BEA Receives Endowment to Establish the Diana King Memorial Awards Fund

BEA has received a one-million-dollar grant to endow and establish the Diana King Memorial Awards Fund of the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation in memory of the founder, President and Chair, Ms. Diana King.

The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation has been the sponsor of the BEA Festival of Media Arts for over 15 years. Diana King established the Foundation in 1988 to support individuals and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development in film, television and the media.

“The Festival of Media Arts would not be what it is today without the Foundation’s longstanding sponsorship and generous annual contributions,” said Heather Birks, BEA’s executive director.  “Hundreds of faculty and students have been recognized and rewarded for their creative excellence because of Diana King’s commitment to BEA and the Festival.  We are thrilled to continue the competition in her memory.” BEA President Tony DeMars said, “the endowment grant ensures that the financial sustainability of the festival will continue indefinitely for the benefit of many future generations of media educators and students.”

“The Foundation has been honored to be associated with the BEA Awards and the Board of Trustees has determined to insure the perpetual existence of the Diana King Memorial Awards with this endowment,” said  Eugene V. Kokot, who succeeded Ms. King as Chairman and President of the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation.

Best of Festival winners are honored at the BEA Best of Festival King Foundation Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas as part of BEA’s annual convention each April.  The red carpet event celebrates the achievements of the top winners in each of the 18 competition categories. Recipients are recognized with a specialized screening of their winning project and a cash award of $1,000 from the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation.  Winners are selected from a pool of over 1,700 entries, representing over 300 colleges and universities in the following competitions: audio, documentary, film & video, interactive multimedia, news, scriptwriting, sports and two-year colleges.  Beginning in spring of 2021, BEA’s “Best of Festival Award” will be renamed the “Diana King Memorial Award.”