List of recipients of the CMA Founding President's Award
The following list shows all recipients of the Country Music Association's (CMA) Founding President's Award,[1] instituted as the Connie B. Gay Award. The award was established in 1963, as an honor of high prestige in recognition of the most outstanding service to the CMA by a member not currently serving as an officer or director.[2] Connie B. Gay, co-founder and first president of the CMA funded the award with his personal assets and established a trust, in his will, to ensure the perpetual viability of this award beyond his lifetime.[2]
1960s
- 1963 Richard Frank
- 1964 Joe Allison
- 1965 Robert J. Burton
- 1966 Pack Ackerman
- 1967 Gene Nash, Leroy Van Dyke
- 1968 Owen Bradley
- 1969 Johnny Cash
1970s
- 1970 Frank Clement
- 1971 Ken Nelson
- 1972 Tex Ritter
- 1973 Frank Jones
- 1974 Jack Stapp
- 1975 Hubert Long (posthumously)
- 1976 Roy Horton
- 1977 Hal Cook
- 1978 Bob Tubert
- 1979 Ben Smathers
1980s
- 1980 Charlie Daniels
- 1981 Roy Acuff
- 1982 Bob Boatman
- 1983 Mary Ann McCready
- 1984 Frank Mull
- 1985 Jim Halsey
- 1986 Merrill Warner
- 1987 Paul Conroy
- 1988 Ron Huntsman
- 1989 Michael Sukin
1990s
- 1990 Allen Brown
- 1991 Bob Saporiti
- 1992 Jim Free
- 1993 Fred Rappoport
- 1994 Helen Farmer
- 1995 Cindy Wilson
- 1996 Marc Oswald
- 1997 Trisha Yearwood
- 1998 Pam Tillis
- 1999 Martina McBride
2000s
- 2000 Wayne Halper
- 2001 Mayor Bill Purcell
- 2002 Brad Paisley
- 2003 Wynonna Judd
- 2004 Terri Clark
- 2005 Blue County (Aaron Benward and Scott Reeves)
- 2006 No Award given
- 2007 No Award given
- 2008 No Award given
- 2009 No Award given
2010s
- 2010 ?
- 2011 ?
- 2012 ?
References
- ^ Founding President's Award (formerly Connie B. Gay Award) Archived 2014-10-19 at the Wayback Machine CMAWorld.com
- ^ a b Gay Award to Richard Frank, Billboard, November 9, 1963, front-page