ISLAND TREASURE AWARDS 2009

Kathleen Thorne and Alan Simcoe honored at the 2009 Island Treasure Awards Tenth Anniversary Celebration.

Ask Islanders and they will tell you that Bainbridge Island is rich in cultural opportunities. So many individuals find countless ways to enrich and support our cultural lives. Beyond the many volunteer and philanthropic ways that Islanders support the arts and humanities, there are those who have made particularly outstanding contributions to our community. Ten years ago the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council created the Island Treasure Awards to recognize these individuals. Following a double-blind process based on the MacArthur Genius Fellowship Grants, each year ten individuals are asked to anonymously nominate Islanders who they think have demonstrated ongoing commitment to their field and have served as an inspiration to others in the community. From these nominations, a panel of five (who also remain anonymous) is asked to choose two Island Treasures. In a public celebration including an awards ceremony and banquet, the Island Treasures are presented with a signature Island Treasure candleholder designed by Kent VanSlyke, and cash prize.

This year BIAHC announces that Kathleen Thorne and Alan Simcoe are the 2009 Island Treasures.

THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION

This year marks the 10th anniversary celebration of the Island Treasure Awards. The Awards Ceremony will also honor past Island Treasures and the over 120 individuals who have worked as nominators and panel members. Special to the anniversary, photographer Joel Sackett, with the generous backing of an island resident, is putting together a photographic commemorative of the past and present Island Treasures with graphic designer Jeanette Alexander. Copies of the booklet will be available for purchase after the event at the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council office.

ISLAND TREASURE AWARDS

Created in 1999, this special award honors excellence in the arts and/or humanities, and is presented annually to two individuals judged Island Treasures by the Bainbridge Island community. Candidates for the award have lived on Bainbridge Island for at least three years and have displayed an ongoing commitment to their chosen field.

The Island Treasure selection process was modeled after the MacArthur Fellows Program. Ten nominators chosen from a pool recommended by the Arts and Humanities Council each identified one or two outstanding candidates. Candidates' names and descriptions of accomplishments were then submitted to a five member jury comprised of individuals drawn from every aspect of the Bainbridge Island community to ensure representation of a wide range of experience. The names of the two award recipients were then approved by the BIAHC Board. Complete anonymity of nominators, jurists and recipients was maintained throughout the process.

The Island Treasure Awards are designed to provide a cash prize of $3,000 and community recognition for the ongoing contributions of the recipients. The design for the Island Treasure award was created by Island artist Kent Van Slyke.

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2009 Island Treasure Awards (pdf) >>

PROFILES:

Kathleen Thorne started as a BIAHC volunteer over fourteen years ago. She served as a program manager for the Council until she resigned last August to pursue other work. She has served as editor of Currents, as well as managed, created, and supported a wealth of cultural programs including: the Humanities Inquiry series, Poetry Corners and National Poetry Month events, Celluloid Bainbridge, Great Decisions at the Library, and Artist Round Tables. Add to that the many collaborations such as Bainbridge and Beyond Reads, the 2007 Greg Mortensen lecture, and the Living Library series. In addition, Thorne has worked and volunteered with other organizations such as Bainbridge Performing Arts, Bainbridge Island Historical Society, West Sound Wildlife Shelter, and Sustainable Bainbridge. While the former literature major and self-described “humanities junkie” resolutely asserts that she doesn’t have artistic talent of her own – although she said she did write a poem once – evidence of her presence exists in innumerable arts and humanities endeavors on the Island, spanning a vast range of disciplines. She’s an organizer, a synthesizer, a driver.

Alan Simcoe has a Renaissance quality. He is a musician, teacher, performer, historian, luthier, and community music advocate. Simcoe was selected as an Island Treasure for the ongoing commitment he has shown to bringing “the method, the music and the melody” to the Island through his teaching, building and performing. He also also very generously served on many arts and humanities panels as a representative of the Island’s music community. Village Music, which Simcoe established in 2003, houses all the evidence of his trade. It has a storefront where he sells instruments, and provides teaching and rehearsal space. Passers-by can watch as he builds stringed instruments, from classical guitars to lutes to parlor guitars and beyond. A fellow musician described Simcoe by stating, “He is not loud, but he is complex with numerous overtones and we all are richer for it.”

Island Treasure Awards:

• 2000 Jerry Elfendahl and Joel Sackett
• 2001 Norma Edens and Bob McAllister
• 2002 Kim & Ela Esterberg and Frank Kitamoto
• 2003 Janice Shaw and Richard Stine
• 2004 Maggie Smith and Hidde Van Duym
• 2005 Jenny Anderson and David C. Korten
• 2006 Gayle Bard and Barbara Helen Berger
• 2007 David Guterson and George Little & David Lewis
• 2008 Alice Mendoza and Kristen Tollefson

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