Leland Dart and Brenda Stonecipher
Every year the Everett Cultural Arts Commission and Mayor select individuals and organizations for awards.
The 2024 award recipients have been selected and the winners include former My Everett News publisher, Leland Dart and former City Council Chair Brenda Stonecipher.
There will be an event on Thursday, April 10, 2025 to celebrate their achievements. Here’s the full list of winners:
- Wendt Award – Brenda Stonecipher
- Mayor’s Arts Award – Bunker Arts Collective
- Mayor’s Arts Award – Leland Dart
- Mayor’s Arts Award – Huong Viet Performing Arts Group
- Mayor’s Arts Award – Christopher Gove (Teen Storytellers Project)
- Honorable Mention – Keith Corning
- Honorable Mention – The Dance School
A video was made to honor Leland Dart, who retired from My Everett News in January 2024 to start his photography studio:
Brenda Stonecipher served on the Everett City Council for 20 years.
More information about the award ceremony:
Celebrate the next round of Mayor’s Arts Award winners at the Everett Performing Arts Center (2710 Wetmore Ave.)
Attendees enjoy local performers, light refreshments, and a no-host bar. The event is free.
Date: April 10, 2025. Doors open at 6 p.m. for social hour, and the awards program starts at 7 p.m.
Performances include:
- Music from Making Waves – youth band at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church
- A film by Teen Storytellers Project
- Traditional Vietnamese music by the Huong Viet Performing Arts Group
- Poems by Duane Kirby Jensen
- Dance performance by The Dance School
Richard & Nancy Wendt Award of Excellence
The Richard & Nancy Wendt Award of Excellence is given annually to a person or organization that has demonstrated outstanding support of the arts throughout their lifetime. The award is named for Dr. Richard Wendt, who passed away in 2007, and his wife Nancy Wendt, who passed away in the spring of 2021. Following Nancy’s death, the decision was made by the Cultural Arts Commission – with the support of Richard and Nancy’s daughters – to rename the award to include Nancy’s name. From here forward, this lifetime achievement award will be known as the Richard and Nancy Wendt Award of Excellence to honor the legacy of these two remarkable people.
Mayors Arts Awards
The Mayor’s Arts Awards recognize the many ways a vibrant arts community is created and sustained. Each year, the Cultural Arts Commission gives out several Mayor’s Arts Awards to people or organizations that have made Everett a better place through their creative efforts, vision, or patronage.
Cultural Arts Commission
The Everett Cultural Arts Commission is composed of volunteer commissioners who are appointed by the mayor. The mission of the commission is to initiate, sponsor, organize and promote cultural and artistic programs and services for the enrichment and enjoyment of the Everett community.
April 7, 2025
Everett Government, Artwork in Everett, Events in Everett