Quilter of the Year
Quilter of the Year 2019
I’m Ann Hockmeyer, the 2018 recipient of the Quilter of the Year award. As the current honoree of this special designation, I have the privilege of choosing and awarding this year’s honoree. This award is given to a member who’s gone above and beyond the normal level of volunteerism. It is given to those who are dedicated to serving the guild and working tirelessly in any way they can.
Before I call her up, I would like to take a moment and recognize the past recipients. This is an extraordinary group of women that over the years have donated their time and talent to our guild. If I call your name would you please stand and remain standing until I’ve called all the names. The list of honorees begins in 1984 with Betty Hastings followed by, Joanne Finacaro, Pat Beevers, Sue Pickering & Gail Wozniak, Priscilla Trolan, Judy Hilner, Signe Kaleel, Judy Rutstein, Linda Boyle, Ildy Tary, Valerie Kelley & Gladys Sirois, Diana Dow & Kathy Pearse, Ruth Martineau & Jeanne Robertson, Marianne Karp, Andrea Bursaw & Sue Molin, Jeanne Eliot & Pat Lucey, Roseanne Ricketson & Maggie Judd, Rosalie Berard & Carrie Zizza, Beverly Valle, Suzi Calderwood, Mary Ginn, Deb Zukas, Catherine Harnisch, Ann Stobbs & Mary Stobbs, Lin Caido, Nancy Dempsey and Liz Swan.
Please give all these ladies a well-deserved round of applause!
The woman that is receiving this year’s award serves the guild by chairing not one but two positions and co-chairs another. She stepped up and said “I can do it” when no one else would. Both positions generate much needed revenue that we all benefit from, and under her leadership, the revenue received increased from past years. She finds the time for MVQ even though she works full time and cares for her busy family. I know that she also volunteers her time for other charities as well. She’s a very giving person!
I think her most amazing skill is that she accomplishes difficult jobs with the most engaging smile. She will forge ahead, figure it out, get it done and still keep smiling! A true testament of her uber friendly and warm personality is the posse she has around her. Her wonderful posse is a group of devoted friends who help her do the guild’s work. She would be the first to say that she couldn’t do it without them but she’s a true leader and isn’t afraid to take on all the responsibility.
She is the only guild member that I know of to actually suffer true physical harm doing the guild’s work as she suffered a broken arm while carrying boxes down some stairs for the ufo auction! I think that she’s extraordinary and I’m so proud to call her my friend!
This year’s recipient is Stacey Caruso!
Quilter of the Year
Congratulations to Nancy Dempsey for her being named Quilter of the Year. Nancy is well deserving of this honor. She is a member who steps in at every emergency or task that needs help. She pulled the program together this year when personal problems caused Rosemary Bray to step down. She provides a raffle each month and will be acting co-chair of the kitchen at the Quilt Show.
MVQ succeeds when members of Nancy’s caliber take part!!
Quilter of the Year
Congratulations to Lin Caido for being named “Quilter of the Year”.
Lin is certainly very worthy of this honor.
She has helped MVQ in various positions since she first joined. She served as VP for two years.
She helped to rewrite the by-laws.
This year, she has been a co-chair of the Raffle Quilt for 2015-2016.
She is always ready to give hand at the Quilt Show or whatever needs to be done to keep MVQ as vital as it is.
Thank you Lin and sincere Congratulations from the MVQ membership!
Quilters of the Year
This year our annual award went to Ann and Mary Stobbs, longtime members and always willing to help in any capacity!
With members like the Stobb sisters, our Guild remains as strong and vital as it is.
Congratulations, Ann and Mary and thank you for all you do.
Quilter of the Year – 2013
Congratulations to Catherine Harnisch who was named MVQ quilter of the year at the June meeting. Last year’s winner, Deb Zukas, had this to say about Cathy.
“It was April of 2008 and I was co-chair of the quilt show. We were in full swing setting up on Thursday and I was approached by a member I didn’t remember having ever seen before, asking me for the pads that go under the stanchions. She was part of the group of volunteers busting out the hanging of the quilts – lots of heavy lifting involved!! I found out she was a relatively new member of the guild and I remember thinking that she wasted no time getting right into the thick of things.
Well, it was to be the first of many times that I would see this member be so willing to give of her time and herself to the guild.
Since then, she has served as Vice-President and Chairman of the Program Committee. She, together with several other members, developed and maintains the guild’s blog. She photographs the Show&Tell quilts at each month’s meeting and displays them on the blog for all to see. She has given a lot of her time to assist others in their duties, such as transporting the raffle quilt to and from various venues, taking the raffle quilt to Mann’s Orchards to sell tickets, picking up and delivering donated items. She took on the herculean task of organizing and storing all the fabrics donated to the guild – and it was a huge Job!
She has combined her love of quilting with another of her passions, Brittany Spaniels, by donating quilts she has made to be raffled off to benefit the New England Brittany Rescue.”
Congratulations and thanks to Cathy for all she has done and continues to do for our guild.
Merrimack Valley Quilters 