THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 14, 1994 TAG: 9406140361
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940614 LENGTH: CAMDEN, N.C.
Strolling up and down Fifth Avenue, McKecuen hauled a cardboard box of her members' wares into street-front boutiques and personally peddled to shop owners.
{REST} ``They were so amazed that anyone would try that approach, that they actually bought,'' said Katherine Wassink, former chairwoman of the board for the Watermark Association of Artisans, now the world's largest crafts cooperative.
On Monday, McKecuen, 49, reaped a big reward for the determination and creativity she has brought to her leadership of Watermark since 1981: The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation's largest private philanthropies, awarded her a five-year $300,000 grant to spend as she sees fit.
The foundation said McKecuen, one of 20 people it honored, helped turn a ``marginal crafts shop'' into a thriving cooperative that lifts up low-income craftspeople by giving them access to mainstream markets.
Watermark's primary task is to market the crafts made by its 600 active members, who produce woodwork, baskets, quilts and a host of artistic trinkets that are sold around the world.
But what makes the organization unique is its community-service mission. Almost nine in 10 of the group's members are from low-income families. Many are on welfare. Some depend on crafts as their sole source of income.
Working with Watermark's for-profit marketing arm is a sister organization. The nonprofit Northeastern Education and Development Foundation, run by McKecuen's husband, George, provides training for members.
The two organizations together have turned lives around.
``It just helps build people up and show them that there are opportunities,'' said Debi Peterson, a woodworker who is chairwoman of Watermark's board. ``You don't have to have fancy clothes; you don't have to have a degree.''
McKecuen was busy sharing her expertise with craftspeople in West Virginia on Monday and could not be reached for comment. But members attribute the group's success, which includes $700,000 in worldwide sales last year, in part to McKecuen's drive and optimism. Big problems, they say, just dwindle in her path.
``I have a lot of admiration for that lady,'' Peterson said. ``She is a very giving, a very dedicated woman.
``I can't think of anyone that I think deserves this any more.''
CAMDEN, N.C. - Shortly after Carolyn McKecuen started as executive director of a fledgling crafts cooperative in rural North Carolina, she embarked on a marketing trip to New York.
Strolling up and down Fifth Avenue, McKecuen hauled a cardboard box of her members' wares into street-front boutiques and personally peddled to shop owners.
``They were so amazed that anyone would try that approach, that they actually bought,'' said Katherine Wassink, former chairwoman of the board for the Watermark Association of Artisans, now the world's largest crafts cooperative.
On Monday, McKecuen, 49, reaped a big reward for the determination and creativity she has brought to her leadership of Watermark since 1981: The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation's largest private philanthropies, awarded her a five-year $300,000 grant to spend as she sees fit.
The foundation said McKecuen, one of 20 people it honored, helped turn a ``marginal crafts shop'' into a thriving cooperative that lifts uplow-income craftspeople by giving them access to mainstream markets. Watermark's primary task is to market the crafts made by its 600 active members, who produce woodwork, baskets, quilts and a host of artistic trinkets that are sold around the world.
But what makes the organization unique is its community-service mission. Almost nine in 10 of the group's members are from low-income families. Many are on welfare. Some depend on crafts as their sole source of income.
Working with Watermark's for-profit marketing arm is a sister organization. The nonprofit Northeastern Education and Development Foundation, run by McKecuen's husband, George, provides training for members.
The two organizations together have turned lives around.
``It just helps build people up and show them that there are opportunities,'' said Debi Peterson, a woodworker who is chairwoman of Watermark's board. ``You don't have to have fancy clothes; you don't have to have a degree.''
McKecuen was busy sharing her expertise with craftspeople in West Virginia on Monday and could not be reached for comment. But members attribute the group's success, which includes $700,000 in worldwide sales last year, in part to McKecuen's drive and optimism. Big problems, they say, just dwindle in her path.
``She is a very giving, a very dedicated woman,'' Peterson said. ``I can't think of anyone that I think deserves this any more.''
Shortly after Carolyn McKecuen started as executive director of a fledgling crafts cooperative in rural North Carolina, she embarked on a marketing trip to New York.
Strolling up and down Fifth Avenue, McKecuen hauled a cardboard box of her members' wares into street-front boutiques and personally peddled to shop owners.
``They were so amazed that anyone would try that approach, that they actually bought,'' said Katherine Wassink, former chairwoman of the board for the Watermark Association of Artisans, now the world's largest crafts cooperative.
On Monday, McKecuen, 49, reaped a big reward for the determination and creativity she has brought to her leadership of Watermark since 1981: The Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation's largest private philanthropies, awarded her a five-year $300,000 grant to spend as she sees fit.
The foundation said McKecuen, one of 20 people it honored, helped turn a ``marginal crafts shop'' into a thriving cooperative that lifts uplow-income craftspeople by giving them access to mainstream markets.
Watermark's primary task is to market the crafts made by its 600 active members, whose woodwork, baskets, quilts and other creations are sold around the world.
But what makes the organization unique is its community-service mission. Almost nine in 10 of the group's members are from low-income families. Many are on welfare. Some depend on crafts as their sole source of income.
Working with Watermark's for-profit marketing arm is a sister organization. The nonprofit Northeastern Education and Development Foundation, run by McKecuen's husband, George, provides training for members.
The two organizations, which share a building in Camden County, have turned lives around.
``It just helps build people up and show them that there are opportunities,'' said Debi Peterson, a woodworker who is chairwoman of Watermark's board. ``You don't have to have fancy clothes; you don't have to have a degree.''
McKecuen was busy sharing her expertise with craftspeople in West Virginia on Monday and could not be reached. But members attribute the group's success, which includes $700,000 in worldwide sales last year, in part to McKecuen's drive and optimism. Problems, they say, just dwindle in her path.
``She is a very giving, a very dedicated woman,'' Peterson said. ``I can't think of anyone that I think deserves this any more.''
by CNB