Two longtime Haines and Klukwan leaders are recipients of the 2017 Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities.
Heather Lende won a “Distinguished Service to the Humanities” award, one of three given out each year. Lani Hotch of Klukwan will receive the “Arts Business Leadership” award.
Lende knew she was nominated, she said, but didn’t expect to win. “It’s a huge honor,” Lende said. “I think it’s a tribute to the community.”
The pair are among nine winners from across the state selected from public nominations for “noteworthy contributions to the arts and humanities in Alaska,” according to the governor’s awards website.
The Distinguished Service to the Humanities Awards “recognize individuals, organizations or institutions who/that have made significant contributions to the humanities in Alaska.”
Ron Spatz, editor-in-chief of Alaska Quarterly Review and English professor at the University of Alaska, nominated Lende and wrote a letter on her behalf.
“She’s an exceptional writer and through her writing actually makes a difference in the community in Alaska,” Spatz said.
The Arts Business Leadership Award “recognizes a business that uses the arts in an exemplary way to propel their success, has developed programs that engage employees with creativity and other community activities that support arts and business partnerships, or has exhibited fiscal generosity and participation that has made a substantial impact on the arts in Alaska.”
Hotch shared Lende’s sentiments about winning the award, saying it was a big honor, but it took more than just her own efforts to bring art and culture to the heritage center in Klukwan.
“I would also like to add the effort toward building the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center and Bald Eagle Preserve Visitor Center was a huge effort that took many hands,” she said. “We had a great group of people working with us, many at a volunteer level, and a lot of hired professionals who put their heart into the project. So, in a sense, I feel a little uncomfortable being singled out when I know we had so much help. It is an honor none the less.”
Andrea Noble-Pelant, executive director of Alaska State Council on the Arts, said Hotch was selected because “her work and artistic endeavors exemplify that art is integrated in every aspect of her life.”
She said it was clear in Hotch’s nomination letters that she was an inspirational mentor and a generous leader.
The Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Humanities is an annual partnership between the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation and the Office of the Governor.
The award ceremony will take place Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. Tickets are available at http://www.akgovawards.org/attend, or call Jann Mylet at Alaska Humanities Forum at (907) 272-5302.