Harp Center wins "AMA" Award
News Flash!
Sylvia Woods Harp Center Given
MVP Award by the AMA
by Sylvia Woods
(this article was written in 1996)
Yes, this headline is correct. The Sylvia Woods Harp Center was recently given the MVP award by the AMA. However, it isn't quite what you'd expect. The AMA mentioned here is the American Motorcyclist Association.
Imagine our surprise a few months ago when we received a huge plaque from the American Motorcyclist Association stating that: "In recognition of valuable contributions in the interest of motorcycling, the American Motorcyclist Association has bestowed this MOST VALUED PLACE AWARD upon the SYLVIA WOODS HARP CENTER."
Now, although many of our customers do ride motorcycles, we didn't feel that this alone would merit this honor. None of us who work at the Harp Center are motorcycle enthusiasts. Why did we receive this most prestigious award?
We started to read the cover letter that came with the plaque hoping it would shed some light on our quandary. The first paragraph was not much help:
"The American Motorcyclist Association MVP Awards are bestowed on Persons, Places, Patrons, or Publications that have, in the opinion of the AMA Board of Trustees, advanced the cause of motorcycling in America or improved the enjoyment of motorcycling."
Hm . . . was this some mistake . . . was this an early April Fool's joke? Why us? The second paragraph solved this riddle:
"I am pleased to inform you that the Awards Committee of the AMA Board of Trustees has approved the enclosed MVP Award for the charming cover of your 1995 fall holiday catalog that portrayed a motorcycle sidecar transporting a harp."
Aha! So that's it! The wonderful and whimsical photo of Park Stickney taking his harp for a ride in the sidecar of his motorcycle was the reason why we had been so graciously honored.
Thank you, Park, for making this award possible . . . and for making such a great recording, to boot!
This article was first printed in "The Harp Lover's News" Volume 3, Issue 3, 1st Quarter, 1996, published by the Sylvia Woods Harp Center.