2019 Recipients
The Executive Committee of the Milley Awards for Creative Achievement had announced the recipients of the 2019 Milley Awards, which were presented at the annual Milleys Dinner which were held on Sunday, October 20, 2019, at the Mill Valley Community Center. The 2019 dinner was hosted by ABC TV’s Don Sanchez, former Arts & Entertainment Editor for 12 years, with more than 50 years in broadcasting.
Milley recipients are selected by a panel of judges from nominations received from the community, based on one or more of three criteria:
- Outstanding achievement in creating, performing or teaching in the Arts.
- Demonstration of a significant body of work.
- Service to the arts community.
Recipients must have a close association with Mill Valley. Born, educated, worked or lived in the town of Mill Valley or performed a large body of their work in Mill Valley.
The Milley recipients and their categories for 2019 were:
Karen Benke
Literary Arts
Karen Benke is a poet and the author of four popular and imaginative books that focus on creative writing for kids and kids-at-heart. Karen has coached and mentored writers of all ages. She specializes in using creative techniques to help writers tap into memories and experiences and risk putting their hearts on the page. Karen has been a teacher and collaborator in California Poet in the Schools for over 20 years. She brings her “magic ticket bag” to book fairs and community events to write poems-on-the spot with kids. The teacher’s guide that accompanies Karen’s 2015 book, Write Back Soon! Adventures in Letter Writing, meets Common Core Standards for 6th grades and up and is used around the country. Karen’s poems have been published in numerous anthologies and she is the recipient of multiple grants and awards.
Website: www.karenbenke.com
Bob and Elza Burton
Contributions to the Arts Community
Bob Burton and his wife, the late Elza Burton, have been active in supporting and participating in the arts ever since they moved to Mill Valley in 1966. Along with Sali Lieberman and other activists, Elza was a founding member of the Mill Valley Center for the Performing Arts (now Marin Theatre Company) and served on its initial Board of Directors. Bob served on the Board of Directors of the Marin Theatre Company in the 1980s.
While on the Mill Valley Planning Commission and City Council (which included two years as Mayor), Bob supported numerous artistic endeavors, including approvals related to the original Sweetwater. In 2018 Bob was recognized by the City of Mill Valley/County of Marin for 50 years of volunteer public service. Together Bob and Elza subscribed to and supported the Marin Symphony for more than 40 years, and the Marin Theatre Company and Mill Valley Chamber Music Society since their founding.
Website: www.burtonlifeinsurance.com
Robert Holmes
Visual Arts and Design
British photographer Robert Holmes launched his distinguished career covering the 1975 British Everest Expedition for the London Daily Mail. At the invitation of Ansel Adams, in 1976, he visited California for the first time. In 1979 he moved to Mill Valley. He has made it his home ever since. Widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost travel photographers, his accomplishments were acknowledged when he was invited to be one of the World’s 100 best photojournalists to participate in A Day in the Life of Africa. The first person to twice receive the Travel Photographer of the Year Award from the Society of American Travel Writers, he has been given the award an additional three times since.
Website: www.robertholmesphotography.com
Phil Pastuhov
Performing and Film Arts
Longtime Mill Valley resident Phil Pastuhov is an Academy Award-winning aerial director of photography with over 120 feature films and hundreds of commercials to his credit. He pioneered the use of drones to capture aerials and was a featured speaker at last Spring’s National Association of Broadcasters’ annual convention. For four decades he has created some of the most iconic movie scenes ever, from his “helmet cam” days shooting Bond films to the sweeping helicopter-fueled imagery of the Lord of the Rings trilogy; from the The Matrix and Jupiter Ascending to adrenaline-rush films like Mission Impossible 2, The Fast & the Furious, and the final scene of 2012’s The Bourne Legacy.
Lorin Rowan
Musical Arts
Following graduation from high school in the early 70s, Lorin Rowan and his brother Chris teamed up as a vocal/guitar pop duo, along with mandolinist David Grisman. They moved to Marin County, where they met with Grisman’s old bluegrass friend, the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Garcia played pedal steel guitar on some of their demos, as well as on their first record for Columbia Records, “Rowan Brothers”, produced by David “Diadem” Grisman. An early gig was opening for the Grateful Dead at the closing of the Fillmore West. Lorin, Chris and their brother Peter recorded as “The Rowans” on three albums for Warner/Asylum. Loren’s song “Soldier of The Cross” is the title cut from Ricky Skaggs’ Grammy nominated Gospel/Bluegrass CD. Lorin performed at last year’s Milley salute to his good friend and Milley recipient, the late Marty Balin.
Website: www.lorinrowan.com
- The Mill Valley Awards for Creative Achievement Selection Committee changes annually. This year the judges were: Laura A. Brukner, Marin Theater Company Literary Manager/Residential Dramaturg; Suzanne Gray, co-owner of Seager-Gray Gallery; Jim Welte, Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce; Anji Brenner, Mill Valley Librarian; and Edwin DeShazo, Sound Engineer, 142 Throckmorton.
- The 2019 Milleys marks the 31st anniversary of the very first Mill Valley Award for Creative Achievement, the precursor of the present Milleys, in 1988. New members are now in place to join the remaining Executive Committee to carry forth this beloved event, which celebrates the significance of the arts to Mill Valley’s cultural fabric.
- Including this year’s five recipients, 152 individuals and organizations have received Milley Awards. Past winners have included such diverse and distinguished arts contributors as Gary Yost, Gini Wilson, Annie Parr Rosenthal, Eve Pell, Michael Painter, Betty Goerke, Lisa Kristine, Jimmy Dillon, Jim Lange, Jane Hirshfield, Bill Champlin, Dan Hicks, Paul Liberatore, Si & Max Perkoff, Lucy Mercer, Suki Hill, Kathleen Quinlan, Rob Nilsson, Cyra McFadden, Bob Weir, Pirkle Jones, Scott Mathews, George Duke, Barry Spitz, John Goddard, Lee Sankowich, David Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dart Cherk, Jacques Leslie, Gretchen Mentzer, Mimi Farina, Martin Cruz Smith and Rita Abrams. Organizations and businesses have been honored as well, including the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society, the Mountain Play Association, the Outdoor Art Club, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts and the Depot Bookstore & Café.