The Greatest Honor: Martha Davis Award 2013

My son Benjamin Strait beautifully reads a poem in honor of Dads.  It was very well read and quite moving.  I am so proud of my boy.

Chris Jeffords and Beth McCelland sang a wonderful and emotional  rendition of my favorite hymn, In The Garden.  It was my Grandmother Martin's favorite hymn, and every time I hear it, it floods me with memories of her.

This is my very good friend giving a moving speech.  She has  been a wonderful friend to me and my family, and her words touched me deeply.  She is the first friend that I've had in theater that bridged the gap between plays.  It used to be that most of the people that I knew from plays would fade away until the next play that I was in.  She and her family changed all that.

This is me, accepting the award and trying to explain where this community hamwich came from, and of course, doing it in a very hammy fashion.


On Saturday, February 9, I was honored to receive the Martha Davis Award from the Flying Dragon Theatre.  It is an award given for service and contributions to community theater and education.  It was an honor to receive this both because of what the award represented, but also because of what it was named after.  Martha Davis was a member of my church who was extraordinarily intelligent, kind, giving, and a tremendous contributor to her community.  I loved and respected her a great deal.


I want to thank my sister, Carol Easlick, for her surprise contributions to the show, helping to put together an entertaining video, and putting in pictures from my wayward youth.  It helped demonstrate that acting had been in blood pretty much since birth.

I want to thank Dona Bow Kilbourne for her contribution.  The quotes used from her were the biggest surprise and the most moving part of the whole show.  It has been one of the great joys of my life to reconnect with this beautiful person whom was part of my explosive imagination in fourth grade, where I was a Martian and she was a witch.

I want to thank Chris and Tamara Jeffords for all that they have done to bring quality children's theatre to this area.  I know it's not easy at times, with the cost and constant turnover.  But they have persevered, and are continuing to leave a lasting positive impression in the lives of the children that they help.

I have so many more people to thank, but I see by the clock on the wall that the I need to start getting to the thing that pays the bills.  Thank you all who've helped bring theater to life in the Swamplands!