The Isabel S. Kurth Award was established by the Board of the Newfoundland Club of America in 1993 to honor an extraordinary woman whose service to the club, dedication to the principles on which it stands and devotion to the breed is legendary. This award recognizes that member who best captures the spirit and exemplifies the standards of excellence in service and devotion to the breed that Isabel Kurth had so tirelessly set.
1994 - Mary W. Price - by John Adams, Awards Chairperson
In 1993 the Board of the Newfoundland Club of America established a very special award. This "Isabel S. Kurth Award" is so named in honor of an extraordinary woman whose years of service to the Club are legendary. The Isabel S. Kurth Award is given in recognition of service to the Breed, and was chosen to illustrate her devotion to stewarding and her favorite dog Eric, Edenglen's Sovereign of the Sea. The award is to be presented to that member who best exemplifies the standards of excellence in service that Isabel set.
At the 1994 National in Michigan, we had the pleasure of presenting the "Isabel S. Kurth Award" for the very first time.
The first recipient, Mary W. Price, has been a Club member since 1970, and her contributions to the betterment of the breed and our Club over the last 24 years have been remarkable. An exhaustive account of her accomplishments would be voluminous, but some highlights are in order. During Larry Lerners' presidential term in the late 70's, Mary chaired the NCA Code of Ethics Committee and the Awards Committee. Concurrently she served as the Trophy Chairman for the National Specialty in Rockton, Illinois.
Election to the NCA Board of Directors followed, and Mary also served as Recording Secretary to Presidents Nell Ayers and Betty McDonnell. Since her appointment ten years ago as the NCA delegate to the AKC, a post she still retains, Mary has kept us abreast of current issues facing AKC and their implications for our club and purebreds in general.
The monumental task of Membership Chairman is yet another challenge Mary has met and mastered. Under her tutelage our club has nearly doubled in membership. Recording of dues, address changes, and new member applications are all detailed, but necessary. work that Mary still happily volunteers her time for.
The Gaines Good Sportsmanship Award was bestowed on Mary in 1984, and both she and her husband Bob have had honorary life memberships in NCA for nearly as long. Mary and her Paddlewheel Newfs have had numerous successes in both the conformation and obedience ring over the years. A charter member of the Minnesota Purebred Dog Breeders Association, Mary also holds memberships in the Land O'Lakes Kennel Club, the North Central Newfoundland Club, and The Newfoundland Club of Canada.
It has been, and continues to be the great fortune of NCA to have such a dedicated friend in Mary W. Price. Her contributions and great spirit have not only been priceless, but they have been of a mettle that Isabel Kurth would quietly and proudly recognize.
reprinted from Newf Tide 3Q 1994