East Aurora Advertiser

Kurt Almond, Kim Hicks and Nancy Johnson Receive 2019 Stott Awards



The Mary and Gil Stott Awards at Roycroft are probably the least well-known of the many awards bestowed on East Aurorans every year. 

“What are the Stott Awards? I’ve never heard of them,” is a common response when I mention the Stotts. Which is curious, because not only are the Stott Awards important in recognizing those in our midst who are dedicated to the arts in our community, but the accompanying celebration in the Salon of the Roycroft Inn each year when the awards are given is a festive occasion, with great food, drink, music, performance—a fashion show this year!—and conviviality. If you can finagle an invitation to the 2020 Stott Awards, seize the opportunity. 

Last Saturday night, Nov. 16, the 25th Mary and Gil Stott Awards at Roycroft were presented to longtime Aurora Players costumers Nancy Sheehan Johnson and Kimberly Hicks and musician, artist and teacher Kurt Almond.

The Mary and Gil Stott Awards at Roycroft were presented to Nancy Johnson and Kim Hicks, costumers for the Aurora Players, and musician and artist Kurt Almond. Left to right: Nancy Johnson, Kim Hicks, Bill Stott, Kurt Almond, John Stott. Photo by Dori Shear-McGowan

Their names were added to the 42 previous awardees on a beautiful plaque, designed and printed by Martyn Printing, framed by Meibohm Fine Arts using a custom made oak frame by Thomas Pafk. The plaque hangs for all to see just outside the Salon of the Roycroft. Each awardee receives a check, a framed citation and a copy of Mary’s World, an anthology of Mary Stott’s writings, edited by Gil Stott.

The Stott Awards honor the memory of Mary Roelofs Stott, granddaughter of Alice and Elbert Hubbard. Mary was an accomplished violinist and keyboard player, who grew up at Arden Farms and for many years was the organist at St. Matthias Episcopal Church. She authored a memoir about her famous grandfather called “Elbert Hubbard, A Rebel with Reverence: A Granddaughter’s Tribute” as well as many poems and essays for The Christian Science Monitor and other prestigious publications.

When Mary died in 1994 at age 75, her husband, Gil Stott—professor emeritus at Swarthmore College and himself a musician and writer—wanted to keep her memory alive. With help from family friend, the late Kitty Turgeon, Gil endowed the Mary Roelofs Stott Award at Roycroft to “…honor her memory by encouraging those whose pursuit of excellence in music, writing and the arts is in keeping with her spirit and the spirit of Roycroft.” With Gil’s sad passing in 2005, his sons John and Bill added their father’s name to the award. For the last 25 years, a committee I co-chair consisting of past award winners Tom Bojanowski, Kateri Ewing, Brad Felton, Rachelle Francis, Trudy Kelly, Jennifer Lewis-Drew and John Whitney as well as John and Bill Stott, has met to sift through nominees to determine the year’s winners. While most of the recipients are individuals, the committee has in the past honored organizations: the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival, the Aurora Players, the Village Singers.

The Saturday night reception began with introductory remarks by John Stott about the importance of family, community and the arts before he sat at his cello and played a J.S. Bach suite. As co-chair, I gave a history of the awards and brought up Rachelle Francis to introduce Kim Hicks.Kim presented a photo montage of the many costumes she has created and archived for 32 Players’ productions over two decades. 

I had the privilege of introducing Nancy Sheehan Johnson, who grew up on Walnut Street where she staged neighborhood plays as a youngster. Nancy brought the house down by hosting a live fashion show. Unbeknownst to most of the partygoers, eight Aurora Players actors had met backstage in a Roycroft suite (thanks to Dan Garvey) and came down the runway dressed in period dresses—and one pirate outfit—of Nancy’s creation.

Stott Award recipient and Aurora Players costumer Nancy Johnson, center, presented a fashion show featuring some of her creations from recent productions at the Stott Award reception Nov. 16. Photo by Dori Shear-McGowan

Kurt Almond was introduced by way of Bob Sowyrda’s comment, “Almost anything one can imagine that the word ‘artist’ describes will describe Kurt.”

As if to prove that statement, Kurt proceeded to play a harp of his own design and construction. He then brought up a couple of friends to accompany him on guitar and flute, and together they played a very danceable jig.

Then it was time for the Stott Award All-star Ad Hoc Band to take the stage. Joining the fun at various points were bandleader John Whitney (banjo, guitar, harmonica, piano, vocals), Brad Felton (guitar and dobro), Dave Nojaim (guitar, percussion, vocals), John Stott (cello), Bill Stott (vocals), Betty Pitcher (accordion), Rachelle Francis (piano and vocals), Ellen Moomaw (vocals) and Kurt Almond (fiddle and harp). The set list was ever-changing with everything from classical to classic oldies. When was the last time you heard “House of the Rising Sun” covered by cello and harp as well as guitar and piano? 

John Stott said in his introductory remarks that while he had come from his home in New Jersey to honor Kim, Nancy and Kurt and celebrate his parents’ memory, he came as well to honor a community that values the arts. “This is not the norm,” he said, “that a community has such a wealth of writers, poets, musicians, painters, dancers, actors, craftsmen, storytellers who are willing to share their talents. Nor is it the norm that the community, in turn, treasures its artists. You should be proud.” 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.