We wish to extend our sympathies to Hall of Famer, ALLISON INCH. Allison's wife, GUILA(b. August 16, 1940), passed away at the Saint John Regional Hospital on September 11, 2007 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, Wesley United Church - Browns Flat, or charity of choice.
IVAN HICKS was made the recipient of the 2007 Canadian Grand Masters Lifetime Achievement Award. He received the award on Aug 25, 2007 at this year's Grand Masters Event. Lifetime Achievement Award candidates are selected by the Board of Directors on the basis of their having made an outstanding contribution to old time fiddling throughout their life. One other Hall of Famer has received this award in the past, Ned Landry. In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, Ivan was also selected to be one the three judges for this year's competition, alongside Keith Wilson, BC and Mark Sullivan, ON
SUSAN BUTLER(1994 Inductee) is named to receive the 2007 Order of New Brunswick(see government release below)
Susan Butler is known across Atlantic Canada as a singer, songwriter and promoter. She is also a committed volunteer and a strong advocate for seniors and the less fortunate.
Ms. Butler received her Registered Nursing Assistant diploma from Soldiers' Memorial Hospital in Campbellton in 1969. She is also a graduate of the Catholic Health Leadership Program from Saint Paul University in Ottawa.
A staff member of Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home from 1971 to her retirement in 2005, she was a member of the Nursing Home's Management staff until 1987 and then became Head of the Activity Department.
As a singer/songwriter, Ms. Butler has eight recordings to her credit. She has performed all across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, in Montreal and Ottawa and in a number of U.S. cities.
Ms. Butler has promoted musical entertainers from across Canada and the United States and brought to Miramichi such artists as the late Frank Patterson, Rita McNeil, Natalie McMaster, Wilf Carter, Tommy Hunter, Stompin' Tom Connors, Valdy, Frank Mills, Men of the Deeps, The Cotters, John MacDermott, The Rankins and The Barra McNeils just to name a few.
A very active volunteer, Ms. Butler has given endlessly of her time raising thousands of dollars locally, provincially and at the international level for organizations such as Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home, the French Fort Cove Eco-Centre, the Westray Miners Disaster Fund as well as the Kosovo and Tsunami Refugees.
She is one of the founding committee members of the Irish Festival Inc. in Miramichi and was chairperson for the Beaverbrook House Commission for over 10 years. She has been the volunteer executive director of the Miramichi Folksong Festival for the last 25 years and a performer for over 40 years. She also organized a 300-voice choir for the “Celebrate the Celebration” part of the Billy Graham Crusade in 2002.
She is also the Miramichi correspondent for the CBC Radio, writes a weekly column for the Miramichi Weekend newspaper titled “The Butler Says!” and is presently working on a book of 50 years of the Miramichi Folk Festival.
Ms. Butler has earned many awards and recognitions including her inductions into the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame and the New Brunswick Gospel Hall of Fame. She is a recipient of the Rotary International Paul Harris Award, the Lions International Melvin Jones Fellowship, the Queen's Jubilee Medal and was the first recipient of the Folklore Studies Association of Canada's Certificate of Merit to mention a few. She was also made a Freeman of the City of Miramichi in 2003. Ms. Butler received the Order of Canada in February 2007.
Susan Butler is nominated to the Order of New Brunswick for her many achievements and for her outstanding contributions to the social and cultural well being of New Brunswick and Canada.
