Susan Bertram receives lifetime achievement award through Folk Alliance Region Midwest
MARQUETTE — A lifetime achievement award was received by a local U.P. resident for her involvement with traditional folk music and the Hiawatha Music Co-op.
The Folk Alliance Region Midwest has selected Hiawatha Music Co-op founding member and current Board of Directors member, Susan Bertram for their 2019 Folk Tradition in the Midwest Lifetime Achievement Award.
She was recommended for the award by many other members of the board through Hiawatha Co-op and they were happy to see Susan recognized.
“So Susan was nominated by myself and a couple of board members,” said Susan Divine, Executive Director at the Hiawatha Music Co-op. “We felt that she was deserving of the lifetime achievement award because she has been involved with Hiawatha for 42 years since the beginning. We sang her accolades and gave the organization a lot of information about her involvement in the co-op over the years. So out of many people that were submitted for the award she was picked.”
Each year at the annual conference FARM presents two awards, the Lantern Bearer Award and the Folk Tradition in the Midwest Lifetime Award.
The Annual Folk Tradition in the Midwest Lifetime Award is awarded at the annual F.A.R.M. gathering to a living individual who resides in the Midwest. They also need the individual to have involvement in the Midwest folk music and dance community has been impeccable.
“I think it is great to be recognized as an individual,” explained Susan Bertram, FARM Lifetime Achievement award recipient. “Our co-op is a community and it is something special. So many people have given so much to the co-op and I think it is sharing with people in the mid-west about what Hiawatha is and who we are. Which I think makes it even more special.”
The F.A.R.M. purposes are to promote traditional, contemporary and multi-cultural folk music and dance and any related performing arts in the Midwest region.
To learn more about the F.A.R.M. Lifetime Achievement award or the Hiawatha Music Co-op you can click here.