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The ArtsQuest Foundation has announced that Coca-Cola Bottling Co. executive Joseph Brake and Quakertown artist Steve Tobin will be the recipients of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Awards at the first Linny Awards ceremony this fall at SteelStacks. Brake will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement, Volunteer in the Arts Award, and Tobin will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Artist Award. The artist and volunteer awards are two of three honors chosen by the ArtsQuest Foundation Board to recognize distinguished individuals from the region for their longtime commitment and dedication to the arts. Earlier this summer, Oscar- and Tony Award-winning costume designer Ann Roth of Lower Mount Bethel Township was named the recipient of the Linnys' first Pinnacle of the Arts Award. The three recipients will receive their awards at the 2016 Linny Awards, set for 6 p.m. Nov. 10 in the ArtsQuest Center's Musikfest Cafe. "As an artist and philanthropist, Linny Fowler had an immeasurable impact on the arts in our region, and the Linny Awards are designed to recognize our thriving arts community, including our talented artists, arts educators, students and supporters of the arts," ArtsQuest Foundation Executive Director Jeff Parks says. "Joe Brake and Steve Tobin are two individuals who truly embody the spirit of what these awards are all about — dedication and passion for the arts and our community." Brake has been involved in the Lehigh Valley with numerous community, arts and cultural organizations for more than three decades. Brake, vice president and general manager of Coca-Cola Bottling Companies of Lehigh Valley and Chester County, serves on the boards of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Charities and Best Inc. and is a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors. He also has served on the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America-Minsi Trails Council, as a member of the executive committee of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the board of the Bach Choir, Lehigh Valley Partnership and the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley. Brake is the recipient of the Priscilla Payne Hurd Award from the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, the Lehigh Valley PICPA Service Award from the LifePath Foundation and the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America-Minsi Trails Council. He was the honorary chairman of fundraisers and campaigns for the American Lung Association, the Bethlehem Rotary Club, Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Pediatric Hospital's "Gala in the Garden." Steve Tobin is a sculptor and glass artist whose work, inspired by nature, is featured in many notable galleries and collections around the world and who has exhibited in major museums. Tobin is known for his "Trinity Root," the large-scale sculpture placed at St. Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan in 2005. During the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the chapel had been partly shielded from damage by a 70-year-old sycamore tree. Tobin created the bronze sculpture of the stump and roots of the tree. Tobin's root sculptures can be found in major cities ranging from Calgary, Canada, to Osaka, Japan. His art is featured in permanent public and private collections including those of the White House, Philadelphia Museum of Art, King Faisal's Palace in Saudi Arabia and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash. "Joe has done so much for our region and inspired so many through his generosity and his volunteerism, while Steve has really helped place the Lehigh Valley on the map as a home for world-class artists, so we are truly honored to present these two men with our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Awards," Parks says. For more information, visit artsquestfoundation.org. Read the original article here.