2026 Honorary Chairs
This year’s Hooray for Englewood: Havana Nights celebrates community, connection, and the vibrant energy created when people come together around a shared purpose. Much like the spirit of Havana itself—filled with music, gathering, creativity, resilience, and culture—Englewood Arts continues to grow through the relationships, generosity, and vision of people who believe deeply in community.
This year, we are honored to recognize two couples whose leadership, advocacy, and dedication have helped shape not only Englewood Arts, but the broader Independence and Kansas City communities. Through decades of service, relationship-building, and belief in the power of connection, Terry and Betty Snapp and Steve and Joan Israelite have each played an instrumental role in helping Englewood Arts grow into the welcoming and creative community-centered organization it is today.
Terry & Betty Snapp
For more than 50 years, Terry Snapp and Betty Snapp have dedicated themselves to serving the Independence community through leadership, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to helping others.
Terry’s career spanned pharmacy, nonprofit leadership, and community development through organizations including Neighborhood Councils of Independence, Share, Inc., Park University, and Truman Medical Centers Foundation. Betty became a regional advocate for children with developmental disabilities and co-founded Sunshine Center School, helping expand educational services for children and families throughout Eastern Jackson County.
As a passionate advocate for the Englewood neighborhood, Terry became deeply involved in the creation of Englewood Arts and served as the organization’s founding board president. His leadership helped guide Englewood Arts through the transformation of the building into the thriving community arts center it is today. Together, Terry and Betty have remained dedicated to building stronger communities through generosity, kindness, and connection.
As Honorary Chairs for Hooray for Englewood: Havana Nights, Terry and Betty represent the heart of community-centered leadership and the belief that lasting impact begins with people investing in one another.
Steve & Joan Israelite
Steve Israelite and Joan Israelite have long championed the arts, education, and community connection throughout Kansas City. Through decades of civic involvement, university leadership, and arts advocacy, they have helped shape and strengthen the region’s cultural landscape.
Together, Steve and Joan became deeply engaged supporters of UMKC and the arts community, serving on advisory boards, committees, and initiatives focused on connecting universities, artists, and the broader community.
Recognizing the importance of affordable creative spaces and community-centered revitalization, Steve and Joan became early champions of Englewood Arts and its mission to combine art, education, attainable housing, and neighborhood revitalization. Through countless conversations, tours, and introductions, they helped build critical early momentum for Englewood Arts and its growing impact within the community.
Their leadership, encouragement, and belief in the power of creativity continue to bring people together and strengthen the region’s arts community.
As we celebrate Havana Nights, we are reminded that thriving communities are built through people who open doors, bring others together, and invest in something greater than themselves. Terry and Betty Snapp and Steve and Joan Israelite embody that spirit through their generosity, encouragement, leadership, and belief in the power of creativity and community connection.
We are deeply grateful for their lasting impact on Englewood Arts, the Englewood neighborhood, and the countless individuals and organizations they have inspired along the way.
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Hooray for Englewood: Havana Nights
Saturday, May 30, 2026 | 7–10 PM
Join us for an unforgettable evening of tropical elegance, Cuban-inspired cuisine, live entertainment, and community celebration at the Englewood Arts Center. Enjoy a vibrant night under the stars while supporting the future of Englewood Arts through arts programming, workshops, and accessibility improvements.