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Business for Culture and the Arts (BCA) on Wednesday will hold its annual 鈥�Arts Breakfast of Champions 鈥� Wherefore ART Thou?鈥� at the Portland Art Museum from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The event recognizes local donors and businesses whose contributions of time, energy and funding have helped keep the arts and cultural atmosphere vibrant and active.

Bart Eberwein of Hoffman Construction will receive the John C. Hampton Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts.

鈥淏art contributes more time and resources to 鈥� well, not just us, but the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Literary Arts, Oregon Arts Commission, the Oregon Symphony and so many others,鈥� said Jane Jarrett of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. 鈥淚t’s really amazing.鈥�

Eberwein, said, 鈥淚 do it because it’s fun. It’s also something that started when I joined this firm many years ago, and Eric Hoffman and Cecil and Wayne Drinkward told me to go for it, to involve myself in the community in any way I thought was important and they would be 100 percent supportive. It was already a part of the culture when I came on board, so my interest in the arts, our interest has become as much a natural extension of who we are as the projects we build. I’m really honored because of the name on the award, too. Those are big shoes to fill.鈥�

John C. Hampton drove the lumber industry and the arts culture in Portland after World War II, helping create a city where arts are integrated into business and daily life.

Neil Kelly will receive the Creative Arts/Business Partnership Award. Tom Breunig, Neil Kelly corporate marketing manager, explained the cooperative effort that worked both for the firm and the Portland Children’s Museum & Portland Festival Symphony.

鈥淲e committed to donate $100 every time we had a design consultation,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n addition to the initial corporate sponsorship, we’re happy to announce that we’ve dispersed over $5000. As a design firm, we’re more interested in the artistic elements that go into what we do. This is a step beyond that, and we see it as a necessary part of being involved in building communities in the Pacific Northwest.鈥�

Vigor Industrial will receive the Most Valuable Business Award for proving itself indispensable in efforts to advance arts and culture with donations of time, talent and funding.

Also, ZGF Architects will be recognized as the No. 1 donor to the arts in Oregon in the medium-size company category.