpose of this gift is well within the mission of the foundation and also the college’s mission of serving the greater community through cultural enrichment and economic development,” Floyd said.
Committee members have been working quietly for several months to organize the project before today’s announcement.
No site for the performance art center has been identified.
“We are soliciting professional consulting services via a request for proposals (RFP), and we can now devote full attention to gathering and digesting input from the community as we move forward, and to engaging as many community partners as possible to maximize the potential of this gift,” Taylor said in a news release.
“It is the goal of the committee to honor the generosity of Donna M. Morris by creating something special for our community. We see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
