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John Mather was the founding treasurer of the Ontario Crafts Council, now Craft Ontario, and in 1972, was President of the Ontario Crafts Foundation. Prior to the Foundation's amalgamation with the Canadian Guild of Crafts, he foresaw the need for a common voice for craft in the province and believed that, "A single organization acting on behalf of craftspeople could exert considerable influence". As president of Indusmin Limited, John Mather established the company's unique collection of craft. After his death in 1977, Indusmin Ltd. honoured John Mather through the establishment of the John Mather Fund, which is administered by the Executive Committee of Craft Ontario.
Throughout the last thirty-three years, Barbara Mather, John's widow, has continued to support the award as an important marker of distinction. With her passing in March of 2013, the Mather family has again committed to the future of the award. Our deepest thanks to the Mather family for their dedication to recognising exceptional achievement in support of the craft community. As of 2014, we are pleased to announce that the award will be officially continued under the name of the John and Barbara Mather Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Award Recipients are truly outstanding in their fields and have displayed exceptional commitment to the further development of craft in Ontario and throughout Canada. On behalf of Ontario's craft community, and through the generous support of Barbara Mather, we are pleased to recognize and celebrate them with this great honour. The Award has been celebrating distinguished contributors to craft since 1981, and it is one of the highest markers of exceptional commitment to the development of craft in Ontario.
2009 David Kaye, Lillian Forester, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell
2008 Anne Chambers, Peter Fleming, Carolynn Pynn-Trudeau
2007 Melanie Egan, Alice Fournier, Kent Farndale
2006 Herbert O. Bunt, Gilles Latour, Rosemary Swan
2005 Judy Donaldson, Ruth Haig, Brian Truscott
2004 Bruce Cochrane, Pat James, Robert Têtu
2003 Keith Campbell, Doug Farndale, Ann Roberts
2002 Aggie Beynon, Winifred Shantz, Harold Takayesu
2001 Paulus Tjang, Melinda Mayhall, Susan Jefferies
2000 Jan Waldorf, Donn Zver, Jonathan E. Smith
1999 Anne Sneath, Gail Crawford, Peta Hall
1998 William Hodge, Judith Tinkl, Ann Suzuki
1997 Joan Francis, Edith Pierce, Mary Walker
1996 Eric Poschmann, Bill Corcoran, David McAleese & Alison Wiggins
1995 Scott Barnim, Anne Barros, Alison Vallance
1994 Heather Daymond, Wendy Shingler, Adrienne Van Riemsdijk
1993 Ron Roy, Shelagh Smith, Frank Tucker
1992 Barb Bolin, Mary Corcoran, David Wilde
1991 Susan Eckenwalder, Elizabeth Kantor, Ruth Markowitz
1990 Eunice Anders, Suzann Greenaway, Steve Irvine
1989 Robert Jekyll, Ted Carson, Leta Cormier
1988 Paula Letki, C. Kennedy May, Alice Peck Slavin
1987 Ankaret Dean, Joan Foster, Ann Mortimer
1986 Barbara Mather, Donald A. Stuart, Vincent Tovell, Susan Willoughby
1985 Dorothy Burnham C.M., Stephen Hogbin, Walter Sunahara
1984 Jean Johnson, Richard LaPrairie, Karen Smith
1983 Jean Burke, Elizabeth Dingman, Mary Eileen Hogg C.M.
1982 Helen Frances Gregor C.M., Dr. Franc Joubom, Yvonne Williams
1981 Tommia Vaughan-Jones, Hero Kielman, Donald McKinley