Billie Jo and Judd Herberger are committed to a thriving arts culture.

“We feel art is a beginning for everybody’s life,” Billie Jo says. “Looking, hearing, seeing… the arts are energizing.”

Each of their parents was philanthropic, and giving is “just a natural thing,” Judd says. “It’s sort of built into our DNA.”

“We feel we’re carrying on a legacy of great parents who built a community of arts and great things,” agrees Billie Jo.

The couple stays involved with the same organizations every year, and the list is extensive – all seven of the theater companies that are part of the Herberger Theater Center, plus The Phoenix Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Arizona Citizens for the Arts, Cosanti Foundation, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Philharmonic, The Phoenix Symphony, Valley Youth Theatre and Scottsdale Arts. They are also involved with Release the Fear, American Heart Association, Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, The Salvation Army and CASA.

In October 2019, the Herbergers join names such as Hugh Downs, Pat McMahon, Leslie Nielson and Alice Cooper in being inducted into the Herberger Performing and Broadcast Arts Hall of Fame. The induction is special not only because this year marks the venue’s 30th anniversary season, but also because Judd’s parents were the first inductees, bringing the honor full circle within the family.

This past year has brought other special moments, as well. On the 50th anniversary of her graduation from Northern Arizona University, Billie Jo was recognized on the cover of the school’s alumni magazine.

Judd Herberger passed away on October 7, 2021

Ellie and Michael Ziegler’s impact on the community is evident in the lives they’ve touched, and the places they’ve created.

The Ziegler Fiesta Bowl Museum in downtown Scottsdale showcases the greatest moments in college bowl history. For 20-plus years Ellie volunteered for the Fiesta Bowl, serving on the board and then as the 2006-2007 chairman. She was the first person to chair three bowl games in the same season – the Fiesta Bowl, the national championship game and the Insight Bowl. When the museum opened in 2006, the Zieglers were offered the naming rights in honor of their contributions of time and resources.

The couple supports sports scholarships and programs at Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Drake and Duke universities, as well as the University of Arizona.

From 1993 to 2000, Ellie served on the board of Scottsdale Cultural Council. She was instrumental in founding Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, eventually serving as its chairman.

Passionate about the arts, education, human services and health care, in 2015, the Zieglers provided a suite to be used by families of critically ill patients at Barrow Neurological Institute. In 2017, they helped expand the adult acute leukemia center at HonorHealth.

Inspired by Ellie’s grandfather, founder of the first Boys & Girls Clubs in central Iowa, the Zieglers support the Clubs locally. In 2017 they launched a challenge grant to fund the renovation of the Scottsdale Vestar Club, creating The Ellie & Michael Ziegler Teen Center. For six years, the couple has collaborated with Kohl’s department stores to sponsor back-to-school shopping for thousands of children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

In the name of Ellie’s late mother, Maddie Levitt, they’ve provided college scholarships to Youth of the Year candidates from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix, as well as summer camp scholarships for BGCMP club members.

Ellie Ziegler passed away on December 21, 2021

In 2004, the Mary Ellen & Robert McKee Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale in Fountain Hills opened its doors, an honor Mary Ellen says was a “huge surprise.”

While a surprise to the McKees, it was a fitting tribute to a couple that has given so much to the organization and impacted the lives of so many.

For almost 40 years, from the time it was the Boys Club through its evolution to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, Mary Ellen volunteered with the Clubs. She was the first woman on the men’s board, started the organization’s foundation, was president of the auxiliary, founded the Angels for Kids program and more. In 2011 she was honored with the National Service to Youth Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and in 2017, was the first person named Trustee Emeritus from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

A desire to impact children and the loss of a son in a previous marriage – and the thoughts of what would have happened if he had needed a role model growing up – initially led her to the organization.

When tragedy later struck again with the deaths of two of the McKees’ grandsons, one from a rare disease and one from spina bifida, the couple became involved with Barrow Neurological Institute, funding gene research. Mary Ellen also gave her time, volunteering on the Women’s Board of Barrow Neurological Foundation for more than 30 years, where she held positions ranging from ball chair to chairman of the board.

In addition to children and health, the McKees are passionate about preserving the history of the community. Since 2000, Mary Ellen has been involved with the Heard Museum, volunteering on committees, serving as a board member and chairing the event now called Moondance. She is now a life trustee. Mary Ellen is also a longtime supporter of the Arizona Costume Institute at Phoenix Art Museum.

