Bill Edwards wins Lightning ‘Hero’ award

A local champion for the arts has won a prestigious award in Tampa Bay.

Bill Edwards, founder and CEO of Big3 Entertainment and the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts, was presented the Lightning Community Hero Award at the Jan. 9 Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game. A signature initiative of the Lightning Foundation, the award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to improve their communities. Since its inception in 2011, the program has honored “local heroes” at each of the Lightning’s home games, donating $50,000 to a nonprofit charity of the recipient’s choice.

The Lightning Foundation chose to recognize Edwards’ contributions to area youth and the arts, particularly his expansion and support of the Mahaffey Theater’s ClassActs Program, which offers free field trips for children to see live productions that are based on their school curriculum.

“We do educational shows in the theater for 2,000 children a show,” explained Edwards. “We also have what’s called BAM! Festivals, which stands for books, art and music. We do drum circles and actually bring in an artist and get easels and canvases so they learn how to paint. I’ve got a few of their paintings in my office right now.”

The $50,000 grant associated with the Lightning Community Hero Award will help the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts provide transportation for students to attend performances, ensuring the ClassActs Program remains entirely free for the 22,000 students it serves annually. While he appreciates the recognition he’s received, Edwards said, he’s most proud of how his philanthropic work impacts children’s lives.

“I’ve gotten letters and postcards and all kinds of stuff from children after they come here for a show or summer camp,” he said. “That’s the rewarding part. The program has grown from small shows for maybe 600 children to full-scale shows where we fill the whole place. The foundation pays for all of that; the children pay nothing, and we feed them lunch.”

Edwards said his foundation started from humble beginnings. and has only been able to grow thanks to the success of the programming he’s brought to the Mahaffey.

“I didn’t think it would grow this big, but as the theater started to succeed, more money went into the foundation,” Edwards said. “We have the right crew of people that do fundraising, they volunteer, and we have teachers that really make the whole program.”

Edwards’ recognition marks the 610th Lightning Community Hero award since the program’s inception. To date, the Lightning Foundation has granted $32.87 million to over 760 unique nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. 

More information about the Mahaffey ClassActs Program and Edwards’ philanthropic initiatives is available online at BillEdwardsFoundationfortheArts.org.

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