MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College President Ron Liebowitz presented the Bonnie and John McCardell Citizen’s Awards for outstanding community service to Addison County residents Douglas Anderson and David Brynn on Monday at a dinner and reception at Middlebury’s Kirk Alumni Center.
Dating back to the college’s bicentennial year of 2000, Middlebury has honored local citizens for exemplary community service, volunteerism and engagement in community issues. Nominations come from members of the community and a committee composed of faculty and staff makes the final selections.
All of the recipients of the Citizen’s Award receive a pewter medallion struck at Danforth Pewter of Middlebury.
Since arriving in Middlebury in 1983, Douglas Anderson has served as a theatrical director, opera master and visionary. Anderson’s devotion to the arts resulted in the restoration and preservation of one of Middlebury’s architectural gems, the Town Hall Theater, where he now serves as the executive director.
Anderson graduated from Kenyon College with bachelor’s degrees in theater and religion and went on to earn his master of fine arts in directing from the University of Nebraska. Prior to his career in Middlebury, Anderson nurtured his artistic talents as assistant professor of theater at Amherst College and as a writer for television, including the CBS soap opera “Guiding Light.”
The stages of Middlebury have been host to dozens of Anderson’s productions. With the Opera Company of Middlebury, he has captivated audiences with productions of “Carmen” and “Eugene Onegin” and his work with the Town Hall Theater has given Middlebury “Forever Plaid,” “Smokey Joe’s Café” and “Falsettos.”
Bringing his vision and tireless energy to Middlebury College, Anderson has joined with the college community to stage student productions of “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Gypsy,” “The Wild Party,” “Urinetown,” “Hairspray, “Into the Woods” and “Les Misérables.”
“Because of your hands-on involvement every time the lights come up at Town Hall Theater, we are privileged to have you living in our community,” said Liebowitz when presenting the award.
For more than three decades, David Brynn has been a highly active figure for conservation in Addison County, leading efforts with a spirit of generosity. Brynn, a Bristol resident, earned his bachelor of science in forest management at St. Michael’s College before receiving his master’s degree in natural resources planning from the University of Vermont.
The co-founder, executive director and staff forester of the Vermont Family Forests (VFF) Foundation, Brynn has educated the citizens of Vermont on sustainable practices, the benefits of being stewards of nature, and the forest’s capacity for self renewal. Through programs and courses at Hogback Community College, which Brynn helped to establish, community members have received an in-depth education on soil science, nature writing and tree identification.
Brynn’s energy extends far beyond his work with the VFF and in education and he has been an active member of the Watershed Center, which he also co-founded. The center seeks to cultivate healthy natural communities in Little Otter Creek, Lewis Creek and the New Haven River watersheds, and through the center’s recent Wildlands Project, Brynn and his associates conserved 952 acres of forests in Bristol.
Liebowitz thanked Brynn, commending him on his “remarkable energy and leadership in promoting ecological forestry in the 21st century.”
This year’s recipients of the McCardell’s Citizen’s Awards join the 56 other area residents who have been so honored since the college’s bicentennial.