This year the recipients are Robert and Linda Duncan. They have lived in Midway for 46 years. They raised six children and ran an art gallery in the city. They still run a publishing business there. They also designed the building that is now Fernweh, which houses their daughter’s design business.
Robert has made his career as an artist, and was the youngest member of the Cowboy Artists of America. But his wife Linda said it was the beauty of the Heber Valley that really captured his imagination.
"He didn't want to be known just as a cowboy/Native American artist," she said. "He wanted to document the valley and make a statement of how beautiful it is here, and be able to record life here as the years have gone by."
For Linda, who grew up in Southampton, England, the appeal of Midway was its familiarity.
"We lived in a rural area. So I guess I already had it in my heart," she said. "England is very beautiful. And so I guess it just came naturally to me to live here and raise our children."
Robert served on Midway’s Planning Commission and currently serves on the Soldier Hollow Advisory Board. He and his wife donated the art on display in the lodge there, and his prints have supported the venue’s youth programs.
Midway Boosters President Reed Beck said that service exemplified why the Duncans were the "perfect candidates" for the award.
"We have a long record and history of selecting, calling out people and just recognizing those folks that have done really great things for the community who lived here, been actively engaged in helping the community to grow and to be improved," he said.
The Duncans received the honor during Midway’s July 4th sunrise service.
