Mayor Teri Johnston on Sunday delivered a proclamation from the Key West City Commission to philanthropist Anne McKee on her 100th birthday. July 16 was proclaimed Anne McKee Day, and Mayor Johnston read the proclamation at a gathering of McKee's family and friends at her home. County Commissioner Jim Scholl also honored the day by reading a county proclamation establishing Anne McKee Day countywide.
“Anne McKee has worked for the betterment of Key West since arriving in 1971,” reads the proclamation, “taking action in support of the local arts."
She has served as Chair of the Monroe County Fine Arts Council, Trustee of the Florida State Cultural Commission, Director of the Florida State Cultural Alliance, and a charter member of the Key West Cultural Commission and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
She established the Anne McKee Artists Fund in 1992, which continues to provide project-based grants to artists, performers, and writers for the past 27 years.
McKee was honored as the Key’s American Red Cross named Anne as Humanitarian of the Year in 1998. Samuel’s House honored her as a Woman of Integrity in 2000, and in 2017 she received the Golden Mango Award from the Studios of Key West for her lifetime support of the arts.
In the year 2000, the Key West Woman's Club honored McKee as the Woman of the Year in the Arts.
McKee was presented with many awards and mementos from admirers, including one from Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Members of the Anne McKee Artists Fund board and the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys presented her with a book of artwork and personal messages from the many artists she has helped support throughout the years.
In the photo from L to R: Anne McKee on her 100th birthday with Sandy Higgs and Mayor Teri Johnston.