The Rounders Award is named after “The Rounders,” a classic western novel written by New Mexican Max Evans. Created in 1990 by former New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Frank DuBois, the purpose of the award is to honor those who live, promote and articulate the western way of life.
A total of 40 recipients have received this accolade, including Max Evans himself as the inaugural award recipient.
A ceremony has typically been held each fall, at which the New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture presents the awards. All past recipients are invited, many stories are shared, and the legacy of New Mexican culture is celebrated.
Sadly, Max Evans passed away in 2020, but his memory lives on. The Rounders Award allows his legacy as a pioneer of Western and New Mexican culture to live on through future generations, as the work to which he and so many others after him dedicated their lives will live on within New Mexico through future innovators.
Below is a list of all past recipients of the Rounders Award, as well as the role they served in expanding and honoring Western culture.
Rounders Award Recipients
1990 Max Evans, author
1991 Marc Simmons Cerrillos, historian
1992 Michael Martin Murphey, country western singer
1993 Baxter Black, cowboy humorist
1996 Pablita Velarde, artist
1997 Elmer Kelton, western writer
1999 Chuck Stocks, publisher
2000 Howard Bryan, author
Alvin Davis, author
Grem Lee, western illustrator
2002 Denny Gentry, team roping entrepreneur
2012 Forrest Fenn, art collector/writer
Slim Randles, columnist/author
2013 Johnny D. Boggs, author
Don Bullis, historian/author
2014 Pat Evans, editor/artist
Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera, sculptor
2015 Gary Morton, cowboy painter
2016 Ollie Reed Jr., western reporter
Rod Taylor, musician
2017 Jim Harris, author and editor
Curtis Fort, artist
Rosemary Wilkie, saddle maker
2018 Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt, artist
Irvin Trujillo, weaver
2019 Dino Cornay, artist
RW Hampton, musician
2021 Anne Hillerman, author
Etienne “A-10” Etcheverry, cartoonist
Archie West, rancher/musician/actor
Stephen Zimmer, writer
2022 JaNeil Anderson, artist
Tim Cox, artist
Duke Sundt, sculptor
2023 Edna Harper, artist
Stewart Williamson, artist
2024 Julie Carter, photographer/writer
Joe Delk and the Delk Band, musicians
2025 Jim Keith, farrier
Randy Huston, singer-songwriter