Christi C. Babbitt

After nearly 20 years of building Springville City's arts programs and bringing international attention to the community, Teddy Anderson is retiring from her job at the city offices.

A reception will be held in her honor on Friday, Jan. 13, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Springville City Council Chambers, 50 S. Main.

"Teddy has been an invaluable employee at the city and the city will miss her," said former Springville City Councilman Jay Knight.

Anderson has taken on many responsibilities at the city, including working to maintain the city's cemetery records and park reservations. However, her largest contribution to the city has been her work in the arts.

"Of all the jobs I've had, this has probably been the most rewarding, being able to see projects develop and become important parts of Springville's art history," she said.

Appointed to serve as a volunteer member of the Springville Arts Commission in 1986, she was hired in September of 1986 to work part-time for the city as administrator of a $450,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant. These funds were granted to help begin the Springville World Folkfest and development of the Spring Acres Arts Park as well as rehabilitate both the Springville Art Shop and historic Carnegie Library building.

Since then, Anderson has been a key player in these projects. Today, the Arts Park, located at 620 S. 1350 East in Springville, serves as a major outdoor performance venue that is the home of the Springville World Folkfest and the Neways Summer Concert Series as well as Art City Days events.

In 1986, her job also included serving as executive director of the Springville Arts Commission, a position she holds to this day. At the time, there was no executive director for the arts in the city, so she created the job's parameters as she helped oversee various arts commission projects.

These projects have included the Statues to Live By program through which sculptors donate their works to the city and the arts commission raises money to pay for casting the pieces in bronze. The works are then placed throughout the city for the public to enjoy; more than 40 statues have been placed in Springville through the program, with Anderson instrumental in working with the artists, raising funds for the statues and maintaining them once they are placed.

Anderson also helped set up the process through which Springville arts organizations can apply for grants from the Springville Arts Commission. Each year, the city council budgets an amount for the arts commission that the commission portions out to various organizations based on grant applications. Anderson has worked to oversee this process each year for the commission.

About 15 years ago, Art City Days was added to her list of responsibilities. She has served since then as the city staff member assigned to the celebration, working as liaison between the city and the celebration's volunteer committee. Her responsibilities have included helping to ready performance and event venues and managing the budget.

Anderson became a full-time employee of the city about 10 years ago; in addition to her arts duties and maintaining cemetery and park reservation records, her current responsibilities include operating the city switchboard and working as secretary for the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Anderson said her favorite work has been with the Springville World Folkfest, which had its first performances in 1986. Anderson began serving on the Folkfest's general board at its inception and has served as the festival's general director for about 15 years.

A week-long event held each summer, the Folkfest has grown under Anderson's leadership into one of the largest festivals of folk dance and music in the country. Folk dance groups from around the world travel to Springville each year and are housed in local homes. Through her work, the Folkfest and Springville City have become well-respected by folk dance enthusiasts and performers around the world.

Each year, Anderson has spent many hours extending invitations to dance groups and plowing through the bureaucratic red tape associated with bringing them into the United States, sometimes working with congressional representatives to do so. She also oversees all other aspects of the Folkfest with assistance from a volunteer board.

"Seeing it come about after a year of hard work is just really exciting and rewarding," Anderson said. "This brings the world into our community where the children and adults of our community have an opportunity to experience foreign cultures in their homes as host families and friends of the Folkfest."

During the past three years, she has also helped coordinate the Neways Summer Concert Series, again readying the Arts Park to accommodate large crowds, seeing to the needs of performers and working with ticket sales and advertising.

Delora Bertelsen, former Springville mayor and current chairwoman of the Springville Arts Commission, said Anderson's "energy and excitement about the commissions' projects and activities have enlivened each of us and have brought added value to Springville City and its citizens."

Anderson will continue working for the city until August on a part-time basis as an events coordinator and to assist the arts commission.

A lifelong Springville resident, Anderson is married to Phillip Anderson and is the mother of four children: Greg, Jeff, Terese and Stacy. She has eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.