Robert McKey passed away on February 23, 2022. 

As guests meander into the Desert Botanical Garden, they pass through the Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal. The feature in the heart of the garden is a place where visitors can enjoy the plantings – and shade from an architectural trellis. The portal, which debuted in 2015, was conceived by Tom Lewis as a surprise to honor his wife, Jan, who has served on the board of Desert Botanical Garden for more than a decade.

Tom is the founder of the T.W. Lewis Company, a Phoenix-based real estate investment firm. Jan serves not only on the Desert Botanical Garden board, but also on the Florence Crittenton board and the Women’s Board of Barrow Neurological Foundation, and she is active in ASU Women and Philanthropy.

As with the Desert Botanical Garden feature, most of their giving is in Arizona, their home since 1979. During this past year, they dedicated significant matching gifts to both Barrow Neurological Institute and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center.

At Barrow, funds will establish the Jan & Tom Lewis Migraine Treatment Program, offering multidisciplinary patient-care options and leading research and clinical trials. Jan, a migraine sufferer, receives treatment at Barrow, enabling her to wake up in the morning without incapacitating pain. She wants others to experience the same relief.

The gift to the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center will establish a first-of-its kind Melanoma Center of Excellence. This gift is personal for Tom, who lost his father to melanoma at age 66 and has also had melanoma.

Through the T.W. Lewis Foundation, established in 2000, they provide leadership and financial support to multiple nonprofits that help children and families in need. Since 2002 they have awarded more than 200 college scholarships – to students attending Arizona schools as well as students at the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina, Tom’s alma maters. A recent gift – the single largest in the school’s history – established the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky.

If you live in Arizona and look closely, you will see the handprints of Karl Eller. His success, community mindedness and generosity have impacted the entire state. In March 2016, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce presented Eller with the 2016 Heritage Award for his accomplishments and commitment to Arizona.

Married to his college sweetheart, Joan “Stevie” Stevens, Eller built a legendary business career that included both success and failure – and ultimately success. During those years, he was making his mark in other ways as well.

Eller became integral in luring professional sports to Arizona. In 1967, he was the lead investor in a group from Phoenix that brought the original Phoenix Roadrunners hockey team to the Valley. In 1968, he was one of the founding investors in the Phoenix Suns. In 1971, he was one of the founders of the Fiesta Bowl. In 1978 he was instrumental in getting Arizona State University and the University of Arizona accepted into the Pac 8, later renamed the Pac 10. In 1988, Eller and a group of Phoenix businessmen were responsible for bringing the St. Louis Cardinals to Arizona.

Eller funded the Karl Eller Center for the Study of the Free Enterprise Economy at the University of Arizona in 1983 and the UA’s Eller MBA Programs were named for him in 1987. The UA Eller College of Business and Public Administration was named for him

in 1999 (later renamed the Eller College of Management). The Stevie Eller Dance Theatre was completed in 2003 on the UA campus. In 2004, he chaired the fundraising effort for the Arizona Centennial. And over the years, he and Stevie have made the significant monetary contributions to Barrow Neurological Foundation.

In receiving the Heritage Award, Eller joined the ranks of other prominent Arizonans from many walks of life whose accomplishments are recognized not only in the state but also nationally and internationally.

Karl Eller passed away on March 10, 2019.

Former Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig and his wife, Sue, gave $2.5 million in March 2015 to Phoenix Art Museum. Sue Selig is on the museum’s board of trustees.

The Seligs, who live in Scottsdale, also support arts and cultural groups in their home state of Wisconsin, where before he assumed MLB’s top executive position, Selig owned the Milwaukee Brewers.

Their gift will be used toward the funding of a chief curator, who will develop an overall exhibitions and collections strategy for the museum. Recently at Phoenix Art Museum, the position of chief curator has been the responsibil- ity of the museum’s director. Making it a stand-alone position will allow the director to concentrate efforts on fundraising and expanding the international visibility of the museum.

“Bud and I truly love Phoenix Art Museum and wanted our contribution to be applied toward something that is instrumental in the growth of this won- derful institution,” says Sue Selig. “This museum holds a special place in our hearts, and we hope our contribution allows it to develop into a museum that is recognized both nationally and internationally.”

The Selig Family Chief Curator will have curatorial oversight of exhibitions, collections and programming, and will provide strategic leadership to the museum’s curatorial staff.