AQ Honors the Late Ben Bumbry with Lifetime Achievement Award

AQ Honors the Late Ben Bumbry with Lifetime Achievement Award

It was Arts Quincy's great honor to remember the late Ben Bumbry and his lasting impact in the arts community with a posthumous "George M. Irwin Arts Quincy Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Music," in recognition and remembrance of an incredible legacy of musical contributions in Quincy and the surrounding area.

The Arts Quincy board and staff presented the award to his wife Helen in March during the third annual Jackson- Lincoln Ben Bumbry Memorial Banquet at Quincy University.

"We hope it will serve as a reminder to his friends, family and all those who knew and loved him, of one of the great

joys of his life, his music," said Laura Sievert, Executive Director.

Mr. Bumbry was an extraordinary figure. Of course, many music fans will have known him as the drummer and face of Ben Bumbry and the Messengers. He performed all over the area for more than 60 years and was a regular performer on the Mark Twain Riverboat in Hannibal. Among his many other musical contributions, Mr. Bumbry helped organize the Mississippi Muddy Water Blues Society and made other performances of African drums at local schools.