(February 25, 2025) — The Junior League of Longview, a nonprofit service organization that founded
Longview Museum of Fine Arts, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Arts!Longview Lifetime
Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence.
The Junior League of Longview will be recognized on Saturday, January 24, 2026, during the fourth
annual Arts!Longview Honors celebration. Arts!Longview Honors is a one-night, Broadway-style event
celebrating the Arts!Longview Cultural District, its eight arts and culture partner organizations, and
recognizing the Lifetime Achievement honoree. Past honorees are Pat George Mitchell, founder of
Longview Ballet Theatre; Dr. James Snowden, founder of Longview Symphony Orchestra and East Texas
Symphonic Band; and Barbara Richardson McClellan, who led the efforts to establish Theatre Longview.
“As a service organization, the Junior League of Longview has played an integral role in our community –
and especially in our arts community – for eight decades,” Arts!Longview Executive Director Christina
Cavazos said. “The League knew that every great city with a thriving cultural arts hub has a great art
museum, and in 1958, they established the beginning of our incredible art museum. Since then, LMFA
has blossomed into a hallmark museum in downtown Longview with a world-class art collection for our
community and the greater East Texas area to enjoy.”
The Junior League of Longview was established in 1940 by 14 charter members. The League is an
organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and
improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
In 1958, the League began conducting annual art invitational competitions among area artists and
purchased the winning art pieces each year. Those art pieces formed the beginnings of an art collection
for the museum, and in 1972, the museum officially received its charter.
The paintings were originally housed in the Nicholson Memorial Library and later moved to the
museum’s former location on College Street. The museum has grown extensively since its early years. In
1998, LMFA moved to its home on Tyler Street and is now in the process of renovating its new location
at the corner of Fredonia Street and Methvin Street. The museum currently has both locations open,
with a George Rodrigue exhibit on display at the Fredonia Street location through May.
“I and the LMFA Board of Directors are very proud to be standing on the determination and vision of
these great ladies and we are thrilled Junior League of Longview, formerly the Junior Service League, is
being honored in 2026 with this recognition,” said Tiffany Jehorek, executive director of Longview
Museum of Fine Arts. “We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ Well, these
ladies took that phrase to heart and started the museum's permanent collection that we still share with
the community today.”
Jehorek noted that Jane Akins has been her mentor. Akins was part of the Junior League in 1958 when
the art collection began, and she recently celebrated her 95th birthday.
“Back in 2008 when I was president of the Board leading LMFA through its 50-year anniversary
celebrations, Jane regaled me and others with stories of how she and the League Ladies were part of a
group called the ‘Picture Ladies.’ This group went to the schools with large portfolios of laminated
photos of paintings to teach the students about the great artists of the world like Renoir, Monet,
VanGogh,” Jehorek said. “Later the League Ladies began collecting art painted by early Texas Regionalist
artists to start the museum’s permanent collection. … Without the Junior League of Longview there
would be no Longview Museum of Fine Arts. It was this group of dedicated women that in 1958 knew
that ‘every great city has an art museum and the cultural arts,’ and they set about making that happen.”
McClellan, who received the 2025 Arts!Longview Lifetime Achievement Award, is also a longtime
member of the Junior League. McClellan said the League’s projects have benefited Longview in
“unbelievable” ways.
“Through the years and to the present time, the Junior League has been involved in many areas of
service to our community,” McClellan said. “Though the art community is not the only recipient of the
many volunteers and resources of the area, the League has played a major role in the establishment of
the Longview Museum of Fine Art, as well as the Symphony, the original children’s theater, and
countless other art entities.”
The League operated a children’s theatre for several decades, prior to the establishment of ArtsView
Children’s Theatre in 2004. McClellan chaired the children’s theatre for many years with the League.
Additionally, the League also has been involved over the years with some of Arts!Longview’s other
partner organizations, including the Longview Symphony and Longview World of Wonders.
“Junior League of Longview has been proud to sponsor and start many arts programs here in Longview
in our 85 years of existence,” said Meredith May, current president of Junior League of Longview. “It is
our privilege to serve the community, and we are grateful for this recognition.”
Arts!Longview Honors is the signature fundraiser for Arts!Longview, a nonprofit organization that
manages the state-designated Cultural District. The Honors celebration features a stunning Broadway-
style program with performances by Longview’s performing arts groups as well as the presentation of
the Lifetime Achievement Award for Artistic Excellence. The evening also features a reception with hors
d’oeuvres and an open bar, live music throughout the evening, and more.
The 2026 Honors event is currently open to sponsorships, which range from $500 to $10,000. For
sponsorship details, email Cavazos at director@artslongview.org.