The Ostranders’ premier award recognizes an individual’s distinguished lifetime and career as demonstrated by outstanding, significant, valuable, and lasting service, support and active participation in a variety of the many areas and aspects of community theatre within our greater Memphis theatre world.
Given at the first awards in 1984, this special award for "service to Memphis theatre that spans generations" went to Eugart Yerian, director of the Memphis Little Theatre from 1929 to 1961. (The following year, the award itself was named the Eugart Yerian Award.)
1984 - Eugart Yerian
1985 - Jackie Nichols
1986 - Ray Hill
1987 - Sherwood Lohrey
1988 - Gene Crain
1989 - Lucile Doan Ewing
1990 - Alice Rogers
1991 - Buck Clark
1992 - Betty May Collins Parker
1993 - Bennett Wood
1994 - Gene Katz
1995 - Walter Armstrong
1996 - Keith Kennedy
1997 - Barry Fuller
1998 - Jim Ostrander
1999 - Tony Lee Garner (posthumously)
2000 - Jo Malin
2001 - Andre Bruce Ward
2002 - Jerry Chipman
2003 - Dorothy Blackwood
2004 - Marler Stone
2005 - Ken Zimmerman
2006 - Bill Short
2007 - Julia “Cookie” Ewing
2008 - Dorothy O. Kirsch
2009 - Josie Helming
2010 - Otis Smith
2011 - Ron Gephart
2012 - Ann Sharp & Jude Knight
2013 - Gloria Baxter
2014 - John Rone
2015 - Karin Barile
2016 - Jim & Jo Lynne Palmer
2017 - Irene Crist
2018 - Tony Isbell
2019 - Christina Wellford Scott
2020 - Ann Marie Hall
2021 - Andy Saunders
2022 - Stephen Hancock
2023 - Ruby O’Gray
2024 - Michael Detroit
2025 - Cecelia Wingate
2026 - Dave Landis