TUSCALOOSA, Ala.­- Alabama poet and arts advocate Jeanie Thompson, the late noted organist Warren Hutton, and the Northport Kentuck Association will be honored for their contributions to the arts by The University of Alabama’s College of Arts and Sciences during its annual Fine Arts Awards Gala to be held Thursday, Feb. 13, in Moody Music Building on the UA campus at 7:30 p.m.

The 20th Annual Fine Arts Gala recognizes Alabamians and UA alumni who have made a significant impact on the creative and performing arts in Alabama. The awards will be presented by the Fine Arts Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board.

Jonathan Michaelson, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as master of ceremonies at the event. Recipients and their awards are:

Jeanie Thompson

Jeanie Thompson
Alabama Alumni Award

Jeanie Thompson of Montgomery will receive the Alabama Alumni Award for her work as both a poet and arts education advocate. Thompson is executive director for the Alabama Writer’s Forum, a statewide literary arts program housed in the offices of the Alabama State Council on the Arts in Montgomery. After working as a teacher of English and creative writing in Louisiana and Alabama, Thompson, a University alumna, returned to her alma mater in 1985 to work in marketing and communications for UA’s College of Continuing Studies. During this time, she published “The Widening Circle,” a history of extension and continuing education at the University and a recipient of the Bronze Award of Excellence given by the National University Continuing Education Association. She is also the author of three collections of poems and three chapbooks of poetry including “How to Enter the River” and “Witness,” which won a Benjamin Franklin Award from the Publishers Marketing Association in 1996. She is co-editor with Jay Lamar of “The Remembered Gate: Memoirs by Alabama Writers.”

A native of Decatur, Thompson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from The University of Alabama in 1974.

She was one of the first students in the master’s in creative writing program, earning her degree in 1977. While at the University, Thompson was one of the founding members of the Black Warrior Review literary magazine.

Warren Hutton

Warren Hutton
Posthumous Award

Legendary University professor and organist Warren Hutton is the recipient of the Posthumous Award. A nationally known musician and organ teacher, Hutton attracted the nation’s best organist and musicians to Alabama to study with him. Today, his former students include many of the country’s most respected musicians. Hundreds of former students, representing the country’s finest conservatories and universities, returned in 1994 to honor Hutton’s 40-year-long career at a recital on the UA campus. Hutton received the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching award from the University’s Alumni Association in 1982.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Hutton graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in music and earned his master’s from Syracuse University in 1951 while studying under Author Poister. After graduation Hutton served as a member of the faculty at Scarritt College from 1951-1952 and the Peabody School for Teachers from 1951-1954, both in Nashville, Tenn. In 1954 he joined The University of Alabama’s School of Music as an instructor. He retired from the University in 1996 but continued to teach classes as professor emeritus until his death in 2002.

Kentuck Association
Alabama Image Award

The Kentuck Association will receive the Alabama Image Award for promoting regional artists and their works with the Kentuck Festival of the Arts and the Kentuck Art Center in downtown Northport.

The annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts is held in Kentuck Park and attracts more than 30,000 visitors each year. The juried arts fair has been named the Top Twenty Events by the Southeast Tourism Society and is a recipient of an Alabama Governor’s Award. The Kentuck Association also operates the Kentuck Art Center in historic downtown Northport, Alabama, an arts village with a gallery shop, museum, and studios for seven regional artists. The center has become a magnet for visitors and was a key component in the revitalization of downtown Northport as an arts community.

The Fine Arts Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board, formerly known as the Society for the Fine Arts, consists of 80 alumni and friends who serve as supporters and advisors to the College. For attendance information about the gala contact Bobbie Rafferty, coordinator of college advancement, at 348-6698.