A BEACON FOR THE ARTS AND CULTURE IN OUR COMMUNITY
Joyce Brennan Awards Dinner
History of the Joyce Brennan Award
This annual award was inaugurated in 2011 and is given in honour of the late Joyce Brennan, a founding member of the Rideau Canal Museum Board and the Heritage House Museum, a town councillor and a founding member of the Smiths Falls & District Arts & Culture Council board. The annual recipient is awarded to someone in the community who has contributed to the betterment of arts and culture in the area without personal financial gain.
In 2019 the SFDACC expanded the Joyce Brennan award and created a Joyce Brennan Youth award, one to recognize a young person’s (18 and under) contributions to arts and culture.
In 2022 The Joyce Brennan Honorary Award was established to acknowledge an individual whose has made a career of serving the community through arts and culture initiatives. This award is given directly from the SFDACC Board of Management and is not part of the Annual Joyce Brennan Awards public nomination process. This award is not given annually and is only awarded in rare circumstances.
Chantale Lebrun Photography Award
The Chantale Lebrun Photography award was created in 2022 to honour the memory and philanthropy of Chantale Lebrun, a photographer who used her abilities to help those in need through photos. This award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to arts and culture in the Smiths Falls & District communities through photography.
Previous Winners
Click on the images below to see see our past Joyce Brennan Award winners.
Susan Richards
2019
Susan Richards was the recipient of the award for years of contributions to many of artistic and cultural experiences primarily the Celebration of Lights and Movies Under the Stars.
Seth Philion
2019 - Youth Award
This year we are thrilled to have Seth Philion receive the inaugural Joyce Brennan Youth Award. SFDCI staff nominated Seth Philion, in fact they stated that staff unanimously felt he was the most deserving of all the students for this Arts & Culture award.
Peter Au
2018
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Emily Duberville
2017
Emily Duberville is the mother of two who has lived in Smiths Falls with her family for the last 28 years. Her “day job” for 20 years was teaching at our local Nursery Rhyme daycare, where she used “free exploration” of multimedia. She proudly explained this method saying, “They explore the materials and do what they want to do.”
Nancy Keech
2016
In 2016, Nancy Keech was recognized by this award for her many contributions to the arts community.
Karen Schecter
2015
In 2015, Karen Schecter received this award for her tireless efforts in the area of art and culture which include innovative programming at the library, providing high quality international films for Smiths Falls and heading up the Smiths Falls component of Film Night International.
Anne Shropshire
2014
In 2014, in appreciation of her work to bring the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario into the forefront as a successful facility, and for her contributions on the local Municipal Heritage Committee, the award went to Anne Shropshire. She also sat on the Smiths Falls Arts and Culture Task Force in 2011 which led to the establishment of our arts council.
Bill Hamilton & Nancy Berthiaume
2013
In 2013, Bill Hamilton and Nancy Berthiaume were handed the award for a decade of work at the Station Theatre, public library and many other places. It was presented at the Kinsman Community Pavilion in Lower Reach Park.
Pat Foulkes
2012
In 2012, Pat Foulkes won the award. Due to Pat’s ongoing illness, her husband Tom accepted it on her behalf at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario.
Joyce Brennan
2011
In 2011, the first Joyce Brennan Award was presented posthumously to Joyce Brennan. It was accepted by her son, Councillor Jay Brennan, at the newly-built Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre.