Coyhis, Byrd Among Faces & Voices` Recovery Honorees

Longtime recovery advocate Don Coyhis and rock musician turned “recovery troubador” Ricky Byrd will be among the honorees in June at Faces & Voices of Recovery's 2019 America Honors Recovery Awards gala, the national recovery advocacy organization announced this week.

Coyhis, president and founder of the nonprofit White Bison, Inc. serving Native American and Alaska Native communities, will receive the 2019 William L. White Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. Coyhis has been at the center of efforts that gave rise to the Wellbriety movement.

White, the addiction field historian and author for whom the award is named, said of Coyhis, “Don's efforts through White Bison have been the heart and guiding star of the new recovery advocacy movement.”

Byrd, a member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, regularly visits substance use treatment centers to tell his personal recovery story through music. His 2017 album “Clean Getaway” weaves recovery themes throughout, and he also has become a recovery coach and counselor.

This year's America Honors Recovery event will be held on the evening of June 17 at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Va.