Well-known Nevada City musical artist Mikail Graham has been selected as
the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Col. Bill Lambert Award.
The Lambert Award award is presented annually by the Famous Marching
Presidents of Nevada City to recognize outstanding contributions to
Nevada City and the Nevada City way of life. The award is named in
honor of the late Col. William H. Lambert, founder of Nevada City's
annual Constitution Day Parade.
The Marching Presidents announce the award each year on the eve of the
annual parade, in which they participate. This year's 44th Annual
Constitution Day Parade rolls through the downtown historic district
beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 12.
The Lambert Award will be presented by MarchingPresidents founder David
Parker at the group's annual post-parade awards banquet at Miners
Foundry.
"If it has to do with music in Nevada City, Mikail is probably involved," said Parker.
"Mikail has been a strong voice in the Nevada City music world and has
been one of the leaders in making our community radio station, KVMR-89.5
FM, one of the best in the business. I know he travels a lot and is
always a great ambassador for Nevada City.
"Importantly," Parker continued, "Mikail is a very active member of the
community and continues to be involved in numerous fund-raising events
for local organizations and needed causes."
"What a great honor; I'm thrilled and I'll be there," said Graham, a
Nevada City native whose family roots here go back to 1849. A
performer, producer and promoter of music, Graham has composed more than
40 original scores and is a member of the Nevada County Composers
Cooperative.
He is host and executive producer of "The Other Side," the eclectic
radio program heard from 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays on KVMR. He has played and
produced music with many of the area's leading musicians, including The
Humperheads, who have entertained at past Marching Presidents banquets.
Past recipients of the prestigious Lambert Award are retired city
manager Beryl P. Robinson Jr., former mayor and city clerk Cathy
Wilcox-Barnes, parade organizers George and Pat Harper, city councilman
and former mayor Pat Dyer, the late real estate broker Jim Mackey,
writer Dave Carter, Chamber of Commerce executive manager Cathy
Whittlesey, former city councilman and mayor Steve Cottrell, businessman
Bob Buhlis, retired Nevada County general services director Dennis
Cassella, John Christensen, leader of community efforts to establish the
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum; cartoonist R.L. "Crabman"
Crabb, business owners Lee and Susan Thurston, Nevada City public works
director Verne Taylor, historian Edwin Tyson, the late
folksinger/activist U. Utah Phillips, city engineer Bill Falconi,
Marching Presidents organizer Patti Foster and retired school
administrator Karen Chizek. Marching Presidents founder David Parker
was presented the award in 2007 to mark the group's 20th anniversary.
The Marching Presidents is a fun-loving and educational group that
portrays all 44 U.S. Presidents with reverence, good humor and varying
degrees of historical accuracy. For reliable information on U.S.
Presidents, see www.americanpresident.org.