The husband-and-wife team of Sue and Rich McCarthy were the very deserving, inaugural recipients of the David Tinkoff Award for special contributions to the life of bluegrass in the Ottawa area. 

Sue and Rich launched the Ottawa Valley Bluegrass Music Association in 1987 along with Wayne Greise.  They were pioneers in providing organizational leadership, and they also formed one of the first local bluegrass bands with Sue playing bass, Rich on guitar, John Kingston mandolin and Vic Chartrand on banjo.  Over the years Sue and Rich have explored other musical genres such as Folk, Celtic, and even a Maritime Choir, but have remained loyal to Bluegrass.  Rich played with Gospel Grass for a few years and was featured on their 1995 CD.  He currently plays bass for The Back 40 Band.  Sue regularly helps out at the monthly Rasputin's Bluegrass show collecting admission fees and dolling out prizes. Their initial efforts helped to create one of the strongest Bluegrass Clubs in Canada, and they're most worthy to be the inaugural recipients of the Dave Tinkoff Award for their contributions.

The award was presented on April 24 at a club concert featuring the Raleigh, South Carolina band, Carolina Road.

– Nick Strachan