This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release April 14, 1999

          PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES RITA BASS, NORMA LEE FUNGER, 
               MARY FRENCH "MUFFY" MOORE AND YENI WONG 
           TO THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS 
         OF THE JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The President announced today his intention to appoint Rita Bass, Norma Lee Funger, Mary French "Muffy" Moore and Yeni Wong as members to the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Ms. Rita Bass Coors, of Golden, Colorado, is President and CEO of Medibanc, a company specializing in processing and billing 911 calls. Ms. Bass is Founder of Women in the Workplace, a Fellow of the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies, a board member of Population Services International, and a board member of Denver Health and Hospitals. Ms. Coors also endowed the Rita Bass Foundation at the University of Denver. Previously, Ms. Coors was co-Chair of the Listen Foundation, a member of the Colorado Commission on Economic Development, and a member of Denver's New World International Airport Commission. She also worked in her family's steel business. Ms. Bass is married to William Coors, Chairman of Coors Brewing Company and ACX.

Ms. Norma Lee Funger, of Potomac, Maryland, is associated with Long & Foster Realtors. She is a member of the board of the Children's Hospital Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, the Washington Jewish Community Foundation, and the Capital Campaign for The Children's National Medical Center. Ms. Funger is also a member of the Board of the Washington Performing Arts Society, a Patron of the National Gallery of Art and a member of the Laureates' Circle of the Kennedy Center. In 1989, Ms. Funger donated funds for construction of Funger Hall, a multi-functional building at The George Washington University. She attended Syracuse University and graduated from Wilson Teachers College.

Ms. Mary French "Muffy" Moore, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a ceramic artist. Ms. Moore currently serves on the boards of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art and Opera Colorado. She has served as Teton County Commissioner from 1977 to 1983, and was on the Board of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association and the Land Use Steering Committee for the National Association of County Officials. Ms. Moore has also served as Chair of the Wyoming Council on the Arts and as Director of the Teton Science School, the Jackson Hole Arts Association, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. She was Project Director of the Governor's Committee on Children's Services and a member of the Governor's Committee on Troubled Youth. Ms. Moore received her B.A. from Colorado University.

Ms. Yeni Wong, of Potomac, Maryland, is President and Chair of a number of business ventures, including Golden Palace Inc., Riverdale International, Inc., and Conrel Laboratories. Ms. Wong was a research chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and she is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, the Chinese Community Benevolent Alliance and the Temple of Cun Yum, in Washington, D.C. Ms. Wong is also a member of the Special Task Force for Community Safety, and an Executive Board Member of the Downtown DC Business Development District. She has received a number of awards, including the Business Award from the DC Chamber of Commerce, the Outstanding Leadership Award in Business and the Chinese Community for the organization of Chinese American Women, and the AARP Award for Selfless Commitments to Women's Rights.

The President's Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts advises and consults with the Board of Trustees for the Center, and makes recommendations to the Board regarding existing and prospective cultural activities to be featured at the center. In addition, the members of the Committee assist in the Center's fundraising efforts and act as liaisons to performance groups and performing arts centers throughout the nation.

30-30-30