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GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARDS RECIPIENTS

The Governor's Arts Award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts in their respective communities and the state of Alabama. 
Dale Kennington - Henry Panion III - Sena Jeter Naslund - Joyce Cauthen - Joe McInnes - Rebecca Luker - James Bryan - Patsy Riley

Dale Kennington

Dale Kennington, currently residing in Dothan, creates large paintings with oil on canvas. Her works are included in more than twenty-five public collections throughout the United States, including The Federal Reserve; American Committee for UNICEF, New York, NY; Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, TN; and every art museum in Alabama. Internationally her work is in the collection of King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden and the United States Embassy, Paris, France. She was one of twelve artists selected for the exhibition Voices Rising: Alabama Women at the Millennium, presented at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and is part of the “Art In Embassies” program of the U. S. Department of State. up

Dr. Henry Panion, III of Birmingham holds degrees in music education and music theory from Alabama A & M University and Ohio State University, respectively. He is best known for his work as conductor and arranger for superstar Stevie Wonder. Dr. Panion has led many of the world’s most notable orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, the Birmingham (England) Symphony, the Orchestra of Paris, the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony, the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic, the Ra’anana Philharmonic, the Nice Symphony, the Gothenburg Symphony, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The two-CD set Natural Wonder features Dr. Panion conducting his arrangements of many of Stevie Wonder’s award-winning, chart-topping songs with Stevie and the Tokyo Philharmonic. up

Sena Jeter Naslund was born in Birmingham. In high school she played cello with the Alabama Pops Orchestra and won a music scholarship to the University of Alabama, but turned it down in favor of studying writing at Birmingham Southern College. Naslund is currently “Writer in Residence” at the University of Louisville and director of the Spalding University MFA Writing Program. She is also the Poet Laureate for Kentucky. Naslund is the founder and editor of The Louisville Review and the Fleur-de-Lis Press. Her published novels include: Sherlock in Love (1993), The Animal Way to Love (1993), Ahab's Wife (1999), Four Spirits (2003), Abundance (2006), Adam and Eve (2010); and two collections of stories: Ice Skating at the North Pole (1989) and The Disobedience of Water (1997). She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the Kentucky Arts Council, and has won the Harper Lee Award and the Southeastern Library Association Fiction Award. up

Joyce Cauthen of Birmingham is the former executive director of the Alabama Folklife Association, a statewide organization that sponsors the research, promotion and preservation of Alabama's folk culture. She is the author of With Fiddle and Well-Rosined Bow: Old-Time Fiddling in Alabama, published in 1989 by the University of Alabama Press, and has served as the producer of numerous recordings of traditional music of Alabama, including Possum Up a Gum Stump: Home and Commercial and Field Recordings of Alabama Fiddlers. Cauthen’s latest project was a CD and booklet entitled Bullfrog Jumped, which features recordings of Alabama children's folksongs and games in the 40s. Cauthen has worked with the Alabama Folklife Association, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Birmingham Cultural and Heritage Foundation, and other organizations celebrating and preserving the old-time musical traditions of the state. up

The Jonnie Dee Little Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes someone who has devoted a lifetime of energy, service, and contributions to the arts in Alabama and is named after a past Council member from Auburn who died in 1988 after serving with great distinction on the Council and a lifetime of supporting the arts in Alabama.

Joe McInnes retired from Blount International Inc. after 30 years serving as the vice-president and CEO of Blount International Inc. and president of the Blount Foundation. As president and director of the Blount Foundation, Mr. McInnes was instrumental in the development of the Montgomery-based Alabama Shakespeare Festival. McInnes directed foundational funding to many arts organizations and arts projects throughout the state. His community involvement includes president of the Montgomery United Way, president of the Tuckabatchee Area Council Boy Scouts, chairman of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, board director of the Alabama Humanities Foundation and trustee of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. In 2003, he accepted an appointment from Governor Riley as director of the Alabama Department of Transportation. up

The Folk Heritage Award was established to recognize master folk artists who have made outstanding contributions in the
arts in Alabama.

James Bryan of Mentone has been a fiddler almost since birth. He won his first competition at 12, apprenticed with bluegrass master Kenny Baker, and took the title of Tennessee Valley Fiddle King at 17. Bryan eventually joined Norman Blake's Rising Fawn String Ensemble, where his mastery of the fiddle and repertoire of old-timey songs was honed. In the mid-1980s he recorded Lookout Blues and The First of May with Rounder Records, a decade later collaborating with guitarist Carl Jones in recording Two Pictures. Bryan, one of the 16 former fiddle kings who have reigned during 39 years of competition at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention (TVOTFC) spreading their musical influence worldwide. He has entertained in places as diverse as the Smithsonian Institute’s Bicentennial Celebration on The Mall in Washington, D.C., onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and before a U.S. President. Bryan has recorded traditional fiddle tunes for posterity and mentored young fiddlers in their own music studios across the country. up

The Special Council Legacy Award recognizes individuals who make unique contributions for the public arena that will have a lasting import on future generations in Alabama and beyond. 

Former First Lady Patsy Riley spearheaded the project to have a statue commissioned and created for Statuary Hall in Washington DC of world-renowned Alabamian Helen Keller. The statue was unveiled October 7, 2009 and is currently in the new Visitor Center at Union Station. Mrs. Riley wanted Helen Keller, one of the world’s most recognized and honored Americans to not only represent Alabama in Statuary Hall but to be an inspiration to the millions of visitors to the Capitol. The Helen Keller sculpture is the first sculpture in the U.S. Capitol of an American with disabilities, and the first sculpture of a child. Mrs. Riley served as honorary chairperson of the “Helen Keller Campaign and Artists Selection Committee” reviewing proposals from more than 30 different artists before selecting Edward Hlavka to create the bronze statue. The committee worked with the Alabama State Council on the Arts, which coordinated the selection process. up

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